Bitcoin Quest - a brain twister, by solving it you get bitcoins!

[quest_777]

I’m an artist and journalist who likes to draw, and want to unite two of my great passions: art and bitcoin. That’s where the idea of “Bitcoin Quest” appeared. It’s a competition where I draw pictures with hidden bitcoin wallet seeds in them, and you keep whatever BTC you find. Sound like fun? Try it out and play for keeps!

What’s a seed? It’s that string of 12 or so words many bitcoin wallets use to generate their keys. If you have the seed phrase, you have the wallet, and its BTC. The words to the seed phrases will be hidden in the picture. Find the words, figure out the seeds, check if you’re correct by entering them into a wallet app, and the BTC in them is yours.

There aren’t any words hidden in the picture yet. I’ll add them in later and make an official update.

You’ll be able to see exactly how much money is going into the main prize fund — isn’t Bitcoin’s public ledger great for transparency?
https://blockchain.info/address/1NnAYGJhppSNNeRhRpTgyiKVyacRec8PTf

Alongside the seed competition, an auction will take place to sell the artwork itself.

I welcome you to join this outstanding event!

https://t.me/bitcoinquest2021

Press:
https://bitsonline.com/bitcoin-quest-picture-contest

Russian Bits.Media Forum:
https://forum.bits.media/index.php?/topic/81546-oтгaдывaй-cиды-пoлyчaй-биткoйны-пpизoвoй-фoнд-500-usd/

For participating:

• Please, install the Electrum wallet onto your computer (I do not reccomend you to use a mobile version of the wallet, because it has been created not so long ago and has some performance issues on weak phones);
  
  Create a new Wallet (aka new wallet account) and then write the given SEED on a paper (if this is your first experience with this wallet, don’t worry — you have a chance to learn how to use the SEED and see for yourself their true destination and how they work);
  
  Copy one of the addresses given by the wallet into a separate text file.
  
  For now, this is it. If you experience troubles with this particular wallet, which is highly questionable to happen, please, use search in order to find more info or just don’t hesitate to write your questions to my e-mail.

 Next:

• Press the left mouse button on the quest-picture, which you’ll find within the special page on the quest date, its 26 of April. In the newly opened tab there will be a full-resolution JPG image (just wait for a bit while it loads)
  
  Press the right mouse button on it and choose ”Save picture as…”, your PC will prompt to save the file somewhere on your hard drive;
  
  open the picture using Krita, Photoshop, GIMP, MyPaint and similar ”professional” analogues of such software (you can try other ones but they can be laggy with that large JPGs)
  
  Use zoom (Ctrl + or Ctrl and the mouse wheel) to search for words;
  
  Every first word of every SEED has a ”N1” mark somewhere around;
  
  Every last word of every SEED has a STAR mark somewhere around;
  
  The picture may contain more than 120 words;
  
  By zooming the picture to the appropriate ”depth”, you can observe ”arrows”, they point the direction to where you should look for the next SEED word;
  
  Such arrows can be of a different shape and size, be a part of the surrounding scene or contrast with it;
  
  Some arrows are not so easy to find, so be attentive and patient;
  
  Sometimes other tips are used instead of the arrows. For instance, some words are marked ”X2” which means such word is a part of two separate seeds and you should choose your path carefully.

The amount and the size of the one each prize depends on the quest fund. Anyone can become the sponsor and appear within the quest picture and here on the site.

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[kursexpert]

Our service RatesGuru is general sponsor of this contest.

Good LUUUCK!

[Severos]

I really don't think this is a fair competition to be honest, specially that you've announced it this early.
Why? because someone out there is writing AI code that does character recognition in images and will sweep the whole thing within couple minutes.
Even without it, since you've posted the image without the modifications, it's possible to create a delta-image (difference between 2 images) using the current image and the one after adding characters which will reduce the amount of lookup to do.

Don't get me wrong, the idea is awesome in theory, but in practice it's hard to implement in a fair way.

[quest_777]

Wow man,

Can you please specify this delta image thing? I really want to make everything as honest as possible. I can reward you with MFC currency if you have a wallet for this tip.

[Severos]

Wow man,

Can you please specify this delta image thing? I really want to make everything as honest as possible. I can reward you with MFC currency if you have a wallet for this tip.

I'm not sure they call it delta image in literature, but here's a brief explanation of it:

An image is essentially an array of pixels, each pixel is a vector of numbers that represent the Red/Blue/Green (RBG) components (or any other representation format).
I have the current image that you uploaded without the characters, when you upload the new image, I'll download it and now I have 2 images, subtract the values in each pixel in image 1 from the values of the corresponding pixel in image 2, now you have an image (array of pixels) that contains the difference between the 2 images, so you can see exactly which pixels were modified.
Pixels with low modified values (that can't be distinguished by human eye) can be zeroed out to reduce the "noise" of the image, this results in an image with only pixels that have significant change between the 2 images, all that's needed is to run some algorithm to detect those small characters locations (group of neighbor pixels)
-Drop any group with small number of pixels (ex: drop all groups with less than 9 pixels since you can't possibly write a character with them), so far the user only knows the location of the characters and can inspect them visually to extract the seed. This process can also be automated by simply adding another component that takes those pixel groups and perform character recognition algorithm on it.

