BTCSQ

See: BTCSQ_PoP_QuickStart, HowTo_Mine_BTCSQ

Bitcoin Squared (BTCSQ).

Overview

BTCSQ is reference implementation of the Bitcoin codebase secured to Bitcoin using VeriBlock® Proof-of-Proof® ("PoP®") in an entirely Decentralized, Trustless, Transparent, and Permissionless ("DTTP®") manner.

The new altchainId for MainNet BTCSQ is 252980111103 (Incentivized TestNet was 16579303907010303).

See:

• Official landing page: https://veriblock.org/labs/btcsq/
• Explorers:
  • BTCSQ MainNet: https://explore.btcsq.veriblock.org/
    • https://chainz.cryptoid.info/btcsq/ -> shows address balance (but not pop rewards)
  • VBK: https://explore.veriblock.org/
• Issues Board:
  • https://github.com/orgs/VeriBlock/projects/1/views/5
• Github:
  • https://github.com/VeriBlock/vbk-ri-btc
  • https://github.com/VeriBlock/alt-integration-cpp

Get Package

The BTCSQ package can be compiled directly from github, but for convenience the binaries are listed here:

See : HowTo_Mine_BTCSQ#Prerequisites

Windows:

• https://mirror.veriblock.org/BTCSQ-master-4ca0304-win64.zip

Linux:

• https://mirror.veriblock.org/BTCSQ-master-4ca0304-linux-x64.zip

See: BTCSQ_Package_Archive

How to get started

See Detailed walkthrough: HowTo_Mine_BTCSQ

How to PoW Mine

Use any Sha256D miner.

See:

• HowTo_run_NiceHash_for_BTCSQ
• PoW_Pools_BTCSQ - PoW mining pools
• HowTo_Mine_BTCSQ#How_To_PoW_Mine_BTCSQ

How to PoP Mine

BTCSQ introduces PoP mining for Bitcoin based altchains, so PoP mining is a great place to start. It doesn't require expensive hardware.

Anyone can PoP mine:

1. Download the package:
   1. This includes the BTCSQ daemon, APM, and VeriBlock NodeCore daemon.
2. Start the BTCSQ daemon (like you would start a bitcoin daemon)
3. Start the NodeCore daemon. (You can sync from scratch, but the bootstrap downloader will probably be faster)
4. Let both daemons sync
5. Start the APM miner, connect it to the BTCSQ daemon and NodeCore daemon
6. Run the APM GUI at: http://localhost:8080/index.html
   1. Populate your APM with VBK
   2. Start mining!

License

For any blockchain which launch based on the BTCSQ codebase and pops up to VeriBlock (which then pops to Bitcoin) - there is the standard MIT license. Very Easy.

For any new blockchains which launch based on the BTCSQ codebase, and for some reason do not pop up to VeriBlock, the license will require 10% of their total emissions to holders of BTCSQ at the time they launch.

Useful Links

• Altchain_PoP_Rewards
• Altchain_PoP_Health_Monitor
• WhitePaper (VBK PoP): http://bit.ly/vbk-wp-pop
• Resources_for_PoP_Mining
• How_to_list_BTCSQ_on_an_exchange
• BTCSQ_Bounties
• BTCSQ Explorer https://chainz.cryptoid.info/btcsq/
• Mining pools https://miningpoolstats.stream/bitcoinsquared

Social Channels

This is initially a project incubated in VeriBlock Labs (and therefore uses VeriBlock social channels)

• Discord - https://discord.gg/wJZEjry
• Twitter - https://twitter.com/VeriBlock
• Reddit - https://www.reddit.com/r/BTCSQ/

Exchanges

Exbitron : https://www.exbitron.com/trading/btcsqbtc

Ecosystem and 3rd Party Integrations

3rd party sites for BTCSQ

General Info

• Coinpaprika : https://coinpaprika.com/coin/btcsq-bitcoin-squared/

Exchanges

• Exbitron : https://www.exbitron.com/trading/btcsqbtc

Explorers

• https://chainz.cryptoid.info/btcsq/

Mining

• https://miningpoolstats.stream/bitcoinsquared

TestNet

BTCSQ had an incentivized testnet: Join_BTCSQ_Testnet, which ended on Dec 7, 2021.

A new TestNet may eventually be spun up.

FAQ

What are the blockchain economics?

