Imagine you're a writer, painter, photographer, programmer, or any digital creator: a book, a painting, a photo, source code, a design, a song...
You know copyright exists, but proving who created it first is a constant headache: plagiarism, unauthorized appropriations, false authorship claims, expensive lawsuits... Traditional proofs (notary, emailing yourself, official registration) are often slow, costly, or easily challenged.
Here comes Bitcoin and its blockchain (in Satoshi Nakamoto's original source code, it's referred to as timechain): a public, decentralized, permissionless, verifiable-by-anyone, and mathematically immutable database. Once something is recorded, no one can alter it.
How Time-Stamping Works on Bitcoin
- Every ~10 minutes, a new block is added to the chain.
- Each block includes the hash of the previous block → creating an unbreakable "chain".
- Blocks contain transactions (BTC transfers), but can also include arbitrary data (a few KB per transaction, via OP_RETURN or similar methods).
- You generate a hash (unique digital fingerprint) of your file (photo, PDF, code ZIP, etc.).
- You embed that hash in a Bitcoin transaction and broadcast it to the network.
- Once miners confirm the transaction in a block → done! It's permanently recorded that your file existed at that exact date (with mathematical certainty, backed by Bitcoin's proof-of-work).
Proof of Authorship (The Key Differentiator)
Not only do you prove "existence at that date", but you prove it was you who sealed it:
- You sign the hash with a Bitcoin private key (an existing wallet or a new one generated by the app).
- Anyone can later verify with your corresponding public key that the signature is valid and only you had the private key.
Result: irrefutable proof of authorship + timestamp on the world's most secure and decentralized blockchain.
What Does Timextamping Do?
It's a simple app/web tool that lets you do all this in just a few clicks:
- Upload your file (or drag & drop).
- It automatically generates the hash.
- Choose or generate a Bitcoin private key to sign.
- Configure if you want to charge an extra amount in satoshis (default: 1000 sats ≈ 0.80–1€ or less, depending on current BTC price; set to 0 to make it free for the user).
- It creates and broadcasts the transaction (the user pays only the minimal Bitcoin network fee + your optional charge).
- Once confirmed, download a .json file with everything needed: hash, signature, transaction ID, block info, etc.
- Allows verification (by loading the JSON) of both: the time-stamp and the proof of authorship.
100% Independent Verification: Anyone can check it using standard Bitcoin tools (no dependency on Timextamping or any central server).
Key Advantages:
- Immutable and Eternal → Bitcoin has had zero integrity failures since 2009.
- Decentralized → No company or government can delete or manipulate it.
- Cheap or Even Free → Network fees are very low (often
