How to Create Alternative Cryptocurrency?

1. How to Create Bitcoin Like
Alternative Cryptocurrency
Abdullah Khan Zehady @ Purdue University

2. You need to read..
● Bitcoin wiki
● What is altcoin?
o https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/altcoin/
● How To Clone Scrypt Based Altcoins for Fun and Profit
o http://devtome.com/doku.php?id=scrypt_altcoin_cloning_guide
● *** Complete Guide on How to Create a New Alt Coin
o https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=225690.0
● http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/

3. You need...
● Patience and Determination.
● Source Code for an Alt-Coin (Scrypt: Dogecoin)
● Knowledge about Linux / Mac command line interface.
● 2 or More computers
● IDE (Eclipse etc.) or Text Editing Software (TextWrangler)

4. Planning - Coin Design
● Design your coin
1. Name of your coin
2. Block Time
 Average target time between blocks.
 Bitcoin (10 minute).
 Usually between 15 sec and 2 minute.

5. Planning - Coin Design
3. Difficulty retarget time
4. Total Amount of Coin - Bitcoin (21 Million)
5. Initial Coin Per Block
● Bitcoin (50 BTC per block, now 25 BTC)
● Your coin (100 Coin or ?)

6. Planning - Coin Design
6. Coin halving configuration
● How long you want coin per block to be halved?
● Bitcoin - 4 years
● Your coin - What kind of cryptonomics you want!!
7. Other Configurations
● Port: Connection / RPC
● *coin.conf
o https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Running_Bitcoin#Bitcoin.conf_Configuration_File

7. Example Alt Coin
● Scrypt Based Alt Coin
o CollegeCoin
● Altcoin from Dogecoin Source
o https://github.com/dogecoin
o Easiest

8. File Configuration 1
● Coin Parameters
o src/chainparams.cpp
 Important Variables to be changed
 Genesis Block Creation
● const char* pszTimestamp
 Block Average Time + Others
● genesis.nTime <- Block Time
● genesis.nBits
● genesis.nNonce

9. File Configuration 2
● Port Configuration
o src/chainparams.cpp
 Variables to be changed
● nDefaultPort
● nRPCPort
● Total Amount of Coin
o src/core.h
 int64_t MAX_MONEY

10. File Configuration 3
● Average Block Time
o src/main.cpp
 Variables to be changed
● nTargetSpacing <- Average Block Generation Time
o 1 ~ 10 minute
● nTargetTimespan <- Difficulty readjustment
o Bitcoin <- 2 Weeks
o 4 days ??

11. File Configuration 4
● Coin Per Block
o src/main.cpp
 100 coin per block
● int64_t nSubsidy = 100 * COIN;
● Estimated Number of Blocks per day
o src/main.h
 return dPriority > 100 * COIN * 1440 / 250
 Need Calculation: 1 Coin per minute * 60 min * 24 hours = 1440 Coin per day
● Changing Coin address
o PUBKEY_ADDRESS

12. Data Directory
● https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Data_directory
● BlockChain Location inside file systems
o Mac:
o ~/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin/
o Linux:
o ~/.bitcoin/
o Windows:
o (XP) : C:Documents and SettingsYourUserNameApplication dataYourCoin
o (Vista + Windows 7) : C:UsersYourUserNameAppdataRoamingYourCoin

13. Data Directory
● Configuration file (Bitcoin.conf / Collegecoin.conf) needs to be inside data
directory.
● Degugging
o Debug.log file inside data directory
o Program output can be viewed from debug.log
o Will need Debug.log for genesis block.

14. Steps to get your Alt Coin
1. Design your coin
2. Clone Dogecoin source into your two computers
3. Compile the program successfully in both computers
4. Create a git repository and push initial code
5. Convert “dogcoin” substrings to “yourcoin” inside all files (mainly under /src
directory)
a. Be careful not to change any “bitcoin” string
i. Will require changing filenames
b. Only “dogecoin” strings to be changed to “yourcoin”
6. Change coin parameters as described

15. Steps to get your Alt Coin 2
7. Create genesis block in 1 of your computer
a. hashgenesisblock assertion failure
i. Read http://devtome.com/doku.php?id=scrypt_altcoin_cloning_guide again.
b. Will require adding extra piece of code (currently deleted to prevent alt
coin creation)
i. http://goo.gl/5PiaDk
ii. Changing genesis.nTime and genesis.nNonce for regular
coin, testnet, regtestnet
c. Re-compilation of the code
d. Genesis Hash creation (Find from debug.log)
e. Change Geneis hash inside src/Chainparams.cpp

16. Steps to get your Alt Coin 3
8. Do the same in other computer
● Use git repository (push/pull) efficiently to bring changes
9. Find external IP address of two computers
● Connect two computers and mine fresh coins
10. Learn how transaction works
● src/rpcrawtransaction.cpp
● Important Classes (main.h)
o CBlock
o CTransaction

17. Some Thing to Say
● Bitcoin is successful
● There are so many altcoins (> 500)
o http://coinmarketcap.com/
● Create altcoin if you want to learn how
Bitcoin/Alt Coin works
● Don’t just create Alt Coin
o Rather use your brain to invent ideas
o Why you need another coin?

18. Some Thing to Say
● Place for invention
o Cryptographic Proof of work systems
 Look at Prime coin
 Look at Peer Coin
o Better Hashing algorithm
 Hash Collision resistance etc.
o Economic Ideas
 Economic equailty
 Coin fluidity
 Preventing Hoarding

19. Some Thing to Say
● Smart Contracts
o Look
 Ethereum Project: http://ethereum.org/
 Counterparty Project: http://counterparty.io/

20. Thank you
● If you like the information… then..Tip me..
● Bitcoin Address:
o 1Gq13n24ToMcZgHyXnjrD18FpszLhBd1vH
● Litecoin Address:
o LVL4yMCuFFbkLGhFfwXes4GrsZBo4vEjWZ
● Dogecoin Address:
o DBUjcDFHzqJSjKuB7MpLZJAqHHZbbRpvEC