Secret of Bitcoin’s labeling: Base58 Understanding
When sending and receiving bitcoins on the network, users rely on a unique address that identifies their wallets individually. Behind the scenes, however, Bitcoin’s labeling mechanism uses an Advanced Cipher, called Base58. In this article, we are immersed in why Bitcoin titles are coded in Base 58 and explores how to ensure security and efficiency.
Purpose of labeling
Bitcoin label coding is not just a cosmetic property; It plays an important role in protecting the confidentiality of transactions and ensuring that users will reimburse their funds, even if they lose or spoil their wallets. Here are some reasons why the 58th was chosen:
- Safety : Use a combination of Base58 letters, digits and special characters to create a unique hash function. This makes it safer than simple encryption schemes such as Base64, which is sensitive to brutal force attacks.
- Efficiency : Base58 uses a hierarchical algorithm where each character corresponds to a particular byte in the output string. This allows you to efficiently compress large titles, reduce storage requirements and improve the transaction rate.
- Randomness : The use of special characters, such as!, @, #, $, Etc., ensures that all titles are randomly generated, making it difficult for third parties (such as hackers) to predict or invent the title –
How Base58
works
The BASE58 encoding uses a version of the Bloom filter algorithm developed by Ronald Rivest in 1979. The original Bloom filter average time is o (1), making it effective for large data sets. However, this was not designed for cryptographic purposes; Instead, it is optimized for quick search times.
The following steps are taken to coding the bitcoin address in Base 58:
- HASH Function : SHA-256 HASH is created from a combination of sender seed and transaction data.
- Character Coding : Each bytes of the Hash Output string is mapped to a character using a particular scheme:
*! (most common): 0x00
* @: 0x01
* #: 0x02
* $: 0x03
* %: 0x04
- Combine Characters : Coded characters are connected to form a string.
Why not Base58 Base64
While it may seem contradictory that Bitcoin titles are coded on base 58 instead of Base 64, which is usually used to encode textual data, there are many reasons why this choice has been made:
- Performance : Base64 has higher calculation costs than BASE58, making it slower and less efficient than large data sets.
- Safety : As mentioned above, the hierarchical algorithm of BASE58 provides better security features than Base 64.
- Efficiency : The BASE58 Character Coding Schema allows you to compress large titles more efficient, reduce storage requirements and improve the transaction rate.
Conclusion
Choosing a 58 Base as a Bitcoin label is a deliberate design decision aimed at ensuring both security and efficiency. With the use of a hierarchical algorithm, randomness, and maps of characters into specific byte, BASE58 offers users a safe and reliable way to justify their wallet authenticity and ownership. Regardless of whether or not you start an experienced bitcoiner, understanding the mechanics behind the labeling is deeper recognizes the complexity and sophistication of popular blockchain technology.
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More sources:
- Official Bitcoin Whitepaper (Section 2.1) provides additional information about the selection of BASE58.
- The Bitcoin Protocol Specification (RFC 6978) contains details of the label code.
- Ethereum Whitapaper (Section 4.6) deals with the use of a similar coding system for Ethereum titles.