Bitcoin Forum

Bitcoin has many features that make it the greatest money ever created, but sometimes it’s difficult for non-technical people to understand how to use these features. There are very smart people working on Bitcoin, and I think sometimes they assume coding terms they use everyday should be easy for everyone to understand.

What features do you find difficult to use? Maybe we can help each other understand, or find serious user experience (UX) problems that can be solved.

For example, Bitcoin has a timelock feature that can create a transaction that is impossible to spend until a certain date or block height is reached. You can do this using OP_CHECKLOCKTIMEVERIFY, but it seems most people don’t know how to use this feature or where to even begin.

Some people seemed worried about self-custody and storing their private key or seed phrase securely. Hardware wallets make this easier by requiring a pin or password to access your Bitcoin.

The only thing i can see as a difficult and aquillian task for anyone to implen is anything outside the documentation with the whitepaper protocols and the blockchain concesus as whole, that is why it is believed that bitcoin is limited to only work in accordance to the planned work of Satoshi's research on how to engage it, bitcoin has always served it purpose of creation and in addition to this the bitcoin improvement proposal (bip) is a major implementation that help more in this aspect importantly.

When you say features, without a clear explanation of what you mean, alot of person can misunderstand this, and can maybe misinterpret this to me sending, receiving and storing bitcoin, mining Bitcoin, how to use the bitcoin lighting network, running bitcoin node and so on, all this and many more are bitcoin features I believe, so it did be more easier for readers to understand and contribute to this topic is you will highlight some the features you mean as an example.

What features does Bitcoin have? It is a piece of code that has been deployed on the Blockchain. We only use the send/receive Bitcoin and sign message functions. Actually, I'm not sure what you mean by features. Yes, mining is an important part of Bitcoin, but this is not a feature. Mining is used to secure the Blockchain and ensure transaction success while also mining new Bitcoin. So, please be more specific about what you want to conclude.

I would say the build transaction process is a difficult feature to use, because from the Bitcoin core QT we can't select the inputs and outputs, we can only choose the address to spend the coins and the amount, but with inputs manipulations we could select the right inputs to spend less fees.

We have the option to manipulate those inputs if we build the transaction with bitcoin-cli, but that's by command line and as you mention that's not an option for all.

Thanks for the suggestion. I edited my OP

I've recently proposed this as a service.
 (Basically I've made this same topic) nlocktime as a service practical use case scenarios (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5367964.0)


This can be whipped up in like a day or two but I dont think people will use it.

We strive to specialize in making the unreasonably challenging aspects of bitcoin so easy the retail investor (average joe) can use it
For some reason the people that can make it possible deem it unnecessary due to their paradigm (their perception is assumptive because of their frame of reference and knowledge on the subject) its hard for a programmer to empathize unless the projects born of empathy on said subject. in this situation ntimelock as an easy to use GUI core plugin style thing(whatever it is) will likely be created from a programmer/scrum master that thinks the task is overcomplicated and altruistically creates it or redesigns it as a service. Since there isnt a secure(trustless) way to do it as a service being a 3rd party youll have to wait for it to be done for free and open source.

I have created a GUI for using nLocktime, hence my name BTCapsule. Now I’m looking for new projects to work on. You can check out the source code here:

https://github.com/BTCapsule/BTCapsule

Well we all have our curiosity or what brought us in Bitcoin so I think we would first get used to that before learning more. Some can be investment, others try to get a decentralized financial system, some trading.
Mine was that Bitcoin is the future and I have to be part of it.

I have used Bitcoin in my business, my career and my daily financial activities. I have tried trading and got a hang over it but one aspect I still don't understand is the mining aspect of Bitcoin.

This sounds interesting. I can build Python programs that make RPC calls to Bitcoin Core. When I have time, I will look into this and see what I can come up with.

And again I've proposed it. Automating sendmany with % distribution from core (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5387373)

I think we should probably be working together. Feel free to reach out maybe we have goals that align.

I like the idea, but it would be like building a new user interface for the bitcoin core, as you mention it can be done with RPC calls and we could include some features like a block explorer inside the wallet. That would be awesome.



I just take a look to your thread, and what you are looking for could be done with a bash script.

I would use the -blocknotify option on bitcoin-cli to verify if the address get new coins each block, and in the moment it get the coins then some math to split the income and send them to the different address. If you still interested in that task feel free to send me a personal message and we could negotiate the script price.  ;)

For me, it's the technical side of Bitcoin, like mining Bitcoin, the machine that uses to mine or how to set it up. And addition the addresses or private keys with Bitcoin, which I always keep to see here on the Bitcoin forum from some users, some words like "derived", "keys", etc. And recently, I just discovered that there are different types of Bitcoin transactions, like P2PKH, P2SH, and OP_RETURN.
These are all new to me, and even though I am into coding, this is very difficult to understand for me.

