比特币：点对点货币的开源实现
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- Satoshi Nakamoto Institute
- Internet Archive — P2P Foundation 原始线程的早期快照
我开发了一个新的开源 P2P 电子现金系统，叫作比特币。它完全去中心化，没有中央服务器或可信方，因为一切都建立在密码学证明而非信任之上。试试看，或者看看截图和设计论文：
在 http://www.bitcoin.org 下载比特币 v0.1
传统货币的根本问题是其运行所需的全部信任。中央银行必须被信任不会让货币贬值，但法定货币的历史充满了对这种信任的破坏。银行必须被信任来保管我们的钱并以电子方式转账，但它们只保留极少的储备，就把钱借出去，形成一轮轮信贷泡沫。我们必须信任它们保护我们的隐私，信任它们不让身份窃贼掏空我们的账户。它们巨大的运营成本使小额支付变得不可能。
一代人以前，多用户分时计算机系统也有类似问题。在强加密出现以前，用户必须依靠密码保护来保障文件安全，信任系统管理员维护信息的隐私。管理员总可以根据权衡隐私原则与其他顾虑后的判断，或按照上级要求，覆盖隐私保护。后来强加密向大众普及，信任便不再是必需的。数据可以用一种物理上不可能被他人访问的方式加以保护，无论理由是什么，无论借口多么充分，都无法访问。
是时候让金钱也拥有同样的东西了。以密码学证明为基础的电子货币不需要信任第三方中间人，就能让资金安全、交易轻松完成。
这类系统的基本构件之一是数字签名。一枚数字货币包含其所有者的公钥。要转移它，所有者将这枚货币与下一位所有者的公钥一起签名。任何人都可以检查签名，以验证所有权链。它能很好地保障所有权，却留下了一个尚未解决的大问题：双重支付。任何所有者都可以再次为已经花掉的货币签名，把它支付给另一位所有者。通常的解决方案是由一家拥有中央数据库的可信公司检查双重支付，但这又回到了信任模型。在其中心位置上，公司可以凌驾于用户之上，而维持公司的费用又使小额支付变得不切实际。
比特币的解决方案是使用点对点网络检查双重支付。简单来说，网络像一个分布式时间戳服务器，为第一笔花费某枚货币的交易盖上时间戳。它利用了信息易于传播却难以压制这一性质。关于其工作方式的详情，请参阅设计论文：http://www.bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf
结果是一个没有单点故障的分布式系统。用户持有自己资金的密码学密钥，并彼此直接交易，由 P2P 网络协助检查双重支付。
英文原文
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I've developed a new open source P2P e-cash system called Bitcoin. It's completely decentralized, with no central server or trusted parties, because everything is based on crypto proof instead of trust. Give it a try, or take a look at the screenshots and design paper:
Download Bitcoin v0.1 at http://www.bitcoin.org
The root problem with conventional currency is all the trust that's required to make it work. The central bank must be trusted not to debase the currency, but the history of fiat currencies is full of breaches of that trust. Banks must be trusted to hold our money and transfer it electronically, but they lend it out in waves of credit bubbles with barely a fraction in reserve. We have to trust them with our privacy, trust them not to let identity thieves drain our accounts. Their massive overhead costs make micropayments impossible.
A generation ago, multi-user time-sharing computer systems had a similar problem. Before strong encryption, users had to rely on password protection to secure their files, placing trust in the system administrator to keep their information private. Privacy could always be overridden by the admin based on his judgment call weighing the principle of privacy against other concerns, or at the behest of his superiors. Then strong encryption became available to the masses, and trust was no longer required. Data could be secured in a way that was physically impossible for others to access, no matter for what reason, no matter how good the excuse, no matter what.
It's time we had the same thing for money. With e-currency based on cryptographic proof, without the need to trust a third party middleman, money can be secure and transactions effortless.
One of the fundamental building blocks for such a system is digital signatures. A digital coin contains the public key of its owner. To transfer it, the owner signs the coin together with the public key of the next owner. Anyone can check the signatures to verify the chain of ownership. It works well to secure ownership, but leaves one big problem unsolved: double-spending. Any owner could try to re-spend an already spent coin by signing it again to another owner. The usual solution is for a trusted company with a central database to check for double-spending, but that just gets back to the trust model. In its central position, the company can override the users, and the fees needed to support the company make micropayments impractical.
Bitcoin's solution is to use a peer-to-peer network to check for double-spending. In a nutshell, the network works like a distributed timestamp server, stamping the first transaction to spend a coin. It takes advantage of the nature of information being easy to spread but hard to stifle. For details on how it works, see the design paper at http://www.bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf
The result is a distributed system with no single point of failure. Users hold the crypto keys to their own money and transact directly with each other, with the help of the P2P network to check for double-spending.
Satoshi Nakamoto http://www.bitcoin.org