Bitcoin Value Overflow 184 Billion Minting Incident - Revision history

Azoundria: Completing quote from Satoshi. 30 minutes were spent previously to update the article timeline and incorporate more information.

2024-10-03T18:11:56Z

Completing quote from Satoshi. 30 minutes were spent previously to update the article timeline and incorporate more information.

@@ Line 34: / Line 34: @@
 |Pre-Fork Block 74639 Mined
 |The pre-fork block 74,639 is mined<ref>[https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=822.msg10332#msg10332 mizerydearia - "Block 74639 had timestamp of 1281892233" - BitcoinTalk] (Accessed Sep 30, 2024)</ref>. This adds to the pre-fork chain, which makes it longer. Anyone using the original bitcoin mining algorithm would pick this up as the valid chain.
 |-
 |August 15th, 2010 12:08:49 PM MDT
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 |-
 |August 15th, 2010 2:39:42 PM MDT
-|Gavin Andresen Interim Fix
+|Gavin Andresen Provides Fix
-|Gavin Andresen shares the source code for an interim fix, which appears to reject the transaction and
+|Gavin Andresen shares the source code for an interim fix, which appears to reject the transaction and continue to allow the bitcoin blockchain to operate starting from block 74,637<ref>[https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=823.msg9524#msg9524 Gavin Andresen - "Until there is a better fix... after a very small amount of testing this seems to work" - BitcoinTalk] (Accessed Oct 1, 2024)</ref>.
 |}
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 == Ultimate Outcome ==
 "A soft fork is a blockchain update. Since the Bitcoin community forked the state of the blockchain before the 184 billion Bitcoin was mined, that means that some blocks that were previously valid were turned into invalid blocks, removing them from the blockchain and restoring it to an earlier state."

Azoundria: COMPLETE 30 + 30 minutes. Adding lots of information into the timeline. Reformatting the about section. Clarification and ultimate promotion in Reddit.

2024-09-30T18:28:22Z

COMPLETE 30 + 30 minutes. Adding lots of information into the timeline. Reformatting the about section. Clarification and ultimate promotion in Reddit.

Show changes

Azoundria: Two more sources, to confirm the date of August 15th.

2024-09-20T00:58:38Z

Two more sources, to confirm the date of August 15th.

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:58, 19 September 2024
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	[[File:Bitcointalk.jpg\|thumb\|Bitcoin Talk Forum]]In August 2010, Bitcoin's source code was exploited by an anonymous individual, resulting in the creation of an enormous amount of Bitcoin in block 74,638—specifically 184,467,440,737.09551616 Bitcoin, distributed to two addresses. Bitcoin developer Jeff Garzik noticed this anomaly and termed it an "overflow bug," where the code failed to check transactions if outputs overflowed during summation. This prompt action preserved Bitcoin's value and prevented potential devaluation caused by the exploit. The incident didn't impact Bitcoin's price negatively; in fact, its value increased over 300% from $0.07 to $0.30 between the patch and year-end 2010. Satoshi's quick intervention demonstrated Bitcoin's resilience and bolstered confidence in the concept.		[[File:Bitcointalk.jpg\|thumb\|Bitcoin Talk Forum]]In August 2010, Bitcoin's source code was exploited by an anonymous individual, resulting in the creation of an enormous amount of Bitcoin in block 74,638—specifically 184,467,440,737.09551616 Bitcoin, distributed to two addresses. Bitcoin developer Jeff Garzik noticed this anomaly and termed it an "overflow bug," where the code failed to check transactions if outputs overflowed during summation. This prompt action preserved Bitcoin's value and prevented potential devaluation caused by the exploit. The incident didn't impact Bitcoin's price negatively; in fact, its value increased over 300% from $0.07 to $0.30 between the patch and year-end 2010. Satoshi's quick intervention demonstrated Bitcoin's resilience and bolstered confidence in the concept.

