Bitflash: fair-launch release

Satoshi's bitcoin-0.1.0 reborn with RandomX CPU proof of work, anonymous .btf
addressing over Nostr with CGNAT rendezvous, automatic peer discovery, a
headless Linux node, and Windows GUI wallet. Fair launch, no premine, 21M cap.

1 files changed, 223 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..550657a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,223 @@
+<div align="center">
+
+<img src="docs/logo.png" width="128" alt="Bitflash"/>
+
+# Bitflash ⚡ &nbsp;`BTF`
+
+### Satoshi's Bitcoin, reborn — mine with your **CPU**, stay **invisible**, run **anywhere**.
+
+A faithful revival of the original 2009 `bitcoin-0.1.0`, rebuilt for today:
+**memory-hard CPU mining** that shuts out ASICs and GPUs, **anonymous addressing**
+that hides your IP and punches through CGNAT, and a **fair launch** with no premine.
+
+<br/>
+
+![PoW](https://img.shields.io/badge/PoW-RandomX%20(CPU)-2ea44f?style=for-the-badge)
+![Privacy](https://img.shields.io/badge/addresses-.btf%20anonymous-2ea44f?style=for-the-badge)
+![Fair Launch](https://img.shields.io/badge/premine-none-2ea44f?style=for-the-badge)
+
+![Windows](https://img.shields.io/badge/Windows-GUI%20wallet-blue)
+![Linux](https://img.shields.io/badge/Linux-headless%20node-blue)
+![Language](https://img.shields.io/badge/built%20in-C%2B%2B-00599C)
+![License](https://img.shields.io/badge/license-MIT-green)
+![Supply](https://img.shields.io/badge/max%20supply-21%2C000%2C000-orange)
+
+**[⬇️ Download for Windows](../../releases/latest)** &nbsp;·&nbsp; **[🐧 Build for Linux](#-linux-node--miner)** &nbsp;·&nbsp; **[🧠 How it works](#-how-it-works)**
+
+</div>
+
+---
+
+## 💡 One CPU, one vote
+
+Bitcoin promised money mined by anyone with a computer. Then ASIC farms and mining
+pools took over, and "anyone" became "whoever owns a warehouse." Bitflash gives that
+promise back.
+
+- 🧩 **Memory-hard proof of work (RandomX).** The same algorithm Monero uses to keep
+  mining on ordinary CPUs. No ASICs. No GPU farms. Your laptop competes on equal footing.
+- 🕶️ **Anonymous by default.** Your node is reachable by a self-certifying `.btf`
+  address instead of an IP — a Tor-style hidden service built into the coin, over
+  [Nostr](https://nostr.com). Peers never see your IP.
+- 🌐 **Works behind any firewall.** No public IP? Stuck behind CGNAT? No port
+  forwarding? Doesn't matter. Nodes rendezvous through a lightweight relay and connect
+  anyway.
+- ⚖️ **Fair launch.** No premine. No ICO. No founder's reward. The genesis block mints
+  the same 50 coins everyone else mines for.
+- 🪙 **Sound money.** 50 BTF per block, halving on schedule, hard cap of **21,000,000** —
+  exactly like the original.
+
+---
+
+## ✨ Features
+
+| | |
+|---|---|
+| 🧠 **RandomX PoW** | CPU-only, ASIC/GPU-resistant mining — one CPU, one vote |
+| 🔐 **`.btf` hidden addresses** | Self-certifying, unforgeable node identity; your IP is never exposed |
+| 🛰️ **Nostr peer discovery** | No central servers, no DNS seeds — nodes find each other over open relays |
+| 🚪 **CGNAT traversal** | Rendezvous transport lets nodes behind carrier NAT reach each other |
+| 🔒 **End-to-end encrypted P2P** | X25519 + XChaCha20-Poly1305 channel; the relay only ever sees ciphertext |
+| 💸 **Instant transfers** | Send coins peer-to-peer in under a second |
+| 🖥️ **Retro wallet** | The classic, no-nonsense Bitcoin 0.1.0 interface, one "Generate Coins" click away |
+| 🐧 **Windows & Linux** | GUI wallet on Windows, headless daemon for Linux servers |
+
+---
+
+## 🚀 Quick start
+
+### 🪟 Windows (GUI wallet + miner)
+
+1. **[Download the latest release](../../releases/latest)** and unzip it anywhere.
+2. Double-click **`bitflash.exe`**.
+3. Wait ~1 minute — it finds peers on its own and starts syncing.
+4. **Options → Generate Coins** to start mining with your CPU. That's it. 🎉
+
+No install, no config, no command line. It connects automatically, even behind CGNAT.
+
+### 🐧 Linux (node + miner)
+
+```bash
+# grab the source, then:
+bash build-linux.sh          # installs deps, builds secp256k1 + RandomX + the node
+./src/bitflash-node -gen      # run + mine (auto-discovers peers, no config needed)
+```
+
+Run it 24/7 as a service — see [`docs/`](docs) and the systemd snippet below.
