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Why double sha256?


The disappointing truth is that we simply don't know. Satoshi never explained it. For SHA-2 it can be used as a mitigation against length-extension attacks¹, and this seems like the most likely explanation, but it's just speculation.

¹ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Length_extension_attack


Would length extension impact bitcoin? The messages aren’t secret afaik.


a that’s the botcoin hashing algorithm.


I figured that part out, I wonder why it's being doubled.


That was the way satoshi wanted it. No other explanation is known.




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