Amboss on Nostr: This week we shipped 4 interactive explainers on the crypto foundations of Bitcoin ...
This week we shipped 4 interactive explainers on the crypto foundations of Bitcoin and Lightning:
Hash collisions
Every Bitcoin address has an absurd number of valid private keys that can spend it. Collisions are guaranteed… and still impractical to find.
https://drop.amboss.tech/hash-explainer.htmlSignatures: Nonce reuse
Sony lost the PS3 master key because one number got used twice. The same bug drained Bitcoin wallets in 2013.
Run the attack yourself on real secp256k1 — 77 microseconds.
https://drop.amboss.tech/signatures-explainer.htmlWhat the blockchain sees of a Lightning payment
Nothing.
No block. No confirmation. No permanent record. Nobody along the route can take a single sat.
https://drop.amboss.tech/lightning-explainer.htmlSWIFT vs Lightning
In 2016, hackers stole $951M from Bangladesh’s central bank using correctly authenticated SWIFT messages.
SWIFT only carries instructions, which is why international wires still take 1–5 days through correspondent bank hops.
https://drop.amboss.tech/swift-explainer.htmlHappy routing ⚡
Published at
2026-08-14 18:09:17 UTCEvent JSON
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"content": "This week we shipped 4 interactive explainers on the crypto foundations of Bitcoin and Lightning:\n\nHash collisions\nEvery Bitcoin address has an absurd number of valid private keys that can spend it. Collisions are guaranteed… and still impractical to find.\nhttps://drop.amboss.tech/hash-explainer.html\n\nSignatures: Nonce reuse\nSony lost the PS3 master key because one number got used twice. The same bug drained Bitcoin wallets in 2013.\nRun the attack yourself on real secp256k1 — 77 microseconds.\nhttps://drop.amboss.tech/signatures-explainer.html\n\nWhat the blockchain sees of a Lightning payment\nNothing.\nNo block. No confirmation. No permanent record. Nobody along the route can take a single sat.\nhttps://drop.amboss.tech/lightning-explainer.html\n\nSWIFT vs Lightning\nIn 2016, hackers stole $951M from Bangladesh’s central bank using correctly authenticated SWIFT messages.\nSWIFT only carries instructions, which is why international wires still take 1–5 days through correspondent bank hops.\nhttps://drop.amboss.tech/swift-explainer.html\n\nHappy routing ⚡",
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