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Hugo Nguyen
Hugo Nguyen

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Nov 24, 2021

Bitcoin and the Dunbar Limit

Disclaimer: This essay contains my personal opinions and deductions. When it comes to cryptocurrencies, my main interest lies in Bitcoin, not “blockchains”. The blockchain hype has been blown so out of proportions in the last few years that it immediately brings to mind the fresh memory of the Dotcom era…

Bitcoin

16 min read

Bitcoin and the Dunbar Limit
Bitcoin and the Dunbar Limit
Bitcoin

16 min read


Oct 31, 2020

Introducing Nunchuk: Multisig Made Easy

Bitcoin, year 12. Alice: This year sucks. You know what’s almost as bad as 2020? Bob: Yeah? Alice: Multisig is still scary. Nunchuk: Hold my beer. It’s somewhat ironic that for a technology that reveres decentralization as its central operating principle, Bitcoin still heavily relies on single point of failure…

Bitcoin

4 min read

Introducing Nunchuk: Multisig Made Easy
Introducing Nunchuk: Multisig Made Easy
Bitcoin

4 min read


Jan 16, 2019

Why Ethereum Architecture is Flawed

In its 3+ years of existence, Ethereum has had no shortage of controversies. From the DAO hack, to the long-anticipated transition to Proof-of-Stake, to the Constantinople upgrade that reduces mining reward and changes the inflation schedule on-the-fly (not that Ethereum had a clear one to begin with). Ethereum’s culture seems…

Blockchain

5 min read

Why Ethereum Architecture is Flawed
Why Ethereum Architecture is Flawed
Blockchain

5 min read


Jan 3, 2019

Bitcoin: Two Parts Math, One Part Biology

“The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks” Ten years ago today Satoshi Nakamoto immortalized these words by embedding them in Bitcoin’s very first block — the genesis block. …

Bitcoin

5 min read

Bitcoin: Two Parts Math, One Part Biology
Bitcoin: Two Parts Math, One Part Biology
Bitcoin

5 min read


Dec 24, 2018

Bitcoin’s Incentive Scheme and the Rational Individual

Unlike Proof-of-Work and Public-Key Cryptography, the third component of Bitcoin is not based on math, but human behavior. Specifically, Bitcoin relies on a system of financial incentives and people chasing these incentives to sustain itself. That sounds a bit scary, and a sharp shift from the strong mathematical foundation that…

Bitcoin

10 min read

Bitcoin’s Incentive Scheme and the Rational Individual
Bitcoin’s Incentive Scheme and the Rational Individual
Bitcoin

10 min read


Nov 27, 2018

How Cryptography Redefines Private Property

Cryptography is the art of protecting and breaking secrets. Bitcoin employs a special type of cryptography, called public-key cryptography, in order to facilitate its system of storing and transferring of value. It is through this mechanism that Alice can keep her bitcoins secure or send some of them to Bob…

Bitcoin

11 min read

How Cryptography Redefines Private Property
How Cryptography Redefines Private Property
Bitcoin

11 min read


Oct 12, 2018

Work is Timeless, Stake is Not

Much has been written about Proof-of-Stake (PoS). There are many ways to slice and dice PoS and uncover its weaknesses. Mainly: Evolutionary Psychology/History: “Collectibles” or “proto-money” in history all had one thing in common, unforgeable costliness [1] — or at least unforgeable costliness in the context of their times. From…

Blockchain

6 min read

Work is Timeless, Stake is Not
Work is Timeless, Stake is Not
Blockchain

6 min read


Oct 3, 2018

Code Reusability vs. Accidental Commonness

One of the nastiest, consensus-critical bugs (CVE-2018–17144) has been recently discovered in the Bitcoin Core software, which prior to that point had an almost immaculate history. Jimmy Song has written an excellent breakdown of this bug. The short summary of the bug is that there are 4 cases where the…

Software Development

3 min read

Code Reusability vs. Accidental Commonness
Code Reusability vs. Accidental Commonness
Software Development

3 min read


Sep 28, 2018

Feedback Loop vs. Circular Reasoning

Feedback loop and circular reasoning fallacy are highly common, but they involve very different types of circularity. Feedback loop: action induces further action, but the extra action also requires work, it doesn’t come from thin air. Feedback loops typically weaken and end by themselves, although they can last longer as…

Bitcoin

2 min read

Feedback Loop vs. Circular Reasoning
Feedback Loop vs. Circular Reasoning
Bitcoin

2 min read


Aug 25, 2018

Bitcoin, Chance and Randomness

Randomness forms the cornerstone of Bitcoin’s Proof-of-Work (PoW). But how did we get here? A brief history of the study of randomness [1] Randomness has always been an essential part of life. Many ancient divination rituals were based on chance: the tossing of astragali (animal knucklebones) by the Greeks, Kau Cim sticks by the Chinese, Opele chain by West…

Bitcoin

8 min read

Bitcoin, Chance and Randomness
Bitcoin, Chance and Randomness
Bitcoin

8 min read

Hugo Nguyen

Hugo Nguyen

1.8K Followers

https://twitter.com/hugohanoi

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