That is how I'd go around scripting this contest, but I'm just an amateur in this and have used the naive approach, pretty sure anyone with decent knowledge in image processing can do much better job and explain in better technical details on how this is carried.

However, it's not impossible to defend against those "attacks", I have couple ideas that I'll PM you about (so others won't be prepared for them), as I said I'm not a professional so it's given that my defenses are week and will only stall algorithms. Also, the resulting image will loos some quality (due to changed pixels).

I'm afraid it's the first time I've heard about MFC, I'll make sure to read about it.

[Severos]

Wow man,

Can you please specify this delta image thing? I really want to make everything as honest as possible. I can reward you with MFC currency if you have a wallet for this tip.

Assuming your 12 words in the picture are actually expressed in a way that resembles captchas, Severos concerns - while are plausible and valid - are not likely in this specific scenario so I wouldn't worry too much.  Software would be pretty useless because not only are captcha solvers way less than 100%, they are terrible at finding captcha riddles in the first place in non-discreet contexts.  And I doubt anyone would bring out the big-gun NSA image analyzers for 500$USD of bitcoin.   However, if your words are plain text  then yes - someone with software will be the winner and it will happen minutes after you open it.

The delta thing is simply the technique that would used to shorten any processing time you might try to introduce by changing the image at the last minute.

Hope this helps,

My original concern is about locating the location of characters, reading the characters is then a minor problem that doesn't have to be automated. Even if they're captcha style, once you know the location you can type them in manually.
Kindly see my previous post to see how someone with some simple code (available online) can do this.

[kursexpert]

I'm not sure they call it delta image in literature, but here's a brief explanation of it:

An image is essentially an array of pixels, each pixel is a vector of numbers that represent the Red/Blue/Green (RBG) components (or any other representation format).
I have the current image that you uploaded without the characters, when you upload the new image, I'll download it and now I have 2 images, subtract the values in each pixel in image 1 from the values of the corresponding pixel in image 2, now you have an image (array of pixels) that contains the difference between the 2 images, so you can see exactly which pixels were modified.
Pixels with low modified values (that can't be distinguished by human eye) can be zeroed out to reduce the "noise" of the image, this results in an image with only pixels that have significant change between the 2 images, all that's needed is to run some algorithm to detect those small characters locations (group of neighbor pixels)

You think someone will do this? And what if change colors of the picture?

[jhenfelipe]

If you're concerned with that delta image thing, then don't share the original image anymore and just give the image with seed words on the exact date of the quest. Since you're sharing the original image on the site which is supposedly for the 26th of April, you need to change it with a totally different image (with seeds already) on the 26th so you will not worry if someone prepared about that pixel change.

[Severos]

You think someone will do this? And what if change colors of the picture?

Why wouldn't someone do it? it takes literally 3 lines of code to get the difference image:
-read image1
-read image2
-result = (image1 - image2) > 20
this will result in a binary image (black/white) for all pixels that have difference higher than 20.

As for changing colors, it's a fine solution, if the color transformation is non-linear, otherwise it'll be possible to revert the image back easily.

If you're concerned with that delta image thing, then don't share the original image anymore and just give the image with seed words on the exact date of the quest. Since you're sharing the original image on the site which is supposedly for the 26th of April, you need to change it with a totally different image (with seeds already) on the 26th so you will not worry if someone prepared about that pixel change.

Exactly, the delta image is a valid attack this time only because he shared the original image.

[nc50lc]

There are already words in the picture, were those for misguidance?
An Automated software can't be tricked by that.

You’ll be able to see exactly how much money is going into the main prize fund — isn’t Bitcoin’s public ledger great for transparency?
https://blockchain.info/address/1NnAYGJhppSNNeRhRpTgyiKVyacRec8PTf

Yes but, it's better if you/team can provide a signed message to 1NnAYGJhppSNNeRhRpTgyiKVyacRec8PTf address (for verification purposes).

The painting looks well detailed, someone will pay big bucks for a framed original version of that image, but not me.

[quest_777]

There are already words in the picture, were those for misguidance?
An Automated software can't be tricked by that.

You’ll be able to see exactly how much money is going into the main prize fund — isn’t Bitcoin’s public ledger great for transparency?
https://blockchain.info/address/1NnAYGJhppSNNeRhRpTgyiKVyacRec8PTf

Yes but, it's better if you/team can provide a signed message to 1NnAYGJhppSNNeRhRpTgyiKVyacRec8PTf address (for verification purposes).

The painting looks well detailed, someone will pay big bucks for a framed original version of that image, but not me.

Yes I can sign a message using that address, but why? As for the picture, whats your price?

[darkangel11]

I haven't spent a lot of time on this picture, but I have to say the words are well hidden. 5 min of scanning from side to side and I haven't been able to find a single one (not counting those that are huge or not full English words). I hope that we aren't supposed to use some photoshop filters and such to reveal the text written somewhere in different shades of black.
Anyway, I have to find my early drawings when I was in primary school because I used to draw similar apocalyptic scenes. Of course not as detailed, but the main theme was almost identical.

