The impossible task: can you send a Satoshi to each Bitcoin address?
In 2020, the cryptographic community broke out the emotion, while Ethereum succeeded in the transition from evidence of labor evidence (POW) to an implementation test model (POS). However, a question has persisted in the minds of many: can you send a Satoshi to each Bitcoin address?
The new post consensus of Ethereum is an interesting development, since it allows validators to ensure the network marking their own cryptocurrencies instead of having the energy operation process. However, this change does not automatically send a small amount of cryptocurrency as a satoshi (0.0001 BTC) in each Bitcoin address that exist.
The Bitcoin address database
To address this question, we must understand how the Bitcoin network is directed. There are more than 6 million unique directions in the block chain, each associated with a private key and a specific public address. These addresses can be considered “addresses that have been used.”
In Bitcoin, new addresses are generated by attracting the user’s private key, which is then added at the end of the previous hash. This process continues as long as a new address cannot be created. However, there is an additional layer of complexity: Bitcoins trees.
The Merkle tree
A Merkle tree is a data structure that allows effective storage and recovery of Hades. Each address is measured once, then several hashs are generated by taking the hash of each intermediate hatch (called “leaf” hash). This process creates a tree -shaped structure where each node represents a cut.
Bitcoin-Merkle Trees store the entire Bitcoin block chain in a way that allows rapid investigation and effective storage. During the generation of new directions, the Merkle tree is updated by adding the new private key to its hashs of the corresponding leaves.
Send a Satoshi to each address
Assuming that there is an infinite number of satoshis available, it is theoretically possible to send a Satoshi to each Bitcoin address using the Ethereum Pos model. However, there are several challenges and complexities that make this task not very practical:
- Network capacity : The Bitcoin Network has a finite capacity for transactions and the creation of blocks. The sending of a Satoshi to each direction would require a large amount of energy and calculation energy, far exceeding the current limits.
- Transaction costs
: As mentioned, transaction costs can be extremely high due to the complexity of the Ethereum block chain and the need for confirmation time stairs. It is difficult to justify the sending of a small amount, such as a Satoshi in each direction.
- Limitations of block size : The size of the block block in the bitcoin network (1 MB) restricts the number of transactions that can be integrated into a single block. The sending of a Satoshi in each direction would require thousands of blocks, each with billions of transactions.
ESTIMATION OF THE DIRECTIONS NUMBER
To have an idea of the number of addresses, we must consider the total number of unique addresses created since the first block was operated in 2009:
- Bitcoin has existed for more than 13 years.
- Each new address is generated by attracting a private key.
- With around 6 million unique directions in the block chain and an approximate estimate that 10% of them are created recently per year (conservative hypothesis), we can extrapolar:
6,000,000 addresses \ * 0.1 new addresses / year = 600,000 new addresses / month
600,000 new addresses / month \ * 12 months / year ≈ 7,200,000 unique addresses
Conclusion
Although theoretically it is possible to send a Satoshi to each Bitcoin address using the Ethereum Pos model, the task scale is not practical and would require a lot of energy and calculation energy.