Guess the private key, win the bitcoins (puzzle game)

[Jouke]

Check back regularly - there will be hints every couple of days until it goes.

Are the answers of the previous puzzle posted somewhere?

[Cassius]

Not completely. There was a thread where they were discussed and most were guessed: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=560045.0
I guess I could reveal those now since someone has already figured them out, so if you've got any questions about them let me know.

[Jouke]

Not completely. There was a thread where they were discussed and most were guessed: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=560045.0
I guess I could reveal those now since someone has already figured them out, so if you've got any questions about them let me know.

I guess I my answers for "111", "london system" and "50" are wrong.
I was guessing: "3", "D4", "L"

Edit: nevermind, got the answer. Now to solve the current puzzle...

[Cassius]

Not completely. There was a thread where they were discussed and most were guessed: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=560045.0
I guess I could reveal those now since someone has already figured them out, so if you've got any questions about them let me know.

I guess I my answers for "111", "london system" and "50" are wrong.
I was guessing: "3", "D4", "L"

Edit: nevermind, got the answer. Now to solve the current puzzle...

Not bad... should help a bit since a lot of the same principles are re-used. Just an extra layer of abstraction in some cases.

[Cassius]

Bump: New hints posted

[medUSA]

Bump: New hints posted

Thanks Cassius!

I am spending some time on this just for the fun of it. I am not a techie, so need to read up on this base32 minikey format. So, your mini private key is 30 alphanumeric characters long, all capitals but left out:
1 (number one)
I  (capital i)
O (capital O)
0 (number zero)

Is my understanding correct? If so, my guess "Llyswen > south" is A470 must be wrong!

[Cassius]

Bump: New hints posted

Thanks Cassius!

I am spending some time on this just for the fun of it. I am not a techie, so need to read up on this base32 minikey format. So, your mini private key is 30 alphanumeric characters long, all capitals but left out:
1 (number one)
I  (capital i)
O (capital O)
0 (number zero)

Is my understanding correct? If so, my guess "Llyswen > south" is A470 must be wrong!

A few posts back you'll see a discussion about this and the character set used.
Enjoy!
More hints soon.

[zetaray]

This is proving to be a lot more difficult than I previously thought. I need more clues. People who could write brute forcing scrypts will have an edge on this.

[micaman]

So, presumably you are coding a brute force app...
When you've done, I'll be interested to find out how many combinations per second it can guess. That might help me calibrate further puzzles, assuming they use the same principles.

I just made a little script to go from minikey to address to see if my answers were correct. But I am about to give up

Me too... tested over 65k keys but no luck. I've no ideia about that "Salisbury" one, or if those bold clues carry any special meaning.

[jbrnt]

I've no ideia about that "Salisbury" one, or if those bold clues carry any special meaning.

If the clue is about Salisbury in the UK (not sure there is another one elsewhere), the most famous thing there is the Stone Henge. "SH" perhaps?

[micaman]

I've no ideia about that "Salisbury" one, or if those bold clues carry any special meaning.

If the clue is about Salisbury in the UK (not sure there is another one elsewhere), the most famous thing there is the Stone Henge. "SH" perhaps?

I guess it's a possibility... What about "vides", is that even an english word?

[jbrnt]

What about "vides", is that even an english word?

Looks latin to me...
video = i see
vides = you see
videt = he sees
I think the answer could be "UC"

[Jouke]

What about "vides", is that even an english word?

Looks latin to me...
video = i see
vides = you see
videt = he sees
I think the answer could be "UC"

My guess is UC as well. But at the moment I am secondguessing every answer

"spot"?
"vi"? In the previous puzzle Latin numbers were in capital, this one isn't?
("u+m)(u-m)"?
"360'" so 360 minutes is 6Hours or a Quarter Day?
"Salisbury"? Wales, UK?
Holy? "Domitian"?
"Llyswen -> south" Running to the south of Llyswen is the A470, yet zeroes are not allowed.

[zetaray]

I have no clue on "domitian" aswell. Someone suggested using "T" as a substitute for "0" in "A470", sounds valid.

[Cassius]

A couple more hints now available at http://bitscan.com/articles/missing-keys-clue-hints-revealed, including the elusive "..."
More to come in a day or two. Any particular requests?

[medUSA]

But at the moment I am second guessing every answer
"(u+m)(u-m)"?
"360'" so 360 minutes is 6Hours or a Quarter Day?

My pathetic maths tells me (u+m)(u-m) = u²-m², which is called "Difference of Squares".
The grid says the key is 3 characters long, so may be it is "DOS".

I believe it is safe to assume "360" is "6H". "QD" (quarter day) is too many twists for just 2 charactors 

[Cassius]

But at the moment I am second guessing every answer
"(u+m)(u-m)"?
"360'" so 360 minutes is 6Hours or a Quarter Day?

My pathetic maths tells me (u+m)(u-m) = u²-m², which is called "Difference of Squares".
The grid says the key is 3 characters long, so may be it is "DOS".

I believe it is safe to assume "360" is "6H". "QD" (quarter day) is too many twists for just 2 charactors 

I've tried not to make things too abstract. The first version was too easy. It was a bit like the Telegraph's cryptic crossword (which is only going to be meaningful if you're in the UK - though you seem to be, despite the name). This one is a bit more like the Times' crossword from what I can tell (never could get more than one or two clues...). Much the same but an additional layer of abstraction. Multiple twists wouldn't be reasonable.

[Jouke]

including the elusive "..."
More to come in a day or two. Any particular requests?

I had those answers already.

[Jouke]

But at the moment I am second guessing every answer
"(u+m)(u-m)"?
"360'" so 360 minutes is 6Hours or a Quarter Day?

My pathetic maths tells me (u+m)(u-m) = u²-m², which is called "Difference of Squares".
The grid says the key is 3 characters long, so may be it is "DOS".

I believe it is safe to assume "360" is "6H". "QD" (quarter day) is too many twists for just 2 charactors 

DOS -> capital O is not allowed.

[medUSA]

DOS -> capital O is not allowed.

Oh dear, you are right. I keep on forgetting about illegal characters  

Afterthought: Do you think it's worth trying "DFS"??

Yet another afterthought: It just hit me this is fundamental algebra, so "LGB" or "LGR"??