rsbtc

A simplified Bitcoin implementation written in Rust, featuring peer-to-peer networking, mining, and wallet functionality. This project serves as a functional demonstration of blockchain principles, including Proof of Work, Merkle roots, and consensus mechanisms.

Project Structure

The project is organized as a Rust workspace with three primary components and a shared library:

• node: The core blockchain engine that handles peer-to-peer communication, validates blocks/transactions, and maintains the ledger.
• miner: A dedicated binary for Proof of Work computation that connects to a node.
• wallet: A client interface for managing keys and initiating transactions.
• lib: Shared logic for cryptography (SHA-256), networking, types, and utility binaries for manual generation/inspection.

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Features

• P2P Networking: Nodes communicate to reach consensus on the canonical chain.
• Proof of Work: Mining implementation using SHA-256.
• Merkle Roots: Used for efficient transaction verification within blocks.
• Key Management: Support for generating and using public/private keys.
• CBOR Serialization: Binary serialization for blocks and keys.
• Logging: Integrated logging for monitoring node and wallet activity.

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Prerequisites

• Rust: Version 1.92.0 was used for development, but it is compatible with version 1.80.0+.
• No external system dependencies are required.

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Getting Started

Note that you need to have the node running before the running the miner or wallet.

1. Setup Data and Keys

You can use the helper binaries in the lib directory to generate initial keys and blocks:

cd lib
# Available binaries: key_gen, block_gen, tx_gen, block_print, tx_print
cargo run --bin key_gen

2. Running the Node

The node listens on 0.0.0.0:9000 by default.

cd node
cargo run

Usage: node [<nodes...>] [--port ] [--blockchain-file ]

Positional Arguments: nodes address of initial nodes

Options: --port port number --blockchain-file path to the blockchain --help, help display usage information

3. Running the Miner

Connect the miner to a running node and specify a public key to receive mining rewards.

cd miner
cargo run -- -a <node_address> -p <your_public_key>

Usage: miner --address

--public-key-file <PUBLIC_KEY_FILE>

Options: -a, --address

-p, --public-key-file <PUBLIC_KEY_FILE> -h, --help Print help -V, --version Print version

4. Running the Wallet

The wallet uses wallet_config.toml for configuration. A template is provided in the wallet/ directory.

cd wallet
cargo run

Usage: wallet [OPTIONS] [COMMAND]

Commands: generate-config help Print this message or the help of the given subcommand(s)

Options: -c, --config [default: wallet_config.toml] -n, --node

-h, --help Print help -V, --version Print version

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Technical Details

While this implementation covers core blockchain concepts, it is designed for educational purposes:

• Consensus: Uses the longest chain rule via P2P communication.
• Data Integrity: Implements SHA-256 hashing and Merkle trees.
• Simplified Logic: Does not include a scripting system (Bitcoin Script), SegWit, or SPV (Simplified Payment Verification) clients.