	This is a global/international case not involving a specific country.<ref name="newsletter-11414" /><ref name="decrypt-11431" /><ref name="newsletterarchive-11417" /><ref name="lopptwitter-11432" />		This is a global/international case not involving a specific country.<ref name="newsletter-11414" /><ref name="decrypt-11431" /><ref name="newsletterarchive-11417" /><ref name="lopptwitter-11432" /><ref>https://www.blockchain.com/explorer/blocks/btc/000000000069e1affe7161ab4bcbeacebb4ddf155b50e807f42de971b688a09b</ref><ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/16z0dqh/bitcoin_block_74638_was_mined_in_2010_this_block/</ref>

	== About Bitcoin ==		== About Bitcoin ==

Azoundria: Created page with "{{Imported Case Study|source=https://www.quadrigainitiative.com/casestudy/bitcoinvalueoverflow184billionmintingincident.php}} {{Unattributed Sources}} Bitcoin Talk ForumIn August 2010, Bitcoin's source code was exploited by an anonymous individual, resulting in the creation of an enormous amount of Bitcoin in block 74,638—specifically 184,467,440,737.09551616 Bitcoin, distributed to two addresses. Bitcoin developer Jeff Garzik noticed th..."

2023-08-20T18:24:48Z

Created page with "{{Imported Case Study|source=https://www.quadrigainitiative.com/casestudy/bitcoinvalueoverflow184billionmintingincident.php}} {{Unattributed Sources}} thumb|Bitcoin Talk ForumIn August 2010, Bitcoin's source code was exploited by an anonymous individual, resulting in the creation of an enormous amount of Bitcoin in block 74,638—specifically 184,467,440,737.09551616 Bitcoin, distributed to two addresses. Bitcoin developer Jeff Garzik noticed th..."

New page

{{Imported Case Study|source=https://www.quadrigainitiative.com/casestudy/bitcoinvalueoverflow184billionmintingincident.php}}
{{Unattributed Sources}}

[[File:Bitcointalk.jpg|thumb|Bitcoin Talk Forum]]In August 2010, Bitcoin's source code was exploited by an anonymous individual, resulting in the creation of an enormous amount of Bitcoin in block 74,638—specifically 184,467,440,737.09551616 Bitcoin, distributed to two addresses. Bitcoin developer Jeff Garzik noticed this anomaly and termed it an "overflow bug," where the code failed to check transactions if outputs overflowed during summation. This prompt action preserved Bitcoin's value and prevented potential devaluation caused by the exploit. The incident didn't impact Bitcoin's price negatively; in fact, its value increased over 300% from $0.07 to $0.30 between the patch and year-end 2010. Satoshi's quick intervention demonstrated Bitcoin's resilience and bolstered confidence in the concept.

This is a global/international case not involving a specific country.<ref name="newsletter-11414" /><ref name="decrypt-11431" /><ref name="newsletterarchive-11417" /><ref name="lopptwitter-11432" />

== About Bitcoin ==
"In August 2010, Bitcoin’s source code was exploited by someone who to this day remains anonymous. Enter block 74,638, the fateful block that created 184,467,440,737.09551616 Bitcoin, with two addresses receiving just over 92 billion Bitcoin each—92,233,720,368, to be specific."

"The anomaly was quickly spotted on the Bitcoin Talk forum by Jeff Garzik, a Bitcoin developer who today is the CEO of Bloq. The issue was termed an “overflow bug”; the code for checking Bitcoin transactions didn't work if outputs were large enough that they overflowed when summed."

"The bug that caused the "value overflow incident" was corrected very quickly. It took just five hours before a “soft fork” was rolled out, which reset the Bitcoin blockchain to before the bugged block and included code to reject output value overflow transactions."

"A soft fork is a blockchain update. Since the Bitcoin community forked the state of the blockchain before the 184 billion Bitcoin was mined, that means that some blocks that were previously valid were turned into invalid blocks, removing them from the blockchain and restoring it to an earlier state."

"The fork erased all transactions and mining that had been recorded on blocks that were produced after the bugged block. It also disposed of the 184 billion bugged Bitcoin. The update, Bitcoin patch 0.3.10, was implemented by Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto himself (or herself, or themselves)."

"The rapid implementation of the patch was vital in keeping Bitcoin a viable cryptocurrency. 184 billion Bitcoin would have devalued the currency completely, leaving it at the mercy of the person holding the newly-minted Bitcoin. Even if the breach happened today, the amount of bugged Bitcoin would completely dwarf the current supply of the cryptocurrency, making any Bitcoin worthless."

