Bitcoins Maybe; Blockchains Likely
Authors
Denning, Peter J.
Lewis, Ted G.
Subjects
Social networks
Currency
Mathematical functions
Electronic money
Data bases
Currencies
Cryptography
Digital signatures
Banking
Dishonesty
Digital currencies
Currency
Mathematical functions
Electronic money
Data bases
Currencies
Cryptography
Digital signatures
Banking
Dishonesty
Digital currencies
Advisors
Date of Issue
2017
Date
Nov/Dec 2017
Publisher
Sigma XI-The Scientific Research Society
Language
Abstract
On Jan 3, 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto began selling a new form of money and operating an associated support
system called the bitcoin cryptocurrency system. The name bitcoin (BTC) comes from it being digital money that
can be used like coinage, and the crypto term indicates that the bits are secured by cryptographic methods. The
currency has secretive roots: It is still unknown who Nakamoto was, but it may have been Harold Thomas Finney II,
a known cryptologist who created a secured transaction system similar to that used in BTC exchanges, and a
developer employed by the Pretty Good Privacy Corp. The records of all bitcoin transactions are compiled into
blocks of about 4 megabytes in size. The linked list of all blocks going back to the beginning in 2009 is called a
blockchain. Here, Lewis talks about bitcoins security and resiliency.
Type
Article
Description
Series/Report No
Department
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE)
Organization
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
8 p.
Citation
Denning, Peter J., and Ted G. Lewis. "Bitcoins Maybe; Blockchains Likely." American Scientist 105, no. 6 (2017): 335-339.
Distribution Statement
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.