RT info:eu-repo/semantics/preprint
T1 Bitcoin Protocol Mechanics for Economists: A Compact Reference
A1 Llanos Ferraris, Diego Rafael
A1 Perote, Javier
A1 Vicente-Lorente, José D.
A2 SSRN (Social Science Research Network)
K1 Informática
K1 Bitcoin
K1 Blockchain
K1 Proof-of-Work
K1 Transaction validation
K1 Monetary Issuance
K1 Digital signatures
K1 1203 Ciencia de Los Ordenadores
K1 3304 Tecnología de Los Ordenadores
AB Economists increasingly engage with Bitcoin's macroeconomic and financial implications, yet many debates implicitly assume protocol properties that are rarely stated with mechanical precision. This paper offers a concise technical primer on Bitcoin protocol mechanics, aimed at providing the minimal foundations for interpreting claims about decentralization, immutability, and a credible issuance cap without trusted intermediaries. We explain how transactions encode ownership and transfer via public-key cryptography and digital signatures, why the blockchain functions as an append-only, replicated ledger, and how full nodes, wallets, and miners jointly enforce validity and compliance with the rules. We then describe Proof-of-Work as a coordination and security mechanism, clarifying how confirmations deliver probabilistic finality and why rewriting settled history is computationally prohibitive. The paper also outlines Bitcoin's deterministic issuance schedule via the coinbase reward and halving rule, and briefly situates fee revenue and second-layer protocols as the long-run basis for payments and security as block subsidies decline. Three appendices provide a didactic treatment of transactions, a compact summary of cryptography, and an overview of the mining workflow.
YR 2026
FD 2026
LK https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/83404
UL https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/83404
LA eng
NO Llanos, Diego R. and Perote, Javier and Vicente-Lorente, José D., Bitcoin Protocol Mechanics for Economists: A Compact Reference (January 27, 2026). Available at SSRN.
NO Producción Científica
DS UVaDOC
RD 02-abr-2026