"Bitcoin also benefited from this exploit being patched close to its inception, since taking the Bitcoin network offline could be done without significant consequences."

"The exploit and subsequent soft fork didn’t dent the price of Bitcoin. Indeed, Bitcoin actually experienced a surge over 2010; its price increased by over 300% between the day of the patch and the end of the year (from $0.07 to $0.30). That Satoshi himself intervened, and did so so quickly, showed that Bitcoin was not as easily hackable as some might have assumed and built confidence in a concept which up to that point remained untested."

"To this day, the person behind the exploit remains unknown, and due to the anonymous nature of the blockchain there is no way to trace them. Despite their anonymity, they are still a significant individual in the history of blockchain—quite possibly the first ever blockchain hacker."

This is a global/international case not involving a specific country.

The background of the exchange platform, service, or individuals involved, as it would have been seen or understood at the time of the events.

Include:

* Known history of when and how the service was started.
* What problems does the company or service claim to solve?
* What marketing materials were used by the firm or business?
* Audits performed, and excerpts that may have been included.
* Business registration documents shown (fake or legitimate).
* How were people recruited to participate?
* Public warnings and announcements prior to the event.

Don't Include:
* Any wording which directly states or implies that the business is/was illegitimate, or that a vulnerability existed.
* Anything that wasn't reasonably knowable at the time of the event.
There could be more than one section here. If the same platform is involved with multiple incidents, then it can be linked to a main article page.

== The Reality ==
This sections is included if a case involved deception or information that was unknown at the time. Examples include:

* When the service was actually started (if different than the "official story").
* Who actually ran a service and their own personal history.
* How the service was structured behind the scenes. (For example, there was no "trading bot".)
* Details of what audits reported and how vulnerabilities were missed during auditing.

== What Happened ==
The specific events of the loss and how it came about. What actually happened to cause the loss and some of the events leading up to it.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Key Event Timeline - Bitcoin Value Overflow 184 Billion Minting Incident
!Date
!Event
!Description
|-
|August 15th, 2010
|Value Overflow Exploit
|Describe the event.
|}

== Technical Details ==
This section includes specific detailed technical analysis of any security breaches which happened. What specific software vulnerabilities contributed to the problem and how were they exploited?

== Total Amount Lost ==
No funds were lost.

How much was lost and how was it calculated? If there are conflicting reports, which are accurate and where does the discrepancy lie?

== Immediate Reactions ==
How did the various parties involved (firm, platform, management, and/or affected individual(s)) deal with the events? Were services shut down? Were announcements made? Were groups formed?

== Ultimate Outcome ==
What was the end result? Was any investigation done? Were any individuals prosecuted? Was there a lawsuit? Was any tracing done?

== Total Amount Recovered ==
There do not appear to have been any funds recovered in this case.

What funds were recovered? What funds were reimbursed for those affected users?

== Ongoing Developments ==
What parts of this case are still remaining to be concluded?
== Individual Prevention Policies ==
{{Prevention:Individuals:Placeholder}}

{{Prevention:Individuals:End}}

== Platform Prevention Policies ==
{{Prevention:Platforms:Placeholder}}

{{Prevention:Platforms:End}}

== Regulatory Prevention Policies ==
{{Prevention:Regulators:Placeholder}}

{{Prevention:Regulators:End}}

== References ==
<references><ref name="newsletter-11414">[https://newsletter.banklesshq.com/p/stoppable-finance-lite https://newsletter.banklesshq.com/p/stoppable-finance-lite] (Oct 11, 2022)</ref>

<ref name="decrypt-11431">[https://decrypt.co/39750/184-billion-bitcoin-anonymous-creator The Day Someone Created 184 Billion Bitcoin - Decrypt] (Jul 26, 2023)</ref>

<ref name="newsletterarchive-11417">[https://web.archive.org/web/20221010212053/https://newsletter.banklesshq.com/p/stoppable-finance-lite <nowiki>Stoppable Finance [LITE] - by Donovan Choy - Bankless</nowiki>] (Jul 24, 2023)</ref>

<ref name="lopptwitter-11432">[https://twitter.com/lopp/status/1294263470662340612 @lopp Twitter] (Aug 15, 2023)</ref></references>