The other day I was spending some time watching Youtube videos and was recommended a video about the algorithm that powers Bitcoin.
The video discusses a math problem that has never been solved by an individual called the SHA 256 Hash Function. Essentially the algorithm takes a data input and spits out an output of 256 bits or 1's and 0's. I recommend watching the video for the full explanation, but here is a little of what I took away from it:
What Makes It Special?
The power behind this algorithm is that to get the same output you must guess the exact input, meaning that it is pretty much impossible to do without powerful computers that are guessing quintillions of outputs every second. Bitcoin uses this algorithm in its mining process to make it incredibly difficult for a hack to occur as the computers would need to get insanely lucky dozens of times to even have a chance at gaining control over a small portion of the network.
This screenshot shows the number of possible SHA 256 hashes, or in other words, your chance of randomly generating the same hash as the input did is 1 divided by this number.
What It Means For Bitcoin
As the video discusses, someone who is able to reverse the algorithm and be able to generate correct SHA 256 hashes quickly would become very rich as they would be winning the race on all Bitcoin blocks. The issue with that is that nobody has ever been able to figure out how to reverse the algorithm as it is one of the most complex mathematical problems in the world and is unsolved. Though Bitcoin mining does not require the exact hash to be generated (just something arbitrarily close), it is still incredibly difficult to find a hash that will work.
This should help to prove to you how secure the Bitcoin network really is and how difficult mining actually is. Your chance of hitting the right hash is incredibly low unless you are doing a crazy amount of guesses every second, something a super computer would be capable of.
I never really considered just how complex algorithms can be, but knowing that one of the cryptocurrencies that I truly believe in is backed by a math problem that is literally unsolvable brings a lot of confidence to my mind. Satoshi Nakamoto was an absolute visionary (visionaries?) and Bitcoin is something that set the groundwork for all of the blockchain and cryptographic technology that is rolling out today.
I really recommend reading the Bitcoin whitepaper as well before you go and buy Bitcoin because although it is becoming obvious that is is a good investment (NFA), you should really know what it is that you are purchasing. Concepts like the gambler's quandary and SHA 256 hash algorithms are things that sound super complex until you watch a video like this and have it explained. Hopefully you find all this interesting and it helps you either gain peace of mind or grow your investment knowledge in this new field that we all share.
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My name is Rob and I am a college student doing my best to get involved in the crypto world. I have enjoyed blogging thus far and thank you for reading my article! Give me a follow and let’s build the community together through consistent engagement.
