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CH11: edits for Murchandamus feedback
- Remove redundancy in description of the prevBlockHash field in creating a chain of blocks. - Upsize numbers to segwit block limits - Use "target" instead of "difficulty" when appropriate. - Drop paragraph that repeats following table about block header fields - Correct multiple parts of table about block header fields - The genesis block is not the first block ever created: there were almost certainly test blocks created before it - Use "||" for concatenation. Left FIXMEs to update images later. - Add short note about duplicating internal merkle tree nodes before hashing when an odd number are present. Add long quote from Bitcoin Core source about why Bitcoin's merkle tree design should not be replicated by other projects. - Drop table for illustrating what log2(N) looks like. Add FIXME to add a plot. - Drop details about previous testnet resets. - Mention that testnets use different address prefixes.
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David A. Harding
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ch09.asciidoc
182
ch09.asciidoc
@ -2,14 +2,14 @@
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== The Blockchain
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The blockchain is the history of every confirmed Bitcoin transaction.
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It's what allows every full node to indepdently determine what keys and
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It's what allows every full node to independently determine what keys and
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scripts control which bitcoins. In this chapter, we'll look at the
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structure of the blockchain and see how it uses cryptographic
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commitments and other clever tricks to make every part of it easy for
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full nodes (and sometimes light clients) to validate.
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((("blockchain (the)", "overview of")))The blockchain data structure is
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an ordered, back-linked list of blocks of transactions.The blockchain
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an ordered, back-linked list of blocks of transactions. The blockchain
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can be stored as a flat file, or in a simple database.
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Blocks are linked "back," each referring to the previous block in the
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chain. ((("blocks", "block height")))The blockchain is often visualized
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@ -24,8 +24,7 @@ blocks stacked on top of each other results in the use of terms such as
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within the blockchain is identified by a hash, generated using the
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SHA256 cryptographic hash algorithm on the header of the block. Each
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block also commits to the previous block, known as the _parent_ block,
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through the "previous block hash" field in the block header. In other
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words, each block contains the hash of its parent inside its own header.
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through the "previous block hash" field in the block header.
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The sequence of hashes linking each block to its parent creates a chain
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going back all the way to the first block ever created, known as the
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_genesis block_.
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@ -36,18 +35,13 @@ Multiple children arise during a blockchain "fork," a temporary
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situation that can occur when different blocks are discovered almost
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simultaneously by different miners (see <<forks>>). Eventually, only one
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child block becomes part of the blockchain accepted by all full nodes and the "fork" is resolved.
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Even though a block may have more than one child, each block can have
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only one parent. This is because a block has one single "previous block
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hash" field referencing its single parent.
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The "previous block hash" field is inside the block header and thereby
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affects the _current_ block's hash. The child's own identity changes if
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the parent's identity changes. When the parent is modified in any way,
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the parent's hash changes. The parent's changed hash necessitates a
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change in the "previous block hash" pointer of the child. This in turn
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causes the child's hash to change, which requires a change in the
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affects the _current_ block's hash.
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Any change to a parent block
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requires a child block's hash to change, which requires a change in the
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pointer of the grandchild, which in turn changes the grandchild, and so
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on. This cascade effect ensures that once a block has many generations
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on. This sequence ensures that, once a block has many generations
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following it, it cannot be changed without forcing a recalculation of
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all subsequent blocks. Because such a recalculation would require
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enormous computation (and therefore energy consumption), the existence
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@ -67,8 +61,8 @@ blockchain, beyond six blocks, blocks are less and less likely to
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change. ((("transactions", "coinbase transactions")))((("coinbase
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transactions")))After 100 blocks back there is so much stability that
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the coinbase transaction--the transaction containing the reward in
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bitcoin for creating a new block--can be spent. A few thousand blocks back (a month) and the
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blockchain is settled history for all practical purposes. While the
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bitcoin for creating a new block--can be spent.
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While the
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protocol always allows a chain to be undone by a longer chain and while
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the possibility of any block being reversed always exists, the
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probability of such an event decreases as time passes until it becomes
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@ -83,7 +77,7 @@ block is made of a header, containing metadata, followed by a long list
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of transactions that make up the bulk of its size. The block header is
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80 bytes, whereas the total size of all transactions in a block can be
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up to about 4,000,000 bytes. A complete block,
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with all transactions, can therefore be over 10,000 times larger than the block
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with all transactions, can therefore be over 50,000 times larger than the block
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header. <<block_structure1>> describes how Bitcoin Core stores the structure of a block.
