Bitcoin Whitepaper Series

Satoshi Nakamoto's nine-page document didn't just propose a new form of money—it redefined digital trust itself. This educational path offers a deep, structured exploration of "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System", examining Bitcoin as a coherent, interlocking system: a network architecture, incentive mechanism, and economic protocol designed to eliminate the need for central intermediaries.

Each of the thirteen courses (covering the Abstract plus the twelve sections of the whitepaper) guides learners from the core problem Satoshi set out to solve—double spending without a trusted third party—to the complete system design that ensures integrity, security, and consensus at global scale.

What You'll Discover

• System Design Blueprint: Understand Bitcoin as a complete engineering solution, where cryptography, game theory, and network topology converge to create trustless electronic cash

• From Problem to Solution: Trace the logical progression of Satoshi's argument—from defining electronic payments and proof-of-work to introducing timestamp servers, block chains, and incentive structures that secure the system

• Economic Incentives as Security: Discover how rational, self-interested behavior by network participants ensures consensus and protects the system from attack, replacing institutional trust with verifiable computation

• Data Integrity through Proofs: Learn how hashing, Merkle Trees, and simplified payment verification (SPV) make verification efficient without sacrificing transparency or security

• Scalability and Realism: Explore Satoshi's pragmatic approach to scaling—balancing network performance, disk space, and user verification—and how these principles continue to guide the BSV blockchain implementation today

• A Philosophy of Trust Minimization: See Bitcoin not only as software, but as a socio-technical contract: one that transforms the foundation of digital cooperation, property, and authority

Why This Matters

This series provides systematic and faithful interpretation of the whitepaper as a primary source, bridging computer science, cryptography, and institutional economics. You'll develop the ability to read and interpret the whitepaper critically—understanding how each section contributes to a unified vision of scalable, peer-to-peer electronic cash.

Learning Journey

Course 1: Bitcoin Whitepaper Abstract

Course 2: Section 1, Introduction

Course 3: Section 2, Transactions

Course 4: Section 3, Timestamp Server

Course 5: Section 4, Proof-of-Work

Course 6: Section 5, Network

Course 7: Section 6, Incentive

Course 8: Section 7, Reclaiming Disk Space

Course 9: Section 8, Simplified Payment Verification

Course 10: Section 9, Combining and Splitting Value

Course 11: Section 10, Privacy

Course 12: Section 11, Calculations

Course 13: Section 12, Conclusion

Designed For

This path serves multiple audiences:

• Developers – Gain a section-by-section understanding of the whitepaper's architecture, enabling accurate implementation of Bitcoin's core logic

• Researchers and Academics – Access a systematic and faithful interpretation of the whitepaper as a primary source, bridging computer science, cryptography, and institutional economics

• Educators – Receive modular teaching content that can be used independently or sequentially to introduce Bitcoin's foundational principles in technical or interdisciplinary courses

• Students and Professionals – Develop the ability to read and interpret the whitepaper critically—understanding how each section contributes to a unified vision of scalable, peer-to-peer electronic cash

In essence, this path equips learners to see Bitcoin as a complete system where every component serves a purpose in creating trustless, scalable electronic cash.

Once you complete the path with a score of 80% or more, you'll earn a Certificate of Completion to recognize your achievement.