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Bitcoin SV – Bitcoin Satoshi Vision (BSV) is a type of cryptocurrency that positions itself as being more closely aligned with the original vision for Bitcoin, as proposed by the pseudonymous creator known as Satoshi Nakamoto. Despite having a similar name to Bitcoin (BTC), it is a distinct cryptocurrency.
Key Takeaways
Bitcoin SV (Satoshi Vision) is a cryptocurrency and blockchain network that emerged from a hard fork of Bitcoin Cash in 2018.
Bitcoin SV operates on the same consensus protocol and has the same total supply as Bitcoin.
BSV features a large block size limit, which allows for a higher number of transactions to be processed per second compared to Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash.
Bitcoin SV’s founder, Craig Wright, a controversial figure in the cryptocurrency community, claims to be the original founder of Bitcoin – Satoshi Nakamoto.
BSV launched in 2018, resulting from a hard fork of Bitcoin Cash (BCH), which itself was a hard fork of the original Bitcoin blockchain. BSV aims to address certain issues that have arisen in the original Bitcoin protocol, which is the oldest functioning blockchain. Like many other cryptocurrencies that originate from a hard fork, BSV intends to address perceived shortcomings or limitations of the original blockchain.
The name Bitcoin Satoshi Vision (BSV) comes from Craig Wright, who claims to be the creator of this blockchain. He maintains that the protocol of BSV is precisely what Satoshi Nakamoto originally proposed, the pseudonym used by the creator of Bitcoin.
How does Bitcoin SV work?
Bitcoin SV is an innovative fork of the original Bitcoin blockchain that seeks to improve upon its predecessor by providing enhanced scalability and faster transaction processing. The Bitcoin network has faced a number of issues due to its limited ability to handle large volumes of data quickly, resulting in delays and high fees. To address these challenges, Bitcoin SV aims to increase scalability and throughput while remaining true to the original vision of Bitcoin as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system.
Like its predecessors, Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Bitcoin Satoshi Vision (BSV) operates on a similar principle. BSV utilizes a proof of work (PoW) protocol to validate transactions and has the same maximum supply of 21 million tokens. The mining rewards of BSV also decrease at the same rate as BTC and BCH through the process of halving.
The Bitcoin Satoshi Vision (BSV) blockchain stands out from its predecessors, Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH), in its larger block size. Every new block contains a hash of the preceding one as well as all fresh transaction data. This has several advantages: without a cap on the size of each block, transactions take far less time to process than they do on the two other networks, and users have the assurance that all their transactions will be confirmed.
Bitcoin SV vs. Bitcoin
While Bitcoin Satoshi Vision (BSV) shares some similarities with Bitcoin, the key difference between them is the block size. BSV block sizes are unrestricted, whereas the maximum block size for Bitcoin currently caps at 2 MB following the SegWit activation in 2017. This difference results in various dissimilarities in the two networks’ outputs.
Transaction Fees and Speed
Due to the large block sizes, the Bitcoin SV network claims to theoretically handle more than 50,000 transactions per second. In contrast, Bitcoin’s peak transaction rate is around 7 TPS. This feature allows BSV to finalize transactions almost instantly.
In addition, the Bitcoin SV blockchain network has significantly lower transaction fees, averaging less than $0.01. In contrast, over the past decade, there have been instances where transaction fees on the Bitcoin blockchain have reached double digits for a single transaction.
Block Rewards
After several halving events, the block reward for Bitcoin miners is 6.25 BTC per block. This is the same as that for BSV miners at 6.25 BSV per block.
Even though BSV block sizes are larger, many block-related elements remain the same, such as the SHA-256 hashing algorithm and the halving schedule. Given the price differences, economic incentives from BSV rewards are much lower than BTC rewards. However, the Bitcoin SV protocol is more energy-efficient, thanks to its larger block sizes. They allow it to use less energy and enable a less congested network.
Who is Craig Wright?
Craig Wright (born 1970) is an Australian computer scientist who claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous inventor of Bitcoin. According to Wright, he was involved Bitcoin’s creation, along with his friend and now-deceased computer security expert Dave Kleiman. He made these claims publicly in December 2015, after Wired and Gizmodo published articles suggesting that he might be Nakamoto.
Wright’s claims attracted both interest and skepticism within the Bitcoin community. Some, such as Gavin Andresen, a former director of the Bitcoin Foundation who had corresponded with Nakamoto during the early days of Bitcoin’s development, publicly expressed support for Wright’s claims. Andresen was stating that he was “convinced beyond a reasonable doubt” that Wright was Satoshi. However, many others have remained skeptical, calling for conclusive proof.
By 2021, Andresen himself stated he took back his earlier statement, considering it a mistake.
