What is Scrooge?

Before explaining Scrooge Coin, let’s first explain Scrooge. The term “Scrooge” refers to a “miser” or “stingy person” in English.

The origin of the term comes from the protagonist of A Christmas Carol, a novel published by Charles Dickens in 1843. Ebenezer Scrooge, the main character of the novel, is depicted as an elderly merchant running the firm Scrooge & Marley near the outskirts of London. He is characterized as a cold-hearted, greedy, selfish, and miserly individual.

The Idea of Scrooge Coin

The idea of Scrooge Coin involves Scrooge, its namesake, acting as a central authority that records all transaction histories on a blockchain⛓️ and digitally signs them.

Blockchain Structure

In this blockchain, each block in the chain contains a single transaction^*1. Each block consists of a unique transaction ID, transaction details, and a hash pointer referencing the previous block. A hash pointer is a reference to the storage location of data, accompanied by the hash value of that data.

Scrooge signs🖊️ the hash pointer of the latest block^*2 and publishes it along with the blockchain.

*1 In practice, for optimization purposes, multiple transactions are stored in a single block, as seen in Bitcoin.
*2 This hash pointer consolidates all the data included in the entire sequence of blocks into a single reference.

Characteristics of Scrooge Coin

In Scrooge Coin, anyone can verify🔍️ the validity of a block by using Scrooge’s public key to confirm the digital signature on the block. Additionally, users can trace back through the blockchain to view the entire transaction history.

Prevention of Double Spending

If someone attempts to create a transaction that double-spends a previously used coin, Scrooge will detect this and refuse to record it on the blockchain.