Unsolved #Bitcoin Puzzle of the 1000 $BTC Transaction Since 2015: Can You Solve It? / #bitcoinchallenge #bitcoinpuzzle
In 2015, an unknown individual created this puzzle to showcase the vastness of the #Bitcoin private key space. However, it could have been purely for entertainment purposes. The mysterious author chose private keys for Bitcoin in a smaller range than the 256-bit space as specified by #Bitcoin technology. They then sent increasing amounts to addresses corresponding to these private keys.
To this day, this complex challenge continues to captivate the minds of numerous crypto enthusiasts who strive to solve it.
For the 1st transfer, the unknown author takes a random number between 2⁰ and 2¹ — 1 and uses it as the private key to derive a Bitcoin address. They send 0.001 BTC to this Bitcoin address.
For the 2nd transfer, they take a random number between 2¹ and 2² — 1, use it as the private key to generate a corresponding Bitcoin address, and send 0.002 BTC there.
For the 3rd transfer, they take a random number between 2² and 2³ — 1, use it as the private key to generate a corresponding Bitcoin address, and send 0.003 BTC there.
And so on…
For example:
20 bits ≤ random key < 21 bits — 0.021 BTC,
21 bits ≤ random key < 22 bits — 0.022 BTC,
22 bits ≤ random key < 23 bits — 0.023 BTC
…
255 bits ≤ random key < 256 bits — 0.256 BTC
Total: 32.896 BTC
Prize
Total: 988.498 $BTC,
Won: 19.498 $BTC,
Remaining: 969 $BTC.
History
2015: This puzzle was born on January 15, 2015, with a total prize of approximately 32 $BTC.
Here is the ID of the original transaction:
https://www.blockchain.com/explorer/transactions/btc/08389f34c98c606322740c0be6a7125d9860bb8d5cb182c02f98461e5fa6cd15
The Bitcoin Puzzle transaction was created in the blockchain (in block 339085). It contains transfer transactions to 256 different Bitcoin addresses. The amounts transferred in Bitcoin serve as evidence that this transaction is indeed the BTC PUZZLE contest.
At the time of creating this project (January 15, 2015), the Bitcoin exchange rate was $210.56.
2017: On July 11, 2017, the prize pool from the key space range of 2¹⁶¹ to 2²⁵⁶ was moved to addresses with a key space range below 2¹⁶¹. This means that the prizes for key spaces from 2⁵³ to 2¹⁶⁰ increased.
For example, for an address in the 2⁶⁰ key space, the prize is now 0.60 $BTC,
2⁶¹ — 0.61 $BTC,
…
2¹⁶⁰ — 1.60 $BTC, and so on.
From that moment, the total prize value increased from 32 $BTC to over 100 $BTC!
Here is the ID of the original transaction:
https://www.blockchain.com/btc/tx/5d45587cfd1d5b0fb826805541da7d94c61fe432259e68ee26f4a04544384164
Transaction #2 of the Bitcoin Puzzle was created in the blockchain (in block 475240).
May 31, 2019: The unknown author of this puzzle made outgoing transactions totaling 1000 satoshis to addresses #65, #70, #75, #80, #85, #90, #95, #100, #105, #110, #115, #120, #125, #130, #135, #140, #145, #150, #155, #160. This was likely done to compare the difficulty of finding the private key for addresses that received such transfers with addresses that did not receive such transfers.
April 16, 2023: The mysterious creator of the puzzle transferred Bitcoin amounts to the remaining unsolved addresses, increasing the prize fund tenfold to over 988 $BTC. From this point on, for example, the reward value for the key space address 2⁶⁶ is not 0.66 BTC but 6.6 BTC.
As of June 2023, the following addresses have been hacked: #53–65, #70, #75, #80, #85, #90, #95, #100, #105, #110, #115, #120.
People are still attempting to crack address #66, which requires scanning 36,893,488,147,419,103,232 keys.
Legal Aspect
Searching for private keys to this distributed Bitcoin prize fund, which are located at each level of the key space range for this competition, does not violate the law because the author of this puzzle placed these funds specifically for this purpose. The intended purpose of this prize fund is to reward individuals who first obtain the necessary private keys for these designated addresses. Searching for keys is a necessary condition for completing such a task.
What’s the Idea and Intention of the Puzzle’s Author?
The main idea of the unknown author of this puzzle is to test the security of the Bitcoin blockchain technology at different levels of the key space. Searching for private keys to known Bitcoin addresses is a practical demonstration of the complexity and time required to reach a specified level of the key space. The methods used by the crypto community go hand in hand with the development of available technologies in the world, confirming the reliability and security of Bitcoin technology to this day.
Solution
To solve this puzzle, you need to search within a specific Bitcoin private key space, generate the corresponding Bitcoin address for each private key, and check each address for a balance or match with the addresses mentioned in this puzzle.
To automate this process, you can use the following methods or tools:
Use the BitHacker program to generate random private keys, derive Bitcoin addresses from them, and check for matches with the addresses in the unsolved Bitcoin puzzle transaction of 1000 BTC.
Operation of the BitHacker v2 program
https://odysee.com/@topcrypto:d/bithacker:a?r=6p9MVErKG75MkBnDtWe5aProPuc3tycG
https://odysee.com/@topcrypto:d/bithacker:a
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