Wright’s Claim
The case for Wright being Satoshi Nakamoto is mainly built on several pieces of evidence. According to Wired, Wright used the same email address as Satoshi Nakamoto for correspondence. Gizmodo also published emails from Wright where he lobbied for regulatory acceptance of Bitcoin to political figures and government agencies.
Wired magazine and Gizmodo were among the first to suggest that Craig Wright was the creator of Bitcoin, with Wright also claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto on his personal website. Wired based its claim on a variety of evidence, such as cached documents, deleted blog posts on Wright’s website, and emails provided to the editors by Wright’s acquaintances.
Disputes
Despite Craig Wright’s passionate attempts to establish his authorship of Bitcoin, there has been a significant amount of pdoubt. To try to demonstrate his involvement, Wright posted a message on the Bitcoin public blockchain accompanied with a private key, which he claimed would prove that he was the originator of the cryptocurrency. But security expert Dan Kaminsky discovered that the key pointed to a transaction from 2009 which had been signed publicly by Satoshi Nakamoto. This seemed to create an even bigger gap between Wright and Bitcoin’s provenance, furthering scepticism of his claims.
The claims of Wright have drawn scrutiny from critics who have studied more evidence in depth. These experts observed that Wright had PGP keys created in 2009 which associated with Satoshi Nakamoto’s email address. However, Wired and Gizmodo have been heavily criticised by Vice’s Motherboard for such a claim, since PGP keys can be manipulated to point to any email address. Additionally, there are documents from 2013 which suggest that Wright’s company mined bitcoin since 2009. This evidence contradicts claims of Wright himself that he only got into the cryptocurrency space in 2011.
Bitcoin SV Development
Bitcoin SV came as a result of the hard fork of Bitcoin Cash on November 15, 2018. The split happened primarily due to two reasons:
The belief that the scalability enhancements implemented in Bitcoin Cash were not sufficient to meet the increasing demands of Bitcoin
The desire to return to the original design of Bitcoin as outlined in version 0.1 of the Bitcoin protocol
At launch, BSV had a default block size of 128MB, but in July 2019, it underwent a Quasar Protocol Upgrade. This raised the block size to 2GB, which is far larger than the 1MB block size of the original Bitcoin. With this design, the protocol allows for an adjustable block size based on the consensus mechanism of the network. Miners can also choose the size of blocks they want to mine. The aim of this structure is to facilitate faster processing of more transactions, thus generating more transaction fees. This creates an incentive for miners to keep mining new blocks even after block rewards have ceased.
The Bitcoin SV network reports an average of 300 transactions per second. It has a peak capacity of 2,800 transactions per second on its mainnet (as of July 2020). The development team also claims that its Gigabit Testnet (GBTN) can handle up to 5,500 tps due to its unrestricted block size.
In May 2020, the blockchain service provider TAAL processed a block of 369MB on the Bitcoin SV mainnet. It contained 1.3 million BSV transactions. Though it is not yet close to the 2GB limit of Bitcoin SV, it still demonstrates transaction speeds significantly faster than those of both BTC and BCH.
Bitcoin SV FAQ
How does the Bitcoin SV (BSV) network secure itself?
Bitcoin SV (BSV) employs the proof-of-work consensus mechanism introduced by Satoshi Nakamoto in the original Bitcoin white paper. This system requires miners to use their computing power to solve a complicated mathematical puzzle. This way newly submitted transactions are added to the blockchain. The miner who successfully solves this problem first receives the block reward as well as transaction fees. Their block is then added to the chain. As new blocks add upon this mined block, these transactions become increasingly secure and difficult to alter due to the ratification of other nodes in the network. Therefore, Bitcoin SV provides an immutable form of record keeping.
Who founded Bitcoin SV (BSV)?
The BSV node software was developed by blockchain tech company nChain. They continuously released protocol updates to restore the functionality of the original Bitcoin protocol. Currently, nChain manages the Bitcoin SV Infrastructure Team. They’re responsible for continuing to develop the node software and other infrastructure tools for the BSV network.
nChain’s Chief Scientist Craig Wright, who claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto, has been a proponent of BSV since the split between BCH and BSV in 2018. This split triggered as a result of controversial protocol changes proposed by certain BCH developers.
Entrepreneur Calvin Ayre is another vocal advocate for BSV. He frequently seeks investment opportunities in companies and projects built on the BSV blockchain.
Following the split from BCH, a non-profit industry association called the Bitcoin Association established in Switzerland. They support the global growth and adoption of the BSV blockchain and digital currency. The work of the Bitcoin Satoshi’s Vision (BSV) Bitcoin Association’s direction and guidance conducts the Infrastructure Team at nChain.
Where do I buy BSV?
You can buy BSV in any exchange that supports its trading. These are KuCoin, Bittrex, OKX and Gate.io.