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Webcoin

A Bitcoin client for Node.js and the browser

Build Status Dependency Status npm version


Webcoin is a Bitcoin client that works in Node.js and the browser. In the browser, it uses WebRTC to make P2P connections rather than relying on a centralized server to get data (like all the other JS Bitcoin libraries). It's kind of like the Bitcoin equivalent of WebTorrent.

You can use Webcoin to add Bitcoin payments to your application, without the need to hold your users' funds, and without making them trust any third-parties with their money. Webcoin is an SPV light client, so it only uses a minimal amount of bandwidth and storage; it even works great on mobile devices!

Status

Much of Webcoin is already written and works well, including:

I am currently making some major refactors to the codebase, and documenting all of it. Much of the code in this repo is being broken out into smaller modules, each with comprehensive tests and docs.

Modules

Webcoin is made up of many small modules, most of which can each be used independently.

moduleversiontestsissuesdescription
webcoinSPV Bitcoin client for Node and the browser (this module)
peer-exchangeDecentralized p2p signalling and discovery
blockchain-spvStores blockchain headers and verifies with SPV
blockchain-downloadDownload blockchain data from peers
bitcoin-walletSends and receives coins
bitcoin-protocolBitcoin network protocol streams
bitcoin-inventoryExchange transactions with peers
bitcoin-utilUtility functions for Bitcoin hashes and targets
bitcoin-merkle-proofVerify bitcoin Merkle proofs
bitcoin-filterBloom filtering (BIP37)
webcoin-bridgeA proxy that bridges the Bitcoin TCP and WebRTC networks
webcoin-paramsAbstract parameters, used for supporting other cryptocurrencies
webcoin-param-testsTests for parameters
electron-webrtcWebRTC for Node via a hidden Electron process

Parameters

Webcoin was built from the ground-up with multiple cryptocurrencies in mind. The following modules are parameters which can be plugged in to Webcoin in order to support other currency networks.

networkmoduleversiontests
Bitcoinwebcoin-bitcoin
Bitcoin Testnetwebcoin-bitcoin-testnet
Litecoinwebcoin-litecoin (UNFINISHED)
Zcash Alphawebcoin-zcash-alpha (UNFINISHED)

License (MIT)

Copyright 2015 Matt Bell

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.