Test network

Bithex

Money Harbor's blockchain, in testing. Its structure comes from Bitcoin's code, and no block is made without the signatures of two of its three signers. The coins on this test network have no monetary value and are not bought or sold.

2 of 3 signaturesNo single key can make a block.
21 million, fixedAll made in block zero; no block creates new coins.
Bitcoin's codeBuilt on Elements, an open-source version of Bitcoin's code.

Open the explorerchain.moneyharbor.net

Live

The network, right now

Each dot is an address or a transaction, and each line is coins moving. All of it is read straight from the network’s blocks and refreshed every 30 seconds. The transactions are tests, sent automatically between test wallets.

Reading the blocks…

AddressTransactionOriginal coins (block zero)

Every block, transaction and address since block zero, in the explorer

Structure

How it works

2 of 3 signatures

Instead of mining there are three signers, and every block needs two of them. A block with one signature, or with a single byte changed, is refused. If one signer goes offline, the other two keep the network going.

Fixed supply

21 million coins were made once, in block zero, and the block reward is zero. Nobody, including us, can create new coins.

Bitcoin's code

Bithex is built on Elements, an open-source version of Bitcoin Core: Bitcoin's transaction model and script language, without the complex smart contracts most hacks start from.

Still a test

This network is for testing. Its coins have no monetary value, are not bought or sold, and no customer money is connected to it.

Stamped on Bitcoin

A history even we cannot change

Every hour the latest Bithex block's fingerprint is committed to Bitcoin with OpenTimestamps. Each block's fingerprint covers every block before it, so if anyone, including us, changed the network's past, it would no longer match what Bitcoin holds. Each stamp waits a few hours in a queue before it lands in a Bitcoin block.

…

To check one, take a row’s record and proof and drop both into opentimestamps.org. It checks them against Bitcoin directly, with no need to trust us.

Transparency

Five questions for any new network, and Bithex’s answers

In our article on private blockchains we set out five questions to ask before trusting any new network. Here are our own answers:

Who runs the network?: For now, all three signers are Money Harbor. While that is so, Bithex is exactly as independent as we are, and no more. The next step is handing the signers to independent operators.
Can you run a node yourself?: Not yet. The base code (Elements) is public, but this network’s settings have not been published.
Who can create new coins or close an account?: Nobody can create new coins. The signers can leave a transaction out of a block, and two of the three together could rewrite the history. That is why the signers need to become independent. But such a rewrite would not stay hidden: the latest block is stamped on Bitcoin every hour.
Where did the "dollars" on this network come from?: Bithex has no dollars or USDT, only its own coin.
Where can it be turned into real dollars?: Nowhere. The coins on this test network have no monetary value and are not bought or sold.

Bithex

2 of 3 signaturesNo single key can make a block.

21 million, fixedAll made in block zero; no block creates new coins.

Bitcoin's codeBuilt on Elements, an open-source version of Bitcoin's code.

The network, right now

Reading the blocks…

AddressTransactionOriginal coins (block zero)

Every block, transaction and address since block zero, in the explorer

How it works

2 of 3 signatures

Fixed supply

21 million coins were made once, in block zero, and the block reward is zero. Nobody, including us, can create new coins.

Bitcoin's code

Bithex is built on Elements, an open-source version of Bitcoin Core: Bitcoin's transaction model and script language, without the complex smart contracts most hacks start from.

Still a test

This network is for testing. Its coins have no monetary value, are not bought or sold, and no customer money is connected to it.

Five questions for any new network, and Bithex’s answers

In our article on private blockchains we set out five questions to ask before trusting any new network. Here are our own answers:

Who runs the network?

For now, all three signers are Money Harbor. While that is so, Bithex is exactly as independent as we are, and no more. The next step is handing the signers to independent operators.

Can you run a node yourself?

Not yet. The base code (Elements) is public, but this network’s settings have not been published.

Who can create new coins or close an account?

Nobody can create new coins. The signers can leave a transaction out of a block, and two of the three together could rewrite the history. That is why the signers need to become independent. But such a rewrite would not stay hidden: the latest block is stamped on Bitcoin every hour.

Where did the "dollars" on this network come from?

Bithex has no dollars or USDT, only its own coin.

Where can it be turned into real dollars?

Nowhere. The coins on this test network have no monetary value and are not bought or sold.