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[[block_structure1]]
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@ -94,7 +88,7 @@ header. <<block_structure1>> describes how Bitcoin Core stores the structure of
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|Size| Field | Description
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| 4 bytes | Block Size | The size of the block, in bytes, following this field
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| 80 bytes | Block Header | Several fields form the block header
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| 1-9 bytes (VarInt) | Transaction Counter | How many transactions follow
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| 1-9 bytes (compactSize) | Transaction Counter | How many transactions follow
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| Variable | Transactions | The transactions recorded in this block
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|=======
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@ -102,31 +96,23 @@ header. <<block_structure1>> describes how Bitcoin Core stores the structure of
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=== Block Header
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((("blocks", "headers")))((("blockchain (the)", "block
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headers")))((("headers")))The block header consists of three sets of
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block metadata. First, there is a reference to a previous block hash,
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which connects this block to the previous block in the blockchain. The
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second set of metadata, namely the _difficulty_, _timestamp_, and
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_nonce_, relate to the mining competition, as detailed in <<mining>>.
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The third piece of metadata is the merkle tree root, a data structure
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used to efficiently summarize all the transactions in the block.
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<<block_header_structure_ch09>> describes the structure of a block
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header.
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headers")))((("headers")))The block header consists of
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block metadata as shown in <<block_header_structure_ch09>>.
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[[block_header_structure_ch09]]
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.The structure of the block header
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[options="header"]
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|=======
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|Size| Field | Description
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| 4 bytes | Version | A version number to track protocol upgrades
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| 32 bytes | Previous Block Hash | A reference to the hash of the previous (parent) block in the chain
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| 32 bytes | Merkle Root | A hash of the root of the merkle tree of this block's transactions
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| 4 bytes | Timestamp | The approximate creation time of this block (seconds from Unix Epoch)
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| 4 bytes | Difficulty Target | The Proof-of-Work algorithm difficulty target for this block
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| 4 bytes | Nonce | A counter used for the Proof-of-Work algorithm
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| 4 bytes | Version | Originally a version field; its use has evolved over time
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| 32 bytes | Previous Block Hash | A hash of the previous (parent) block in the chain
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| 32 bytes | Merkle Root | The root hash of the merkle tree of this block's transactions
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| 4 bytes | Timestamp | The approximate creation time of this block (Unix epoch time)
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| 4 bytes | Target | A compact encoding of the Proof-of-Work target for this block
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| 4 bytes | Nonce | Arbitrary data used for the Proof-of-Work algorithm
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|=======
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The nonce, difficulty target, and timestamp are used in the mining
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The nonce, target, and timestamp are used in the mining
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process and will be discussed in more detail in <<mining>>.
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[[block_hash]]
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@ -140,13 +126,13 @@ hash is called the _block hash_ but is more accurately the _block header
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hash_, pass:[<span role="keep-together">because only the block header is
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used to compute it. For example,</span>]
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+000000000019d6689c085ae165831e934ff763ae46a2a6c172b3f1b60a8ce26f+ is
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the block hash of the first Bitcoin block ever created. The block hash
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the block hash of the first block on Bitcoin's block chain. The block hash
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identifies a block uniquely and unambiguously and can be independently
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derived by any node by simply hashing the block header.
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Note that the block hash is not actually included inside the block's
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data structure, neither when the block is transmitted on the network,
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nor when it is stored on a node's persistant storage as part of the
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nor when it is stored on a node's persistent storage as part of the
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blockchain. Instead, the block's hash is computed by each node as the
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block is received from the network. The block hash might be stored in a
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separate database table as part of the block's metadata, to facilitate
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@ -154,7 +140,7 @@ indexing and faster retrieval of blocks from disk.
