SN-10042 附来源、原文与上下文。
我开发了一种新的开源点对点电子现金系统，叫作 Bitcoin。它完全去中心化，没有中央服务器，也没有需要信任的参与方，因为一切都基于密码学证明，而不是信任。试试看，或者看看截图和设计论文：
I've developed a new open source P2P e-cash system called Bitcoin. It's completely decentralized, with no central server or trusted parties, because everything is based on crypto proof instead of trust. Give it a try, or take a look at the screenshots and design paper:
在 http://www.bitcoin.org 下载 Bitcoin v0.1
Download Bitcoin v0.1 at http://www.bitcoin.org
传统货币的根本问题，在于让它运作所必需的种种信任。我们必须相信中央银行不会让货币贬值，但法币的历史充满了对这种信任的背弃。我们必须相信银行会保管我们的钱，并以电子方式转账，但它们却一轮又一轮地把钱借出去，制造信贷泡沫，储备金只保留很少一部分。我们必须相信它们会保护我们的隐私，相信它们不会让身份窃贼掏空我们的账户。它们庞大的运营成本，使微支付无法实现。
The root problem with conventional currency is all the trust that's required to make it work. The central bank must be trusted not to debase the currency, but the history of fiat currencies is full of breaches of that trust. Banks must be trusted to hold our money and transfer it electronically, but they lend it out in waves of credit bubbles with barely a fraction in reserve. We have to trust them with our privacy, trust them not to let identity thieves drain our accounts. Their massive overhead costs make micropayments impossible.
上一代的多用户分时计算机系统也有类似问题。在强加密出现以前，用户必须依靠密码保护来保障文件安全，相信系统管理员会对自己的信息保密。管理员随时可以凭自己的判断，在隐私原则与其他考虑之间权衡，或者按照上级要求，越过隐私限制。后来，普通人也能使用强加密，信任就不再是必需的了。数据可以得到这样的保护：无论出于什么理由，借口多么充分，无论如何，其他人都无法从物理上访问它。
A generation ago, multi-user time-sharing computer systems had a similar problem. Before strong encryption, users had to rely on password protection to secure their files, placing trust in the system administrator to keep their information private. Privacy could always be overridden by the admin based on his judgment call weighing the principle of privacy against other concerns, or at the behest of his superiors. Then strong encryption became available to the masses, and trust was no longer required. Data could be secured in a way that was physically impossible for others to access, no matter for what reason, no matter how good the excuse, no matter what.
钱也该拥有同样的保护了。借助基于密码学证明的电子货币，无需信任第三方中间人，钱可以安全，交易可以轻松。
It's time we had the same thing for money. With e-currency based on cryptographic proof, without the need to trust a third party middleman, money can be secure and transactions effortless.
这种系统的基本组成部分之一是数字签名。数字币包含其所有者的公钥。要转移它，所有者将这个币与下一位所有者的公钥一起签名。任何人都能检查签名，验证所有权的传递链。这能很好地保障所有权，却留下一个大问题没有解决：双重支付。任何所有者都可能尝试把已经花掉的币再次签给另一个人，再花一次。通常的解决办法，是由一家可信公司通过中央数据库检查双重支付，但这又回到了信任模式。公司处于中心地位，就能凌驾于用户之上，而维持公司所需的费用又让微支付不切实际。
One of the fundamental building blocks for such a system is digital signatures. A digital coin contains the public key of its owner. To transfer it, the owner signs the coin together with the public key of the next owner. Anyone can check the signatures to verify the chain of ownership. It works well to secure ownership, but leaves one big problem unsolved: double-spending. Any owner could try to re-spend an already spent coin by signing it again to another owner. The usual solution is for a trusted company with a central database to check for double-spending, but that just gets back to the trust model. In its central position, the company can override the users, and the fees needed to support the company make micropayments impractical.
比特币的解决办法，是使用点对点网络检查双重支付。简单来说，网络像一个分布式时间戳服务器，为花费某个币的第一笔交易加盖时间戳。它利用了信息易于传播、难以压制的特性。工作原理的细节，请参阅设计论文： http://www.bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf
Bitcoin's solution is to use a peer-to-peer network to check for double-spending. In a nutshell, the network works like a distributed timestamp server, stamping the first transaction to spend a coin. It takes advantage of the nature of information being easy to spread but hard to stifle. For details on how it works, see the design paper at http://www.bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf
结果是一个没有单点故障的分布式系统。用户持有自己资金的密码学密钥，彼此直接交易，并由点对点网络帮助检查双重支付。
The result is a distributed system with no single point of failure. Users hold the crypto keys to their own money and transact directly with each other, with the help of the P2P network to check for double-spending.
Satoshi Nakamoto http://www.bitcoin.org
Satoshi Nakamoto http://www.bitcoin.org
