Show HN: 83K lines of C++ – cryptocurrency written from scratch, not a fork
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2 hours ago
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I spent weeks writing a full cryptocurrency implementation from scratch. Not a fork of Bitcoin or any existing codebase – 83,000 lines of original C++20.

Technical choices: - Equihash (200,9) for PoW – memory-hard, ASIC-resistant - Keccak-256 for all hashing – chose this over SHA-256 after doing my own cryptanalysis - UTXO model, 10-minute blocks, 21M supply cap - Actor model for P2P networking

The SHA-256 research: I found distinguishers up to 23 rounds using differential cryptanalysis. At 17 rounds, a single-bit delta in w15 creates a 7-bit near-collision. Full diffusion only happens at round 24. This influenced my decision to use Keccak-256 instead.

Network is live with 9+ nodes across Seoul, Virginia, France. A community member in France already built a block explorer without being asked.

Built with AI assistance (Claude). Happy to answer questions about the architecture or the SHA-256 analysis.

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