This is a list of the major changes between the 1st and 2nd Edition. The 2nd Edition has numerous small changes and improvements throughout, in addition to what is shown here. In total, the 2nd Edition contains more than 100 pages of completely new material, in addition to the other improvements, a 30% increase in content.
Chapter 1 – What is Bitcoin?
- Updated Bitcoin history
- More user stories and updates
- More examples of bitcoin uses and clients
- Updated guide on how to get, use, spend bitcoin
Chapter 2 – How Bitcoin Works
- Many small changes, updates and improvements
Chapter 3 – Bitcoin Core
- Improved and updated examples and code
- Configuration options and examples
- Running a bitcoin node
- Updated libraries
Chapter 4 – Keys and Addresses
- Many small improvements
- Improved and new diagrams
Chapter 5 – Wallets
- Much more detail on BIP39 Mnemonic Code Words
- BIP39 Passphrases and use-cases
- Using public extended keys on an e-commerce server
- Improved and new diagrams
Chapter 6 – Transactions
- Transaction Structure
- More detail on inputs and outputs
- Transaction serialization/deserialization
- Transaction Fees
- Dynamic fees
- Fee estimation
- Third-party fee estimation services
- Digital Signatures
- Signature creation and verification
- Signature serialization (DER encoding)
- SIGHASH flags
- ECDSA Math overview
Chapter 7
- Time Locks
- Transaction level absolute (nLocktime)
- UTXO/Script level absolute (CHECKLOCKTIMEVERIFY)
- Input level relative (nSequence)
- UTXO/Script level relative (CHECKSEQUENCEVERIFY)
- Median Time Past
- Timelock defense against fee sniping
- Script Flow Control
- VERIFY guard clauses
- Time lock guard clauses
- Complex script (example and analysis)
Chapter 8
- Relay networks
- SPV node improvements
- Bloom filters and SPV
- SPV nodes and privacy
- Encrypted and Authenticated connections (BIP150/151)
Chapter 9
- Merkle trees and SPV
- Test blockchains
- Testnet
- Using testnet
- Segnet
- Regtest
- Using regtest
- Development with test blockchains
Chapter 10
- Hard forks, soft forks and signaling
- Diverging hard forks
- Soft forks for feature upgrades
- Signaling soft forks with block version
- BIP-9 (versionbits) signaling and activation
- Consensus software development
Chapter 11
- Security principles
Chapter 12 (all new chapter)
- Blockchain application
- Building blocks of the trust platform
- Constructing blockchain applications
- Colored Coins
- Counterparty
- Payment channels
- Video streaming example
- Timelock payment channels
- Asymmetric revocable commitments
- Hash Time Locked Contracts (HTLC)
- Lightning Network
- Routed payment channels
- Transport and Onion routing
- Lightning Network Benefits
Appendix – Segregated Witness (all new chapter)
- Introduction to Segregated Witness
- Why segwit?
- Segwit transactions, outputs and scripts
- P2WPKH
- P2WSH
- Nested segwit
- Considerations for backwards compatibility
- P2SH(P2WPKH)
- P2SH(P2WSH)
- Transaction Identifiers (txid) and Malleability Fix
- New Signing Algorithm
- Economic Incentives for Segwit