Nick Szabo Developed a Method of Sending Bitcoin Transactions Over Radio

Nick Szabo Developed a Method of Sending Bitcoin Transactions Over Radio

At the Scaling Bitcoin Conference held at Stanford University, Bitcoin pioneer Nick Szabo and former Stanford engineer Elaine Ou introduced a working method of securely sending Bitcoin transactions over radio signals.

Earlier this week, Jameson Lopp, the lead engineer at BitGo and prominent Bitcoin developer, revealed that the presentation of Szabo entailed their successful tests of sending Bitcoin transactions using weak signal HF radio, by operating a Bitcoin SPV client.

"Our tests show that it is feasible to operate a Bitcoin SPV client using weak signal HF radio." - @eiaine @ScalingBitcoin pic.twitter.com/fNeegq9zCt

— Jameson Lopp (@lopp) November 5, 2017

Similar to the Bitcoin satellite transaction broadcasting technology developed by Blockstream, the settlement of Bitcoin transactions through HF radio signals can be more inefficient in comparison to processing Bitcoin transactions normally, over the internet. However, one advantage of using radio signals and Bitcoin satellites to settle transactions is its ability to reduce censorship and circumvent internet restrictions to send and receive Bitcoin.

In August, Blockstream, a blockchain and Bitcoin development firm, introduced the Bitcoin satellite technology with a shared vision of eliminating censorship and internet resistance in using Bitcoin as a store of value and a digital currency.

Adam Back, the CEO of Blockstream, stated:

“ Bitcoin is a powerful and transformative internet native digital money that has blazed a trail of disruption, with its full potential yet to unfold. Because it's permission less, Bitcoin enables anyone to freely create new financial applications and other innovations that use the Blockchain that haven't been possible before. With more users accessing the Bitcoin Blockchain with the free broadcast from Blockstream Satellite, we expect the global reach to drive more adoption and use cases for Bitcoin, while strengthening the overall robustness of the network.”

Over the past 12 months, an increasing number of governments, authorities, and countries have started to fully regulate Bitcoin as a legitimate currency. Countries like Japan went as far as to declare Bitcoin as a legal currency, encouraging the usage of Bitcoin for payments.

But, inevitably, in the mid-term prior to the global mainstream adoption of Bitcoin, a few countries could attempt to restrict the usage of Bitcoin by imposing restrictions on internet service providers to limit Bitcoin transactions. In such cases, the presence of Szabo’s Bitcoin radio transaction settlement technology and Blockstream’s Bitcoin satellite system would enable users to freely send and receive Bitcoin, circumventing government restrictions with ease.

Author : Joseph Young

Joseph Young is a finance and tech journalist based in Hong Kong. He has worked with leading media and news agencies in the technology and finance industries, offering exclusive content, interviews, insights and analysis of cryptocurrencies, innovative and futuristic technologies.