On the bitcoin test network, a re …

January 29, 2021

Bitcoin re-spend on testnet with previously discovered bug

A recently discovered bug in the bitcoin code has been successfully deployed on a testnet that developers use for various tests. The main Bitcoin blockchain has not been harmed. Writes about it Trustnodes.

On Wednesday, someone released a block like this on the testnet, which allowed him to spend 0.1 BTC twice:

As you can see in the image above, a transaction of 0.1 BTC was duplicated, 0.099 BTC was transferred, and 0.101 BTC was paid as a commission, resulting in 0.2 BTC..

A similar operation could have been done on the main cryptocurrency network, until the developers released the last update, which fixed the bug..

Probably, some participants in the test network did not switch to the new version, which is why by now two have already formed from one chain. This is what the block looks like in an un-updated blockchain explorer:

It displays only 2 transactions. In the updated browser, we see a block with the same number, but with a completely different content:

On the bitcoin test network, a re ...

In addition, blocks with the same number were released in two chains at one hour intervals. This means that if an identical situation was repeated in the main blockchain, all users who sent transactions in this interval would receive their coins back, and the recipients would be left with nothing..

The blockchain explorer has so far updated the information on the block in question, and transactions that were previously displayed as confirmed have now turned out to be unconfirmed:

Fortunately, the bug was only hit on the testnet and removed from the bitcoin client after being there for 2 years. Bitcoin Core Developers Still Avoid Public Comment After Disclosing Vulnerability And Remediation Last Week.

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