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Bitcoin Basics and Cryptography Flashcards

7 cards from real CBP practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

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  1. What is the role of RIPEMD-160 in creating a Bitcoin address?

    Answer: It hashes the SHA-256 output of a public key to produce a 160-bit address payload

    RIPEMD-160 is applied to the SHA-256 hash of a public key, producing a 20-byte hash used as the core of a Bitcoin address.

  2. What is a Merkle tree used for in a Bitcoin block?

    Answer: To efficiently summarize and verify all transactions in a block with a single root hash

    The Merkle tree hashes pairs of transactions recursively until one Merkle root hash represents all transactions, enabling efficient and tamper-evident verification.

  3. What is 'double spending' and how does Bitcoin prevent it?

    Answer: Spending the same bitcoins twice; prevented by the blockchain's timestamped consensus ordering transactions

    Double spending means using the same coins in two transactions; Bitcoin's blockchain consensus ensures only the first confirmed transaction is valid.

  4. What is the significance of the 'nonce' field in a Bitcoin block header?

    Answer: Miners increment it to change the block hash until it meets the difficulty target

    The 32-bit nonce is iterated by miners during proof-of-work to find a block hash below the current difficulty target.

  5. What does Base58Check encoding provide over standard Base58 in Bitcoin addresses?

    Answer: An embedded checksum that detects transcription errors

    Base58Check appends a 4-byte checksum (double SHA-256) to the payload before encoding, allowing wallets to detect mistyped addresses.

  6. In the context of Bitcoin, what is a 'peer-to-peer network'?

    Answer: A decentralized network where nodes communicate directly without a central server

    Bitcoin's P2P network allows any node to connect directly to other nodes, broadcast transactions, and download the blockchain without a central coordinator.

  7. What is the primary function of a Bitcoin full node?

    Answer: To independently validate every transaction and block against all consensus rules

    A full node downloads and validates the entire blockchain, enforcing all consensus rules without trusting any other party.