OP_RETURN: Bitcoin's On-Chain Data Mechanism
OP_RETURN embeds arbitrary data in Bitcoin transactions without touching the UTXO set. The mechanism, relay policy distinctions, and where developers go wrong.
№ 002BitcoinBitcoin RBF Carve-Out and Package Relay Explained
How Bitcoin's RBF carve-out rules and package relay interact during contested Lightning channel closes, and why the distinction matters.
№ 003BitcoinBitcoin Taproot Scriptpath Spending: What the Chain Reveals
Scriptpath spending exposes your Merkle tree depth to every node operator. The mechanics, the fingerprinting risk, and what wallet developers are missing.
№ 004BitcoinBitcoin Anchor Outputs: Fee Bumping Presigned Transactions
Anchor outputs let channel parties bump fees on presigned Bitcoin transactions at broadcast time, the mechanism, the carve-out policy, and its real limits.
№ 005BitcoinBitcoin UTXO Set Growth and the Cost of Pruned Nodes
The UTXO set grows with every block and pruning cannot touch it. A look at the mechanics, the real numbers, and the long-term cost for node operators.
№ 006BitcoinBitcoin Median Time Past: Block Timestamp Manipulation
Median Time Past prevents miners from faking Bitcoin block timestamps. The exact mechanic, its real limits, and what a 15% miner actually controls.
№ 007BitcoinBitcoin Taproot Leaf Version: Future-Proofing Scripts
The leaf version field reserves space for new Bitcoin script rules without a hard fork, the exact mechanism, the constraints, and what it enables.
№ 008BitcoinBitcoin Sighash Preimage: Input Values and Fee Theft
BIP143 bakes input values into the sighash preimage, making fee-theft via value misrepresentation cryptographically impossible. Mechanism and worked example.
№ 009BitcoinTaproot On-Chain: Keypath vs Scriptpath Spending
A Taproot output looks uniform until it's spent. The witness field reveals exactly which path was taken, and how much it exposes about your setup.
№ 010BitcoinBitcoin Miniscript Satisfier Algorithm Explained
Miniscript's satisfier finds the cheapest non-malleable witness across all valid spending paths. Worked example, malleability rules, and fee impact.
№ 011BitcoinBitcoin Covenants: Introspection vs Template Approaches
Bitcoin's covenant debate splits on one question: how much can a script inspect its own transaction? A clear breakdown of both camps.
№ 012BitcoinBitcoin Compact Blocks and Mempool Divergence Explained
Compact block reconstruction stalls when mempools diverge. This piece traces the exact failure cascade, the 85% overlap threshold, and what miners do about it.