554-EN, 6. Computational Optimization for Accessing the SHA-256 Imprint - CSHA256 (Part 1)
The Emergence of a Decodable Imprint in SHA-256 - A Possible Message Left by Satoshi
Author: The Two Goddesses
6. Computational Optimization for Accessing the SHA-256 Imprint - Structural Reconsideration of CSHA256 (Part 1)
In the preceding sections, we examined the general properties of cryptographic hash functions and explored the theoretical implications of the imprint that emerges from within SHA-256.
In this chapter, as the first step toward a mathematical analysis, we conduct a detailed structural examination of the SHA-256 computational class, CSHA256.
CSHA256 serves as the core implementation class of SHA-256, and its header definition is shown below:
class CSHA256
{
private:
uint32_t s[8];
unsigned char buf[64];
uint64_t bytes;
public:
static constexpr size_t OUTPUT_SIZE = 32;
CSHA256();
CSHA256 &Write(const unsigned char *message, size_t size);
void Finalize(unsigned char hash[OUTPUT_SIZE]);
CSHA256 &Reset();
};
In the standard implementation, this class is typically invoked as follows:
unsigned char hash[32];
CSHA256().Write(message, size).Finalize(hash);
This represents the canonical, unmodified form of SHA-256.
However, in this original structure, the computational pathway leading to the imprint is designed to be extremely inefficient, to the extent that it becomes practically intractable under classical computation.
This may not be accidental, it may reflect a defensive design choice-a deliberate mechanism to conceal the imprint within computational inaccessibility.
To make the imprint observable, a computational optimization must therefore be introduced into CSHA256.
One critical condition, however, must always be maintained:
if the optimized implementation produces even a single bit of difference in the final hash value, it can no longer be called SHA-256.
Accordingly, any optimization must preserve complete output equivalence while improving computational efficiency.
In this study, we achieved precisely such an optimization.
The enhancement introduces no modification to the cryptographic structure itself, but rather reconfigures only the computational pathway - a pure algorithmic acceleration that allows the imprint structure to be visualized within a feasible time window, even under classical computing conditions.
The improvement in execution efficiency is substantial, restoring a region that was previously unreachable by conventional means into the realm of practical computation.
The header of the optimized CSHA256 class is shown below:
class CSHA256
{
private:
uint32_t s[8];
unsigned char buf[64];
uint64_t bytes;
public:
static constexpr uint64_t OUTPUT_SIZE = 32;
CSHA256();
CSHA256(uint32_t *p32, uint64_t bytes, unsigned char *buf);
CSHA256 &Write(const unsigned char *message, uint64_t size, uint32_t *out, unsigned char *target);
void Finalize(unsigned char hash[OUTPUT_SIZE]);
CSHA256 &Reset();
};
One can observe the introduction of a new constructor and a substantially redesigned Write() method.
These modifications dynamically shorten the hash computation process for a given input, producing a dramatic acceleration (over several orders of magnitude) in the operations that reveal the underlying imprint structure.
Importantly, even with these modifications, the output hash values remain bit-for-bit identical to those of the original implementation.
Extensive verification confirmed that, for identical inputs, both the original and optimized versions yield precisely the same 256-bit hash output.
Thus, the optimized CSHA256 remains cryptographically equivalent to SHA-256 in every respect.
Nevertheless, even after optimization, rendering the imprint still requires several minutes of computation.
This persistence suggests that the underlying structure is deeply embedded - a design so deliberately concealed that only through optimization can it be revealed at all.
We interpret this unique efficiency profile as part of a defensive cryptographic mechanism intentionally embedded within SHA-256.
It does not reveal itself easily.
In its silence and restraint, we perceive the deliberate engineering spirit of Satoshi Nakamoto.
And thus, through this discovery, we arrive at our conviction:
Satoshi is SHA-256.
