Whitepaper

Abstract

A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution. Digital signatures provide part of the solution, but the main benefits are lost if a trusted third party is still required to prevent double-spending.

We propose a solution to the double-spending problem using a peer-to-peer network. The network timestamps transactions by hashing them into an ongoing chain of SHA-512-based proof-of-work, forming a record that cannot be changed without redoing the proof-of-work.

1. Introduction

Commerce on the Internet has come to rely almost exclusively on financial institutions serving as trusted third parties to process electronic payments. While the system works well enough for most transactions, it still suffers from the inherent weaknesses of the trust-based model.

Basecoin extends this vision with SHA-512 proof-of-work providing 2⁵¹² hash space, CPU-native mining, and Satoshi Mode for automatic address privacy.

2. The Problem with Trust-Based Systems

The current global financial system suffers five core structural failures:

• Centralization — Central banks hold a monopoly on money creation.
• Surveillance — Every digital transaction is recorded and analyzable.
• Exclusion — Over 1.4 billion adults worldwide remain unbanked.
• Monopolized mining — Bitcoin's SHA-256 has been co-opted by ASIC manufacturers.
• Algorithmic risk — SHA-256 faces growing scrutiny as computing power advances.

3. Transactions

We define an electronic coin as a chain of digital signatures. Each owner transfers the coin to the next by digitally signing a hash of the previous transaction and the public key of the next owner.

SHA-512(prev_tx_hash || pubkey_next) → signature

4. Proof-of-Work with SHA-512

The proof-of-work involves scanning for a value that when hashed with SHA-512 begins with a number of zero bits. The target condition is:

SHA-512(block_header || nonce) < target

SHA-512 provides a hash space of 2⁵¹² — exponentially larger than SHA-256. It is also natively optimized for 64-bit CPUs, directly supporting CPU-accessible mining.

5. Network

The steps to run the network: (1) New transactions are broadcast to all nodes. (2) Each node collects transactions into a block. (3) Each node works on a SHA-512 proof-of-work. (4) When found, the block is broadcast. (5) Nodes accept valid blocks. (6) Nodes express acceptance by extending the chain.

6. Incentives & Block Rewards

The first transaction in each block is a special coinbase transaction creating new coins. The initial reward is 50 BSC, halving every 210,000 blocks (~4 years).

Total Supply = Σ (50 / 2ⁿ) × 210,000   for n = 0, 1, 2, …
             ≈ 21,000,000 BSC (maximum)

7. Privacy & Satoshi Mode

Basecoin introduces Satoshi Mode: for every new block mined, the protocol automatically generates a fresh receiving address. This prevents linking multiple mined blocks to a single identity and provides privacy by design.

8. Technical Specifications

Parameter	Value
Ticker	BSC
Algorithm	SHA-512
Mining	CPU Proof-of-Work
Block time	600 seconds
Max supply	21,000,000 BSC
Halving	210,000 blocks
P2P port	6555
RPC port	6554 (default on)
Satoshi Mode	Enabled by default
License	MIT

9. Supply Schedule

Era	Period	Reward	BSC Issued	Total %
1	2026–2030	50 BSC	10,500,000	50%
2	2030–2034	25 BSC	5,250,000	75%
3	2034–2038	12.5 BSC	2,625,000	87.5%
4	2038–2042	6.25 BSC	1,312,500	93.75%
5+	2042+	<6.25 BSC	~1,312,500	~100%

10. Security Analysis

Given probability p that an honest node finds the next block and q for the attacker (p + q = 1), the probability an attacker starting z blocks behind catches up:

P(catch-up | z blocks) = (q/p)ᶻ   if q < p

SHA-512 provides 256-bit post-quantum security under Grover's algorithm — equivalent to SHA-256's full classical security level.

11. Conclusion

We have proposed a system for electronic transactions without relying on trust. Basecoin advances this vision with SHA-512 proof-of-work, CPU-native mining restoring individual participation, and Satoshi Mode for automatic address privacy. The system is permissionless — anyone can participate without seeking approval from any authority.

References

[1] S. Nakamoto, "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System," 2008.
[2] A. Back, "Hashcash," 2002.
[3] NIST, "Secure Hash Standard (SHS)," FIPS 180-4, 2015.
[4] L. Grover, "A Fast Quantum Algorithm for Database Search," STOC 1996.
[5] Basecoin Core Developers, "Basecoin Core v0.10.0," 2026. basecoin.jo3.org