Reading assignment: Hashing

Blockchain and Bitcoin 101
#2893

  1. SHA 256

  2. There is no way to tell what the original data was so one would have to randomly guess. It would take a a lifetime to guess enough times to get the correct result.

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#2894

  1. What is the hashing algorithm called used in Bitcoin?
    Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) named SHA-256

  2. Why is this hashing algorithm really hard (almost impossible) to brute-force?
    Every hash algorithm has distinct features, these algorithms can only be solved to find the ultimate hash output which is guaranteed through intricate mathematical equations which do not allow the reversal of a new hash. Therefore, a Bitcoin hash is only solved in a linear, unidirectional manner.

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#2895

1 - SHA-256
2 - The algorithm requires miners to hash a given block’s header. The miners will have to guess a specific number between 0-256 to be able to add the block to the blockchain and receive the rewards for doing so. However, the figure the miner obtains has to be below the target value, otherwise the hash of the block will change and the miners will have to repeat the process over again until they obtain a figure below the target. With an abundance of possible outcomes this process requires an incredible amount of computational power as the chances of success are very low. The level of difficulty is assessed every 2 weeks to determine whether or not 1 block is added to the blockchain every 10 minutes; this is one of the core principles that is built into the bitcoin blockchain.

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#2896

  1. What is the hashing algorithm called used in Bitcoin? The hashing algorithm used in Bitcoin is called SHA 256

  2. Why is this hashing algorithm really hard (almost impossible) to brute-force? because with the slightest change in the block will have a different output and also cost more money to brute force than it is worth

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#2897
  1. What is the hashing algorithm called used in Bitcoin?
    SHA-256 as developed by the NSA.
  2. Why is this hashing algorithm really hard (almost impossible) to brute-force?
    The best analogy is blending food. It is a one way process, you can have the items separate and identified before the blend, but if you start with the blended product, you cannot reverse blend and return to the individual items.
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#2898
  1. SHA-256
  2. It’ to difficult to get the same input.
2 Likes
#2899

  1. What is the hashing algorithm called used in Bitcoin?

  2. Why is this hashing algorithm really hard (almost impossible) to brute-force?

  3. SHA-256

  4. Because if you change anything of the input the output will be completley different. Because of this it is allmost impossible to reverse engeneer what the input was.

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#2900

SHA256 works just fine without miners. The only reason its hard to brute force is because of the sheer number of possible outputs. :slight_smile:

#2901

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  1. What is the hashing algorithm called used in Bitcoin?
    SHA256

  2. possibilities to get the same results are extremely unlikely

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#2902

  1. The algorithm bitcoin uses is called SHA-256 which was developed by the N.S.A

  2. The hash cannot be reversed and so it would take someone a lifetime to find the exact 2 pieces of data to come up with the same hash. So it would be impossible for someone to perform a brute force attack

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#2903
  1. SHA-256
  2. Because each hash provides a random number between 0 and 256. And, the output needs to be lower or equal to the target. Hence it take a lot computing power to match the condition.
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#2904

Answers:

  1. SHA-256 (Secure Hash Algorithm);
  2. Computing the hash (a random value between zero and a max 256K alphanumeric digit value) is difficult as it’s basically a lottery, where a miner must compute a hash result lower than a target hash value that is based on a block’s header (i.e. called the nonce). This means the miner must make numerous trial and error attempt to determine a hash below the target in order to win the lottery, which has a low probability of success. Additionally, as more mining computer power is added to the Bitcoin network the algorithm’s difficulty adjusts to generally produce one block every 10 minutes.
1 Like
#2905

  1. The hashing algorithm used in Bitcoin is SHA-256 or Secure Hash Algorithm.

  2. The hashing algorithm is difficult to break by brute force because of the many possibilities of computations that exist for the input as well as the output.

1 Like
#2906
  1. What is the hashing algorithm called used in Bitcoin?

Bitcoin uses the Secure Hash Algorithm - 256 (bit).

  1. Why is this hashing algorithm really hard (almost impossible) to brute-force?

This algorithm is (nearly) impossible to brute-force since these algorithms have characteristics that make them difficult to “guess” right. For example, every bit in the output is dependent on every bit of the input. This means that you not only have to find which operations have been done, but you also have to determine what the exact input should be. There are more of these mechanics used to drastically increase the irreversibility of the hashing algorithm.

3 Likes
#2907

Thank you for your input, I appreciate the advice :slightly_smiling_face: :+1:

#2908
  1. SHA-256.
  2. the amount of time and computation power it would take makes the algorithm nearly impossible to brute force
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#2909
  1. SHA-256 (256-bit Secure Hash Algorithm)
  2. In order to process transaction, you need to input a number into the SHA-256 algoritm. If the result meets certain requirements you successfuly mined the block. However you need to brute force this, since it is completely random every time. It is really hard because the possible numbers is any 256-digit number which gives us (10+count of all letters)^256 possibilites and a relatively small ammount of correct numbers.
2 Likes
#2910

1. What is the hashing algorithm called used in Bitcoin?
SHA-256 Secure Hash Algorithm

  1. Why is this hashing algorithm really hard (almost impossible) to brute-force?
    Because it is only solved in a linear, unidirectional manner. Change even the slightest comma or space, and the hash output will be completely different.
1 Like
#2911

Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA-256)

The algorithms cannot be reversed to calculate the initial raw data.

1 Like
#2912
  1. What is the hashing algorithm called used in Bitcoin?

SECURE Hashing Algorithm.

  1. Why is this hashing algorithm really hard (almost impossible) to brute-force?

Once the data is inputted into the Alphanumeric code - it cannot be undone.

1 Like