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A second way to identify a block is by its position in the blockchain,
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called the pass:[<span role="keep-together"><em>block height</em>. The
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first block ever created is at block height 0 (zero) and is the</span>]
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genesis block is at block height 0 (zero) and is the</span>]
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pass:[<span role="keep-together">same block that was previously
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referenced by the following block hash</span>]
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+000000000019d6689c085ae165831e934ff763ae46a2a6c172b3f1b60a8ce26f+. A
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@ -176,7 +162,7 @@ also not a part of the block's data structure; it was not stored within
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the block. Each node dynamically identified a block's position (height)
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in the blockchain when it was received from the Bitcoin network. A
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later protocol change (BIP34) began including the block height in the
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coinbase transaction, although it's purpose was to ensure each block had
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coinbase transaction, although its purpose was to ensure each block had
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a different coinbase transaction. Nodes still need to dynamically
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identify a block's height in order to validate the coinbase field. The
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block height might also be stored as metadata in an indexed database
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@ -186,7 +172,7 @@ table for faster retrieval.
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====
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A block's _block hash_ always identifies a single block uniquely. A
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block also always has a specific _block height_. However, it is not
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always the case that a specific block height can identify a single
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always the case that a specific block height identifies a single
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block. Rather, two or more blocks might compete for a single position in
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the blockchain.
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====
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@ -256,7 +242,7 @@ $ bitcoin-cli getblock 000000000019d6689c085ae165831e934ff763ae46a2a6c172b3f1b60
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The genesis block contains a message within it. The coinbase
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transaction input contains the text "The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on
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brink of second bailout for banks." This message was intended to offer
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proof of the earliest date this block was created, by referencing the
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proof of the earliest date this block could have been created, by referencing the
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headline of the British newspaper _The Times_. It also serves as a
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tongue-in-cheek reminder of the importance of an independent monetary
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system, with Bitcoin's launch occurring at the same time as an
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@ -267,10 +253,10 @@ first block by Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin's creator.
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((("blocks", "linking blocks in the blockchain")))((("blockchain (the)",
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"linking blocks in the blockchain")))Bitcoin full nodes validate every
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block in the blockchain, starting at the genesis block. Their local view of
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block in the blockchain after the genesis block. Their local view of
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the blockchain is constantly updated as new blocks are found and used to
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extend the chain. As a node receives incoming blocks from the network,
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it will validate these blocks and then link them to the existing
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it will validate these blocks and then link them to its view of the existing
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blockchain. To establish a link, a node will examine the incoming block
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header and look for the "previous block hash."
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@ -299,9 +285,7 @@ parses as follows:
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"nonce" : 4215469401,
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"tx" : [
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"257e7497fb8bc68421eb2c7b699dbab234831600e7352f0d9e6522c7cf3f6c77",
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#[... many more transactions omitted ...]
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"[... many more transactions omitted ...]",
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"05cfd38f6ae6aa83674cc99e4d75a1458c165b7ab84725eda41d018a09176634"
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]
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}
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@ -318,7 +302,7 @@ references in the +previousblockhash+ field.
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[[chain_of_blocks]]
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[role="smallerfourtyfive"]
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.Blocks linked in a chain by reference to the previous block header hash
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.Blocks linked in a chain by each referencing the previous block header hash
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image::images/mbc2_0901.png[]
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[[merkle_trees]]
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@ -348,7 +332,7 @@ double-SHA256.
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When N data elements are hashed and summarized in a merkle tree, you can
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check to see if any one data element is included in the tree with at
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most +2*log~2~(N)+ calculations, making this a very efficient data
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about +log~2~(N)+ calculations, making this a very efficient data
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structure.
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The merkle tree is constructed bottom-up. In the following example, we
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@ -372,7 +356,7 @@ double-hashed to produce the parent node's hash:
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++++
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<pre data-type="codelisting">
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H<sub>AB</sub> = SHA256(SHA256(H<sub>A</sub> + H<sub>B</sub>))
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H<sub>AB</sub> = SHA256(SHA256(H<sub>A</sub> || H<sub>B</sub>))
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</pre>
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++++
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@ -382,6 +366,7 @@ header and summarizes all the data in all four transactions.
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<<simple_merkle>> shows how the root is calculated by pair-wise hashes
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of the nodes.
