How Bitcoin’s Public Ledger is Stored: Understanding the Hashgraph Architecture
As you embark on creating a functional replica of the Bitcoin protocol, understanding the underlying architecture and how the Bitcoin Public Ledger (BLL) is stored is crucial. In this article, we’ll delve into the details of how Bitcoin’s BLL is maintained, focusing on the hashgraph consensus mechanism.
What is the Bitcoin Public Ledger?
The Bitcoin Public Ledger is a decentralized, public ledger that records all Bitcoin transactions since the genesis block in 2009. It serves as a distributed database, ensuring that every transaction is verified and stored across the network. The BLL contains a permanent record of all Bitcoin transactions, allowing for secure and transparent tracking of ownership and movement of assets.
The Hashgraph Consensus Mechanism
Bitcoin’s hashgraph consensus mechanism is a unique approach to achieving consensus among nodes on the blockchain. Unlike traditional proof-of-work (PoW) or proof-of-stake (PoS) protocols, hashgraph relies on a distributed network of validators to create a new block and update the ledger.
How Bitcoin’s Public Ledger is Stored
The BLL is stored in a data structure called a
directory, which consists of two main components:
- Index: A binary search tree (BST) that indexes all the transactions in the directory, allowing for efficient retrieval and manipulation of specific blocks.
- Block: The actual block containing all the transactions in the directory.
The index is maintained by a
directory node
, which contains pointers to each transaction in the directory. Each transaction is represented as a hash of its inputs (e.g., transaction IDs) and outputs (e.g., addresses).
How Transactions are Stored
Transactions in the BLL follow a specific format:
- Transaction Header: The header block contains metadata such as the transaction ID, sender’s address, receiver’s address, timestamp, and more.
- Transaction Data: The actual data of the transaction (e.g., inputs, outputs).
- Transaction Signature: A digital signature generated by the node using a public key.
The transaction header is linked to its corresponding block using a reference hash, creating a chain of blocks that connects each new block to the previous one in the blockchain.
Hashgraph Consensus
In the hashgraph consensus mechanism, each validator (node) creates and updates the directory by:
- Generating a new block: The validator generates a new block containing all transactions from its local network.
- Signing the block: Each transaction is signed with the validator’s private key.
- Sending the block to other nodes: The validator sends the signed block to other nodes on the network.
- Verifying the block: Other nodes verify the block by checking its consistency with the index and ensuring that all transactions are correctly linked.
Once a consensus is reached, each node updates its local directory, creating a permanent record of the blockchain.
Conclusion
The Bitcoin Public Ledger’s storage mechanism relies on the hashgraph consensus algorithm to maintain a decentralized and secure network. By understanding how transactions are stored in the BLL and the index/ block structure, you can gain insights into the architecture of the Bitcoin protocol. For your academic project, creating a functional replica will require a deep dive into the underlying technology and its intricacies.
Recommendations for Your Project
- Familiarize yourself with the Bitcoin protocol and its various components.
- Study the hashgraph consensus mechanism in detail, focusing on node communication and data storage.
- Implement a basic directory structure to simulate the BLL’s index and block storage.