BitScope
Reproducible Bitcoin protocol laboratory backed by a real Bitcoin Core node
An educational and experimental protocol workbench that constructs, executes, attacks, and verifies Bitcoin transactions against a live local Bitcoin Core node on regtest, producing deterministic cryptographic evidence bundles.
"Learn Bitcoin by constructing, executing, attacking and verifying what actually happens against a real Bitcoin Core node."
Theoretical Abstraction vs. Node Reality
Standard block explorers provide a passive view of confirmed transactions without revealing how Bitcoin Core actually enforces validation rules, rejects sub-fee replacements, executes scripts, or handles mempool churn.
Without hands-on regtest experimentation, developers struggle to understand critical protocol mechanics like BIP-125 Replace-By-Fee (RBF), CPFP child spends, PSBT multisig signing, and Taproot script-tree evaluation.
Construct, Provoke & Verify
BitScope provides an active experimental harness. Users construct raw transaction hex, submit it directly to Bitcoin Core via JSON-RPC, observe exact consensus responses, and intentionally inject attack payloads (such as double spends or timelock violations).
Every completed lab run generates a deterministic proof archive bundling raw RPC receipts, mined block headers, and verification hashes.
Step-by-step experiment construction, execution, attack simulation, and proof generation
Scenario Definition
Selects an educational protocol scenario: RBF replacement, CPFP child spend, 2-of-3 PSBT multisig, or Taproot key path.
Implemented Protocol Experiments
Verified against Bitcoin Core 28.1+ on disposable regtest datadirs.
Transaction Lifecycle & RBF
Construct unconfirmed transactions, test BIP-125 replacement rules, fee bumping, and mempool eviction policies.
CPFP (Child-Pays-For-Parent)
Accelerate stuck parent transactions by spending unconfirmed outputs with high fee child transactions.
PSBT & 2-of-3 Multisig
BIP-174 Partially Signed Bitcoin Transactions: construct, combine, finalize, and broadcast multi-party signatures.
Timelocks (CLTV & CSV)
Absolute (OP_CHECKLOCKTIMEVERIFY) and relative (OP_CHECKSEQUENCEVERIFY) locktimes verified through mined blocks.
Output Descriptors & Miniscript
Structured script expressions for P2WPKH, P2WSH, and complex spending policies validated via Bitcoin Core RPC.
Taproot & Script Trees
BIP-341/342 Taproot spending: key-path spends with Schnorr signatures and script-path spends via MAST Merkle roots.
Cryptographic Evidence Archives
Every completed scenario produces a verifiable proof archive containing:
- ›raw_tx.hex & transaction deserialization JSON
- ›bitcoin-cli testmempoolaccept validation response
- ›Mined block header hash & coinbase confirmation receipt
- ›SHA-256 bundle manifest verification hash
Local-First Node Invariants
BitScope is engineered with strict safeguards to protect real funds and user privacy:
- ›Mainnet connections are read-only; spending/mining is locked to regtest.
- ›Local access token required for all wallet and broadcast mutations.
- ›Zero private key generation or storage; uses public descriptors only.