Does The NSA Control Bitcoin (SHA-256)? \ stacker news ~bitcoin

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Does The NSA Control Bitcoin (SHA-256)?youtu.be/pwdV38Ix39E

21 sats \ 4 comments \ @UlfMoby 23 May 2022 bitcoin

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryptocoin 23 May 2022

In this video, I discuss the creation of SHA-256, how it works, and whether it can be used by the NSA to control Bitcoin.

SHA-256, as used in Bitcoin's proof of work, provides a concrete way of proving that a Bitcoin miner "has done the work." There are no shortcuts: a Bitcoin miner must burn electricity and keep guessing numbers until he gets an output with the correct number of zeroes at the beginning.

SHA-256 is perfect for this, since once you know the input, you can easily check it to see if the hashing algorithm spits out the correct hash. But it is difficult to come up with that input in the first place. This asymmetry lies at the heart of Bitcoin's security proposal.

SHA-256 is not a secret or a black box. Further, there is no way that the NSA can use it to control or attack Bitcoin.

11 sats \ 1 reply \ @siggy47 23 May 2022 freebie

Great explanation as usual with your videos. I never understood where this fud came from.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @UlfMoby OP 23 May 2022

Sorry its not my video. I just liked it and found it useful. All cred to the creator of this video. ...but my findings are usually pretty good. =)

1 sat \ 0 replies \ @tomlaies 23 May 2022

SHA-256 is based on the Merkle-Damgard Construction. It is VERY VERY unlikely that it got broken.