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//FIXME: s/+/||/
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[[simple_merkle]]
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.Calculating the nodes in a merkle tree
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image::images/mbc2_0902.png["merkle_tree"]
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@ -391,11 +376,63 @@ an even number of leaf nodes. If there is an odd number of transactions
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to summarize, the last transaction hash will be duplicated to create an
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even number of leaf nodes, also known as a _balanced tree_. This is
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shown in <<merkle_tree_odd>>, where transaction C is duplicated.
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Similarly, if there are an odd number of hashes to process at any level,
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the last hash is duplicated.
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//FIXME: s/+/||/
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[[merkle_tree_odd]]
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.Duplicating one data element achieves an even number of data elements
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image::images/mbc2_0903.png["merkle_tree_odd"]
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.A design flaw in Bitcoin's merkle tree
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****
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An extended comment in Bitcoin Core's source code describes a
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significant problems in the design of Bitcoin's duplication of odd
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elements in its merkle tree:
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[quote,Bitcoin Core src/consensus/merkle.cpp]
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____
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WARNING! If you're reading this because you're learning about crypto
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and/or designing a new system that will use merkle trees, keep in mind
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that the following merkle tree algorithm has a serious flaw related to
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duplicate txids, resulting in a vulnerability (CVE-2012-2459).
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The reason is that if the number of hashes in the list at a given level
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is odd, the last one is duplicated before computing the next level (which
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is unusual in Merkle trees). This results in certain sequences of
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transactions leading to the same merkle root. For example, these two
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trees:
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//FIXME:replace with image to fix italics in code text
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----
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A A
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/ \ / \
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B C B C
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/ \ | / \ / \
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D E F D E F F
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/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \
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1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 5 6
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----
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for transaction lists [1,2,3,4,5,6] and [1,2,3,4,5,6,5,6] (where 5 and
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6 are repeated) result in the same root hash A (because the hash of both
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of (F) and (F,F) is C).
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The vulnerability results from being able to send a block with such a
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transaction list, with the same merkle root, and the same block hash as
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the original without duplication, resulting in failed validation. If the
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receiving node proceeds to mark that block as permanently invalid
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however, it will fail to accept further unmodified (and thus potentially
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valid) versions of the same block. We defend against this by detecting
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the case where we would hash two identical hashes at the end of the list
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together, and treating that identically to the block having an invalid
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merkle root. Assuming no double-SHA256 collisions, this will detect all
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known ways of changing the transactions without affecting the merkle
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root.
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____
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****
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The same method for constructing a tree from four transactions can be
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generalized to construct trees of any size. In Bitcoin it is common to
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have several thousand transactions in a single
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@ -408,7 +445,7 @@ thousand transactions in the block, the merkle root always summarizes
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them into 32 bytes.
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((("authentication paths")))To prove that a specific transaction is
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included in a block, a node only needs to produce +log~2~(N)+ 32-byte
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included in a block, a node only needs to produce approximately +log~2~(N)+ 32-byte
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hashes, constituting an _authentication path_ or _merkle path_
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connecting the specific transaction to the root of the tree. This is
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especially important as the number of transactions increases, because
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@ -425,7 +462,7 @@ image::images/mbc2_0904.png["merkle_tree_large"]
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In <<merkle_tree_path>>, a node can prove that a transaction K is
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included in the block by producing a merkle path that is only four
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32-byte hashes long (128 bytes total). The path consists of the four
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hashes (shown with a shaded background H~L~,
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hashes (shown with a shaded background) H~L~,
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H~IJ~, H~MNOP~, and H~ABCDEFGH~. With those four hashes provided as an
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authentication path, any node can prove that H~K~ (with a black
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background at the bottom of the diagram) is included in the merkle root
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@ -441,6 +478,7 @@ The efficiency of merkle trees becomes obvious as the scale increases.
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<<block_structure2>> shows the amount of data that needs to be exchanged
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as a merkle path to prove that a transaction is part of a block.
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//FIXME: replace with a plot of size per txes: plot [0:16000] ceil(log2(x))
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[[block_structure2]]
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.Merkle tree efficiency
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[options="header"]
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@ -452,18 +490,15 @@ as a merkle path to prove that a transaction is part of a block.
