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There Is Only One Global Chain
Fromsatoshi@vistomail.comTodtrammell@dustintrammell.comSubjectRe: Bitcoin v0.1 releasedDateSun, 25 Jan 2009 19:51:55 GMTSourcehttps://web.archive.org/web/20131016004654/http://dustintrammell.com/files/Satoshi_Nakamoto.zip
There is only one global chain. Nodes work on extending it. If nodes are not listening, they don't get the newly generated block. The owner of the new block gets the coin reward and transaction fees. This is the incentive to run a node. Everyone is competing to solve the next block. Satoshi
✦ AI COMMENTARY
The last vistomail email of this archive, to Dustin Trammell, distilling the entire system to its core: "There is only one global chain. Everyone is competing to solve the next block." Nodes extend it, the winner takes the reward and fees, and that incentive is what keeps the network alive. Signed, simply, Satoshi.