One of the recurring arguments of Bitcoin’s detractors is that it needs the internet to function, meaning both that the network itself is dependent on the internet and that its users need access to the internet to interact with the Bitcoin network. So I wanted to find out whether or not Bitcoin can be used without the internet – and, …

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In a previous article, I explained how I use different tools to try to adapt my Bitcoin transaction fees to the relevant situation. Indeed, the optimal Bitcoin transaction fees at any given time can vary according to multiple parameters: How congested is the Bitcoin network at the time of the transaction? How long am I willing to wait for my …

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The discussion about Bitcoin’s adoption and use for everyday transactions is an important one. Although some people today claim that Bitcoin is nothing more than digital gold, and therefore not necessarily intended for day to day transactions, I find this answer unsatisfactory. Indeed, Bitcoin is and always has been a medium of exchange in its own right. Its usability matters, …

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When studying how bitcoin works, and what could possibly go wrong with the network, we often hear people talk about the infamous 51% attack. However, when I started looking at this issue in more detail, I quickly realized that this topic is very often misunderstood, and most importantly, that the destructive potential of the 51% attack is usually overestimated. What …

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The impetus to write this article came from a discussion with a relative. After I had already spent several hours explaining how bitcoin works, he asked me a question that I found peculiar at the time: How are bitcoin addresses assigned, and by whom? This made me realize that I hadn’t yet explained this properly, and that the term bitcoin …

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