A book by David Coen about Bitcoin technology and the LNP/BP suite. This overview assesses specific publicly available portions, rather than the entire text or the safety of every procedure described.
Q/A about Bitcoin was written by David Coen. The author’s repository gives the subtitle From the blockchain concept to the definition of the LNP/BP suite and presents the text as technical education accessible to readers without prior knowledge. This is neither a book by Eric Voskuil nor a Libbitcoin project manual. The original catalogue attribution was incorrect; this overview draws directly on Coen’s repository. [1]
The README describes the book as published but also lists a second edition and further translations as work in progress. These statements describe the status recorded in the repository, rather than guaranteeing that every version is now complete. The Spanish text’s front matter distinguishes copyright 2019 from the first Spanish edition in 2020, with ISBN 9781657029903. A translation’s year therefore cannot automatically be assigned to all editions. [1] [6]
The author recommends reading the chapters in order the first time, while allowing readers to skip a difficult passage and return later. Bold terms prepare the reader for later explanations, and harder passages are marked separately. The format supports both gradual study and returning to a specific question; a short chapter title does not mean its technical assumptions can be omitted. [2]
The contents distinguish why Bitcoin was created from how it works. They move through supply, mining, transactions, wallets, nodes and Lightning Network, and also include economic and social arguments and separate appendices. This map helps readers choose further reading, but does not itself demonstrate the accuracy of every answer; here we read only the specified portions in detail. [3]
The node chapter distinguishes Full Node, mining and SPV clients and stresses independent validation. However, it contains an inaccurate simplification of pruning historical data. Bitcoin Core documentation explains that a Pruned Node validates blocks and can then delete older block files. Saving storage therefore does not mean validating only the transactions of one’s own wallet. [4] [7]
The following chapter explains how SPV saves data and depends on information obtained from other nodes. This is a useful topic to compare with independent validation, but different light wallets do not use an identical model. We do not adopt the historical product lists or recommendations as present-day security assessments. The author also explicitly discloses working with one of the providers he recommends in the chapter. [5]
The book can be read as an author’s outline, with individual explanations compared against protocol documentation. For storage, wallets and network services, a general principle must be distinguished from a historical detail. This overview highlights a specific difference between full validation and retaining history; it does not document practical execution of procedures or an audit of the wallets mentioned. [4] [5] [7]
We read the entire README, author biography, reading guide, contents, and chapters on nodes and light wallets in the recorded repository revision. From the Spanish text, we read the opening title and publication details; this does not constitute reading the entire translation. For comparison, we read the Bitcoin Core documentation section on block pruning. Other chapters, images and practical procedures were outside the scope of this review. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
For the clearest picture, read this entry together with Bitcoin, Full Node, Wallet, Lightning Network.
01Who wrote this book?+
David Coen. His repository and the front matter of the published Spanish text confirm this. The original catalogue named Eric Voskuil and linked to a different project; that confusion is corrected here.
02Does block pruning mean incomplete validation?+
No. Bitcoin Core can fully validate blocks and then delete older block files. Retaining history and validating rules are different things; the book’s relevant simplification cannot be taken as a precise description of a Pruned Node.