If we accept that bitcoin transactions don't actually contain "senders" and "recipients", that concepts such as accounts, balances and addresses are not part of the low-level transaction structure, then what are transactions actually... transacting?
The answer is that the fundamental building block "transacted" in bitcoin is an _output_. An output is a discreet and indivisible unit of value. Bitcoin transactions consume previously created outputs and create new outputs. The set of all outputs in the bitcoin system that are spendable and have not yet been spent is called the _Unspent Transaction Output Set_ or UTXO Set. In a sense, the bitcoin system is a system for keeping track of the ownership and state of unspent transaction outputs (UTXO), across a decentralized network.
The answer is that the fundamental building block "transacted" in bitcoin is an _output_. An output is a discrete and indivisible unit of value. Bitcoin transactions consume previously created outputs and create new outputs. The set of all outputs in the bitcoin system that are spendable and have not yet been spent is called the _Unspent Transaction Output Set_ or UTXO Set. In a sense, the bitcoin system is a system for keeping track of the ownership and state of unspent transaction outputs (UTXO), across a decentralized network.
Rfurse
8 years ago
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