[nc50lc]

Yes I can sign a message using that address, but why?

Considering that the reward is not escrowed, a signed message can somewhat ease skeptic members's doubts of the legitimacy of your project.

Just add something like this in the OP and you're good.

Code:

-----BEGIN BITCOIN SIGNED MESSAGE-----

-----BEGIN SIGNATURE-----
1NnAYGJhppSNNeRhRpTgyiKVyacRec8PTf

-----END BITCOIN SIGNED MESSAGE-----

[quest_777]

Yes I can sign a message using that address, but why?

Considering that the reward is not escrowed, a signed message can somewhat ease skeptic members's doubts of the legitimacy of your project.

Just add something like this in the OP and you're good.

Code:

-----BEGIN BITCOIN SIGNED MESSAGE-----

-----BEGIN SIGNATURE-----
1NnAYGJhppSNNeRhRpTgyiKVyacRec8PTf

-----END BITCOIN SIGNED MESSAGE-----

Yes Im on it. What is the message I should sign using taht address? This may take up to 12 hrs.

I haven't spent a lot of time on this picture, but I have to say the words are well hidden. 5 min of scanning from side to side and I haven't been able to find a single one (not counting those that are huge or not full English words). I hope that we aren't supposed to use some photoshop filters and such to reveal the text written somewhere in different shades of black.
Anyway, I have to find my early drawings when I was in primary school because I used to draw similar apocalyptic scenes. Of course not as detailed, but the main theme was almost identical.

There are no SEEDs hidden in the main quest pic right now. You can tratin yourself to find some seeds using the old pic from my old quest.

https://bitcoin-quest.com/Bitnovosti2017.jpg

[kursexpert]

Is it possible to do a survey here? Will you participate in the quest?

[kursexpert]

Quest will begin on April 26.

[Wipro]

I have seen some people created the thread on services section on this forum alone like bitcoin quest for merits. Happy to see the website with the btc payment for answering the quest.

I will be waiting the next quest to answer. As you mentioned your last post. I didn't go to your website before that please confirm is there anything I should pay for playing this quest.

[kursexpert]

I have seen some people created the thread on services section on this forum alone like bitcoin quest for merits. Happy to see the website with the btc payment for answering the quest.

I will be waiting the next quest to answer. As you mentioned your last post. I didn't go to your website before that please confirm is there anything I should pay for playing this quest.

Our service paid a prize fund 500 usd. So fee is not required for participation in the quest which will be held on April 26.

[quest_777]

Hey there, chosen ones! Yesterday, 26th of April, we supposed to begin the first Quest where you search my well detailed pictures for the SEED words and obtain coins on the corresponding addresses.

I will not be uploading the Quest picture with the seeds, because I figured out that I need to draw entirely new picture for the Quest to start. I need  some time to make this new picture, so the Quest date has been moved to 15th of May. Also, our partners from Rates.Guru have added additional 100 USD to the prize fund to achieve favour of the public.

Important Updates:

1. Delta image scanning

Thanks to the audience of one of the two Bitcointalk threads dedicated to the Quest I found that one can use image editing software to compare the scan I showed to the public since the beginning of the project on 1st of April, 2018, and the end scan where the SEED words are added. This will obfuscate my measures of hiding the words, allowing few smart persons to easily grab coins while others keep searching in a hardcore manner.

In brief, it works like this:

image 1 minus image 2 = changes (10% or so)

This is the reason Im drawing a new picture which will be shown only on 15th of May. Yay!

2. 750 USD quest fund

However, we got a plenty of very good news, including that we have found an investors and partners from RatesGuru service. They put a total of 600 usd into the quest prize fund, which now equals 750+ usd (it will depend on the Bitcoin price fluctuations, as usual). Rates Guru analysts help us to develop a network of trust within the dominant Bitcoin communities, many thanks to them!

Current prize fund.
https://blockchain.info/address/1NnAYGJhppSNNeRhRpTgyiKVyacRec8PTf

3. Promotion

Till 15th of May, we will extensively promote the Quest. If you want to help, reach out to us with your proposals. We will pay bounties in exclusive pics, inside info and BTC \\ MFC coins - to the authors of the best shock and traffic generating forum topics \\ articles \\ reviews about the Quest.

ENGLISH BTCTALK:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3309853.0

RUSSIAN BTC-TALK:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3313953.0

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3310453.0

BITS.MEDIA
https://forum.bits.media/index.php?/topic/81546-oтгaдывaй-cиды-пoлyчaй-биткoйны-пpизoвoй-фoнд-500-usd/

4. As for now, we've managed to drag attention of around 1000 people from accross the globe to the Quest project. Site age is 1 month. All this without paying to the mainstream outlets for pr.

Bitcoin press article:
https://bitsonline.com/bitcoin-quest-picture-contest/

Thank you guys at Bitsonline for letting me publish the Quest related article with ease and fun!

5. I will be adding new Bitcoin avatars, stickers, wallpapers in near future to the UPDATES section.

6. Soon: a video of me drawing the new quest picture.

[kursexpert]

Quest starting today 18:00 GMT