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| 65,535 transactions | 16 megabytes | 16 hashes | 512 bytes
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|=======
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As you can see from the table, while the block size increases rapidly,
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from 4 KB with 16 transactions to a block size of 16 MB to fit 65,535
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transactions, the merkle path required to prove the inclusion of a
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transaction increases much more slowly, from 128 bytes to only 512
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bytes. With merkle trees, a node can download just the block headers (80
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With merkle trees, a node can download just the block headers (80
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bytes per block) and still be able to identify a transaction's inclusion
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in a block by retrieving a small merkle path from a full node, without
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storing or transmitting the vast majority of the blockchain, which might
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be several gigabytes in size. Clients that do not maintain a full
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storing or transmitting the vast majority of the blockchain.
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Clients that do not maintain a full
|
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blockchain, called simplified payment verification (SPV) client, use
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merkle paths to verify transactions without downloading full blocks.
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//FIXME: stretch goal to minimize use of "SPV" in the book
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=== Merkle Trees and Simplified Payment Verification (SPV)
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((("simple-payment-verification (SPV)")))((("bitcoin nodes", "SPV
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@ -471,7 +506,7 @@ clients")))Merkle trees are used extensively by SPV clients. SPV clients don't
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have all transactions and do not download full blocks, just block
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headers. In order to verify that a transaction is included in a block,
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without having to download all the transactions in the block, they use
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an authentication path, or merkle path.
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a merkle path.
|
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Consider, for example, an SPV client that is interested in incoming
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payments to an address contained in its wallet. The SPV client will
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@ -503,40 +538,37 @@ chapter, is called _mainnet_. There are other Bitcoin blockchains that
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are used for testing purposes: at this time _testnet_, _signet_, and
|
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_regtest_. Let's look at each in turn.((("testnet", id="testnet09")))
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==== Testnet: Bitcoin's Testing Playground
|
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Testnet is the name of the test blockchain, network, and currency that
|
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is used for testing purposes. The testnet is a fully featured live P2P
|
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network, with wallets, test bitcoins (testnet coins), mining, and all
|
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the other features of mainnet. There are really only two differences:
|
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testnet coins are meant to be worthless and mining difficulty should be
|
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low enough that anyone can mine testnet coins relatively easily (keeping
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them worthless).
|
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the other features of mainnet. The most important difference is that
|
||||
testnet coins are meant to be worthless.
|
||||
|
||||
Any software development that is intended for production use on
|
||||
Bitcoin's mainnet can first be tested on testnet with test coins.
|
||||
This protects both the developers from monetary losses due to bugs and
|
||||
the network from unintended behavior due to bugs.
|
||||
|
||||
Keeping the coins worthless and the mining easy, however, is not easy.
|
||||
Despite pleas from developers, some people use advanced mining equipment
|
||||
(GPUs and ASICs) to mine on testnet. This increases the difficulty,
|
||||
makes it impossible to mine with a CPU, and eventually makes it
|
||||
difficult enough to get test coins that people start valuing them, so
|
||||
they're not worthless. As a result, every now and then, the testnet has
|
||||
to be scrapped and restarted from a new genesis block, resetting the
|
||||
difficulty.
|
||||
|
||||
The current testnet is called _testnet3_, the third iteration of
|
||||
testnet, restarted in February 2011 to reset the difficulty from the
|
||||
previous testnet.
|
||||
|
||||
Keep in mind that testnet3 is a large blockchain, in excess of 30 GB in
|
||||
previous testnet. Testnet3 is a large blockchain, in excess of 30 GB in
|
||||
2023. It will take a while to sync fully and use up resources
|
||||
on your computer. Not as much as mainnet, but not exactly "lightweight"
|
||||
either.
|
||||
|
||||
[TIP]
|
||||
====
|
||||
Testnet and the other test blockchains described in this book don't use
|
||||
the same address prefixes as mainnet addresses to prevent someone from
|
||||
accidentally sending real bitcoins to a test address. Mainnet addresses
|
||||
begin with +1+, +3+, or +bc1+. Addresses for the test networks
|
||||
mentioned in this book begin with +m+, +n+, or +tb1+. Other test
|
||||
networks, or new protocols being developed on test networks, may use
|
||||
other address prefixes or alterations.
|
||||
====
|
||||
|
||||
===== Using testnet
|
||||
|
||||
Bitcoin Core, like many other Bitcoin programs, has full support
|
||||
|
||||
Loading…
Reference in New Issue
Block a user