Maybe a really nice background thing to read are the first few paragraphs from Satoshi's [citation number 2](https://cdn.nakamotoinstitute.org/docs/secure-timestamping-service.pdf) in the whitepaper.

Not only is that what inspired using Merkle Trees for integrity and rolling up hashes, it also describes an early idea of what now is OpenTimestamps.

optimism

) my wrong-headed thinking has been set right. There is much to learn.

bitcoin

bitcoin_beginners

Are we all running SPV nodes?

Scoresby

# The answer is: No, `assumevalid` does NOT equal SPV security

Thanks to the patient answers from @optimisim (https://stacker.news/items/1457132/r/Scoresby?commentId=1457498) and @Murch (https://stacker.news/items/1457132/r/Scoresby?commentId=1457342) my wrong-headed thinking has been set right. There is much to learn.

The answer is: No, assumevalid does NOT equal SPV securityThe answer is: No, assumevalid does NOT equal SPV security

The answer is: No, assumevalid does NOT equal SPV securityThe answer is: No, `assumevalid` does NOT equal SPV security