I don’t really understand mining myself. From what I can see, it’s very expensive to set up and continuously run, so that’s beyond anything I can attempt to do.


Correction added at bottom

It can get very confusing. I don’t think I can explain OP_RETURN any better than a Google search, but maybe I can help with addresses and private keys.

Private keys are what allow you to spend bitcoin. It is randomly generated with an encryption algorithm called SHA256. Basically, it’s a long string that is so long and random, there are enough private keys available for everyone millions of times over.

Your public key is "derived" from your private key from an elliptic curve. Imagine a curve on a coordinate plane. That curve is created by your private key, and the points on that curve make up your public key. That public key is then compressed to create your public address (which is what you share with others to get paid).

P2PKH is a type of address called a "legacy address" because it’s oldest Bitcoin address. It’s larger (more bits) than the newer address types (P2WPKH or Bech32) so miner fees cost more but it’s accepted by everyone on the Bitcoin network.

P2WPKH or Bech32 is the newer address type that includes SegWit. Basically, it’s a special address that is lower bits, so the block size doesn’t fill up as quickly.

P2SH is a "scripting" address. It allows you to add things like nLocktime. In other words, it’s a lets you code what conditions you want to pass before the transaction become valid.

That’s probably the best way I can explain it in layman terms.

Download, install a wallet
Get your receiving address
Make your transactions (receiving or sending) is easy

Something is more advanced to understand like: Coin Control features, Change addresses, customize fee rate, multi-sign wallets can be learned and not too difficult.

Lightning Network is more complicated for users because they will learn how to open a channel.

Above all of these, from basic to advanced, people must know that they should verify a wallet before using it. It should be one of very first steps to do when you are a Bitcoin investors and don't want to store your bitcoins at centralized exchanges.

Reminder: do not keep your money in online accounts (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5421039.0)
[GUIDE] How to Safely Download and Verify Electrum (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5240594.0)
A Beginner's guideline to Bitcoin Lightning Network (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5202798.0)
Basics of the Lightning Network (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=4940536.0)

Synchronization and how to broadcast and confirm transactions. All Bitcoin concepts are simple but rarely understood and it is much easier than managing smart contracts.

Generally a few YouTube lectures and you will learn a lot ---------> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJWCJCWOxBYSi5DhCieLOLQ

What most people including me didn’t understand at first, was that all the addresses that people „create“ are basically already there and you yours create a private key and derive the public adress from there.

Technically the problem is not about understanding the feature itself but with the lack of user friendly tool that allows you to use this feature. For example imagine a UI where it asks you to select a date from a calendar and set a time when creating a locked output. You don't need to understand how it works since it would make it user friendly.

That's kind of like spending bitcoin. You don't need to know what each part of that transaction is (version, locktime, outpoint, signature script, etc.) you just enter a destination address and an amount and click send because a user friendly UI exists.

I have created a GUI for timelocking bitcoin. It allows you to easily timelock, while giving you full access to your coins at any time, just in case you change your mind.

You can read about it’s development here:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5420600.0

You should open source everything including the GUI (an easy to use html file that user can just double click to open) not just the class that does the underlying stuff. Something like what https://coinb.in/#newTimeLocked is doing which is completely open source and the user can see and download the source code to run it offline.
Otherwise entering the private key into a website is not secure for many reasons...

In my humble opinion, what i feel many people do not understand is the correct way to store their BTC, between self-custody and keeping it with centralized services. Ftx exchange went bankrupt and was breached too, many people lost their money because they kept it in an online account and not in their custody, but the point here is that many people have their crypto in online accounts. I feel people are yet to trust themselves with self-custody, or some of them think it is very difficult to own your own keys and funds.

Sending or receiving BTC is very easy, but storing it yourself without losing it requires the responsibility of the owner of the funds, it is not too difficult to understand and safer than with centralized services, but people are so used to the conventional banking system and they want to store their crypto like it is fiat, this is what i feel many people have found difficult to understand yet.

This can be different for anyone depending on their knowledge, talking about myself, for me I think I know partly know how things work in blockchain and I know the fundamentals of blockchain so I think I know a bug part of bitcoin basics, also I know the decentralized networks from university and books that's why understanding this decentralized systems won't be hard for me. but on the other hand, the part I don't understand is the encryption systems on bitcoin and how this work with a private key.

Do not think that people who put money on exchanges mean they are having trouble keeping their own assets, simply because they want to make money on exchanges such as trading, buying and selling P2P ...There are many investors who store millions of dollars on FTX who can afford to buy cold wallets or know how to store them safely. A lot of organizations also lose when leaving money on FTX, you think they are sharks but don't know how to keep their assets safe.

From years of being in this industry, there are things that made me hard to understand and one of it is its origin, to how it was created and to how it became listed to many exchanges or basically to how it all started. The known founding father is Satoshi which we do not still know his real identity. The extent of how he is still planning to improve Bitcoin as our technology advances. It is a mixed of curiousity and excitement for this industry in general. All in all, the future of this industry not only Bitcoin is promising. It can be both used as a currency and investment at the same time. And as years are passing by, it is being known by more people in line with adaptation. So for sure there's more to come.

