In platforms that depend on the Internet, security comes first. Bitcoin also needs security as a huge and widely used blockchain. In the Bitcoin blockchain, in addition to security, things like Speed and decentralization It is also one of the things that must be achieved. In this network, due to the benefit of the proof-of-work consensus algorithm, these things are realized by miners. Miners also receive part of the transaction fee for these services.
Miners can confirm transactions and add new blocks to the chain as long as they operate according to the rules set by the Bitcoin network. Under normal conditions, all network activities are in charge Full nodes (Full Nodes) that rely on full verification to ensure that they remain in the consensus process. However, this is not the only way transactions can be verified.
The second way, which is used to confirm and build new blocks, Simple payment confirmation It is called SPV for short. In this article, we introduce this process and its advantages and disadvantages.
What is SPV Simple Payment Confirmation?
One of the most important concepts that need to be understood for the definition of simple payment confirmation is the description of the concept Light client (lightweight client) Light clients are wallets that run on low-end systems. In fact, the SPV wallet is the same as the hot or cold wallet, the only difference is in the way the data entered into the network is verified.
Simple Payment Verification is a method that allows light clients to search and discover transactions within the network without downloading the entire blockchain. In an SPV wallet, data is taken from block headers, which are significantly smaller than full blocks, and that’s all the SPV wallet needs to complete a transaction.
If you are interested in reading more about crypto wallets, you can read our best wallet article.
In simple payment confirmation, one piece of Merkel tree branches is sufficient to provide the necessary evidence to enter the transaction request and include it in the block. The SPV wallet is not a new concept and is discussed in the eighth part of the Bitcoin White Paper by Satoshi Nakamoto. In short, simple payment confirmation allows the user to complete their trades or transactions without worrying about the completion of the block.
Simple payment confirmation features
Every feature in the blockchain network will have strengths and weaknesses. Simple payment confirmation is not an exception to this rule. In the following, we describe the strengths and weaknesses of this process:
- It allows users to know the longest block without becoming a network miner.
- To execute a transaction, the user only needs to obtain a header from the longest block of the chain.
- The user cannot confirm the transaction himself, but he can see the confirmation process by a node and act to stop it.
- As long as the network is controlled by honest nodes, verification is reliable, but if an attacker gains control of the network, it can cause network disruption.
- While network nodes may independently verify transactions, a simple payment verification approach can be fooled by an attacker’s fake transactions.
Despite the benefits of simple payment verification, it also has its limitations. In the network of users who use SPV to confirm transactions, it may be because Lack of access to the history of blocksconfirm invalid transactions and help attackers with an unwanted 51% attack.
Even though Bitcoin is the most secure computing network in the world, it is possible for a hostile node to provide the necessary resources for a 51% attack. In such cases, full nodes can react quickly and find the healthy chain. But SPV clients are easily misled and fooled by malicious nodes.
While a 51% attack on the Bitcoin blockchain is highly unlikely, it should still be considered a potential threat.
Full node differences with simple payment confirmation
Despite the simplicity of implementation, SPV wallets have many differences from full nodes, which creates limitations for these wallets. The table below lists the differences between Full Node and simple payment confirmation.
| Simple payment confirmation | Full confirmation of payment |
|---|---|
| Check the block without downloading the entire network | Full payment verification wallets require a full copy of the blockchain. |
| These wallets run on low-end systems. | These wallets run on advanced systems. |
| An SPV client provides a branch of the Merkel tree as proof of inclusion of the request to ensure that the transaction is included in a block. | Full nodes can access the transaction history by going back into the block history. |
| Performing a simple payment confirmation process is suitable for laptops and home computers. | Advanced mining devices are needed to become a full node. |
Why is simple payment confirmation so important?
You may think that there is no need to use an SPV at this time. But with the increasing difficulty of the Bitcoin network and the difficulty of mining, the cost of providing miner devices will definitely increase. Therefore, the participation power of many Bitcoin network users will decrease. Also, if Bitcoin is going to spread to the whole world, it must be implemented in the most difficult conditions and with limited resources.
In fact, with the addition of simple payment confirmation, the user only needs to take a branch of the Merkel tree to confirm transactions. So the user only needs to store 80 bytes per block instead of the entire block size. This reduction of more than 99.99% makes it possible to verify on a regular device or a smart contract.
Surely researchers and Bitcoin network activists will find a way to increase the security of this method, because in the future, as the network becomes more difficult, the use of this method will increase. In fact, in 2008, when he was writing the Bitcoin white paper, Satoshi Nakamoto knew that the network would need this way.
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What is simple payment confirmation? Introduction of SPV wallets for the first time on Wallex blog. appeared.