See: BTCSQ_Emissions

As vBTC is a reference of BTC... the economics are very similar to BTC:

• Block reward -> 7 BTCSQ (first 90 days), 6.5 BTCSQ (next 100 days), etc... (see full details BTCSQ_Emissions)
• PoP / PoW percentage? -> 50% PoW / 50% PoP
• Halving schedule -> Starting at block 4,183,200, the block reward becomes 1.50447108 BTCSQ with a halving every 4 years
• Block time -> 2 minutes
• What is the PoW algorithm -> Sha256D

What is the PoP Payout interval?

150 BTCSQ blocks.

What are the PoP Rounds and Keystone?

There are 4 rounds: 1,2,3,4, with 4 being the keystone (having a larger reward).

Note that VBK NodeCore has 20 round indices (with 4 rounds) due to 30-second block times. See: HowTo_run_PoP_Miner#VeriBlock_.22Rounds.22

How does BTCSQ help VeriBlock?

BTCSQ greatly helps VeriBlock, as it is the reference implementation (formerly codename vBTC) that all future altchains can copy. Before other altchains would be ready for mainnet, most efficient to have BTCSQ first be mainnet-ready.

Work out the bugs first in one reference, "pave the way", and make it easier for all others.

Much of the framework is shared:

• APM
• NodeCore (which has much altchain support)
• C++ Library
• Code patterns in the BTC-based daemon
• Reusable integration test suite

See: https://veriblock.org/roadmap/

What is BTCSQ's Utility?

Being directly forked from Bitcoin, BTCSQ has all the features of BTC, plus the fully Decentralized, Trustless, Transparent, and Permissionless ("DTTP") inheritance of Bitcoin's PoW security using VeriBlock's PoP consensus protocol, which introduces a new form of lightweight mining. This contributes to making Bitcoin more green by amortizing Bitcoin's hashing power over orders of magnitude more transactions than it processes natively. BTCSQ is also cheaper cryptographic notary than BTC due to lower transaction fees while maintaining the same immutability guarantees.

As more blockchains adopt VeriBlock for security, they continually contribute to fortifying and improving the entire ecosystem of VeriBlock-secured blockchains.

Blockchains forked from BTCSQ which do not use the VeriBlock security network must give 10% of their total emissions to BTCSQ holders.

What is the benefit to owning MainNet BTCSQ?

BTCSQ will be launched as its own independent MainNet altchain.

New altchains will be incentivized to fork from BTCSQ instead of BTC because BTCSQ provides all the Bitcoin functionality, and additionally:

• Protection against 51% attacks using the full PoW security of Bitcoin
• Lightweight Mining - anyone can PoP mine without expensive hardware
• Eco-Friendly - reusing Bitcoin's mining power to secure the world's blockchains

A new altchain (forked from BTCSQ) could potentially have lower confirmation times for exchanges due to the 51% protection and vBFI integration with exchanges.

Most projects that fork from a parent project inevitably provide more testing and feedback that can flow back up to the parent project. Therefore BTCSQ is posed to benefit from testing and development of all child forks.

BTCSQ is the flagship reference implementation that is actively supported by a development team.

So BTCSQ itself provides direct utility (51% protection, lightweight mining, eco-friendly, and possibly lower confirmation times for exchanges), active community testing from child forks, and a dedicated development team.

How can I get more involved?

BTCSQ is being incubated in VeriBlock Labs: https://veriblock.org/labs/btcsq/

There is a very active Discord channel.

Anyone can actively mine:

• PoW Mining, such as nicehash (with Sha256D)
• PoP Mining: HowTo_Mine_BTCSQ

The code is open-sourced, and code contributions are always welcome:

• Daemon: https://github.com/VeriBlock/vbk-ri-btc
• Shared C++ Library: https://github.com/VeriBlock/alt-integration-cpp
• Altchain PoP Miner: https://github.com/VeriBlock/nodecore/tree/master/pop-miners/altchain-pop-miner

Active development can be seen on github issues: https://github.com/orgs/VeriBlock/projects/1/views/5

Does BTCSQ Contain a Premine?

No, the genesis block only contains BTCSQ reflected from the incentivized testnet period, mined using publicly available software, just like a normal fair launch.

The public incentivized testnet phase ran from September 13th to December 7th, 2021, during which approximately 439,923 BTCSQ were mined.