I’m not sure I understand what you mean. BTCapsule is 100% open-source and can be built with Python. It does not require the internet to do anything other than broadcast your redeem script on the Bitcoin network.

BTCapsule is different than coinb.in because it allows the creator of the transactions to redeem their bitcoin at anytime. Coinb.in creates a P2SH address that timelocks your coins and offers you one redeem script.

BTCapsule creates a P2SH address that timelocks your coins and offers you two redeem scripts. One redeem script must wait until the specific date to broadcast the transaction, and the other redeem script has a Locktime of 0 (actually it’s 500000001 because that is the minimum for UNIX timelocks), so it can be redeemed at anytime.

The GUI is built using TKinter and you don’t have to enter your private key. BTCapsule creates two paper wallets, and you just have to send funds to the generated P2SH address. Here is the source code:

https://github.com/BTCapsule/BTCapsule

I am not a programmer so definitely the most difficult to understand is Bitcoin codes.  But even though I don't understand bitcoin source code, I have faith in it 100% because its source code is published publicly and can be verified by any individual who is knowledgeable on that aspect.

Everything else is quite easy to understand, the usage, the wallet setup, the extraction of the private key, and the economic aspect of BTC the dramas, the scandals, and the fiasco the involves BTC.

Try to make some to understand or comprehend the areas you are deriving at. Over to op, the features of Bitcoin can be difficult for you not to understand exactly, will just take place when you are lacking research or investigation concerning cryptocurrency and especially bitcoin. Nothing in the technology of Bitcoin that is not understandable when you devote out time to invest in cryptocurrency.

We did not know, not understand. but it's quite interesting or surprising if that was true. I really thought each address that are shown in the wallet right after we install and access them are freshly generated because there is even a generate new address feature on some wallet where you can replace the old receiving address you have for some reasons including privacy or security.

We all won't understand all these basic features of btc or a btc wallet if we are new to it or not until we play them around but there are really advanced features which are not necessary to learn IMO for a typical person who only wants to buy and sell a btc.

Here is the thing with that, Bitcoin has a hell of a learning curve to the uninitiated, Most people are not even initiated in traditional currencies.
Having some trusted definitive tools that simplify process to retail investors are pretty much so a must have if you want to see continued adoption.
 

There are few major error,
1. Private key usually is generated with secure random number generator. Some people refer it as CSPRNG/CRNG.
2. SHA-256 is hashing algorithm, not encryption algorithm.


FYI, the oldest address type is P2PK (Pay to Public Key).

Thanks, I included your response at the bottom of my reply. I still get a bit confused over all the terms. I've been reading through Mastering Bitcoin, but it will take a while before everything sticks.

Some people think that exchanges are wallet, that they use it to buy, sell, deposit, withdraw and store coins. It is true that exchanges are used for those, but not for storing, they should even see the meaning from the name 'exchange', that it should not be used more than trading, after buying, depositing and converting to a coin of choice, the best is to just send the coin bought or converted to, to a noncustodial wallet.

But some people are traders, which are kind of people that still leave some amount which they are using for day trading on exchanges, which could be the people that are exposed to this risk. But not your key not your coin is very important to take note of.

When you send transactions from other countries easily, this is one of the common use of bitcoins and for me, it is underrated because only a few talk about it. When you are having a hard time sending some money from abroad to your families, you can try bitcoin and it's really convenient to do so assuming the receiving parties do know what they are doing. Also, its usefulness when it comes to payment when you don't have any money at the moment, Bitcoin can really be used as an alternative payment as well.

I believe that everything about bitcoin is difficult to comprehend, but most of the basic elements for self-custody have been updated by hardware wallets to provide everyone with a starting guide and simplicity. Nothing about a personal wallet needs to be complicated; the only thing you need to do is ensure that you properly back up your seed phrase or recovery phrase, and if there is a passphrase, that you have it all backed up and safe.

OP CHECKLOCKTIMEVERIFY opcode is one of the bitcoin scripts, there are others that you are actually running making simple transactions but they aren't visible until you use an explorer to see what kind of script you run and with your private keys or a seed phrase, you can run this script with Bitcoin core smoothly but you must understand how bitcoin scripts work.

What's in front is easy. Usage. It's actually too user-friendly that it becomes easy to understand. Just keep your private keys and no one should know about this. Public keys are the one you are supposed to bring. Sending, receiving, and other basic stuffs are also shallow for those who have basic knowledge about computers to understand.
So, what's difficult?
Yes, the coding stuff/scripts. If an individual didn't educate himself about it, then you can't understand it even if you force yourself.
I let that role be taken care of by specialists like the members here in our forum. Honestly, I will just stay being the consumer/investor.