+
+---
+
+## 🧠 How it works
+
+Bitflash keeps Satoshi's consensus intact and swaps two things: **the proof of work**
+and **how nodes find and reach each other**.
+
+### Anonymous rendezvous (the `.btf` network)
+
+Every node has a `.btf` address derived from its public key — like a Tor `.onion`, but
+built into the coin. Nodes publish a signed descriptor over Nostr, and connect through a
+meeting relay so **neither side ever learns the other's IP**, and **no port forwarding is
+ever needed**.
+
+```mermaid
+flowchart LR
+    A["🧑‍💻 Node A<br/>(behind CGNAT)"] -- "encrypted" --> R(("🛰️ Meeting<br/>relay"))
+    B["🧑‍💻 Node B<br/>(behind CGNAT)"] -- "encrypted" --> R
+    R -. "pairs by .btf key<br/>sees only ciphertext" .-> A
+    R -. "pairs by .btf key<br/>sees only ciphertext" .-> B
+    N["🛰️ Nostr relays"] -. "discover .btf peers" .-> A
+    N -. "discover .btf peers" .-> B
+```
+
+The relay is dumb on purpose: it pairs peers by their `.btf` key and forwards bytes. The
+real connection is end-to-end encrypted (X25519 + XChaCha20-Poly1305) and authenticated
+to each peer's static key, so a malicious relay can't read or tamper — it can only refuse.
+
+### RandomX proof of work
+
+Blocks are mined with **RandomX**, a memory-hard algorithm that runs efficiently on
+general-purpose CPUs and terribly on specialized hardware. This is what keeps mining
+decentralized: no ASIC advantage, no GPU farms — just CPUs, one vote each.
+
+---
+
+## 🛠️ Build from source
+
+### Linux
+
+```bash
+bash build-linux.sh
+```
+
+Installs `build-essential cmake libssl-dev libdb5.3++-dev libsodium-dev
+nlohmann-json3-dev libboost-dev`, builds `libsecp256k1` (Schnorr) and `RandomX` from
+source, then the `bitflash-node` binary. Debian/Ubuntu.
+
+### Windows
+
+Built with **MSYS2 UCRT64** (g++ 16, wxWidgets 3.2, OpenSSL 3, Berkeley DB). See
+[`build.sh`](build.sh) and `src/makefile.mingw`.
+
+### Run a rendezvous relay (optional, help the network)
+
+Have a box with a public IP? Run a relay in one command and strengthen the network:
+
+```bash
+sudo bash relay/install-bitflash-relay.sh 8434
+```
+
+It builds a tiny, dependency-free daemon and installs it as a systemd service.
+
+<details>
+<summary>Run the Linux node 24/7 (systemd)</summary>
+
+```ini
+# /etc/systemd/system/bitflash-node.service
+[Unit]
+Description=Bitflash node/miner
+After=network.target
+
+[Service]
+WorkingDirectory=/root/bitflash/src
+ExecStart=/root/bitflash/src/bitflash-node -gen
+Restart=always
+User=root
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=multi-user.target
+```
+```bash
+systemctl daemon-reload && systemctl enable --now bitflash-node
+```
+</details>
+
+---
+
+## 📊 At a glance
+
+| Parameter | Value |
+|---|---|
+| Ticker | **BTF** |
+| Proof of work | RandomX (CPU, memory-hard) |
+| Block reward | 50 BTF, halving on schedule |
+| Max supply | 21,000,000 BTF |
+| Target block time | ~2 minutes |
+| Address privacy | `.btf` hidden-service addressing over Nostr |
+| Premine / ICO | **None** |
+| Platforms | Windows (GUI), Linux (headless) |
+
+---
+
+## 🗺️ Roadmap
+
+- [x] Faithful port of `bitcoin-0.1.0` to a modern toolchain
+- [x] RandomX CPU proof of work
+- [x] Nostr peer discovery (replacing IRC)
+- [x] `.btf` anonymous addressing + CGNAT rendezvous
+- [x] Automatic peer discovery — zero config
+- [x] Headless Linux node/miner
+- [x] Fair-launch, stable-parameter relaunch
+- [ ] Optional direct IPv6 transport (opt-in, for public backbone nodes)
+- [ ] Redundant relays & bootstrap hardening
+- [ ] One-click installers
+
+---
+
+## ⚠️ Disclaimer
+
+Bitflash is **experimental software**, released in the spirit of the original Bitcoin:
+*"This is a design and prototype. Use at your own risk. It comes with no warranty of any
+kind."* It has real cryptography and a live network, but it is young. Don't put in more
+than you're willing to lose, and don't rely on it for anything critical.
+
+---
+
+## 📜 License
+
+MIT — see [LICENSE](LICENSE). Built on Satoshi Nakamoto's original Bitcoin (2009),
+extended by the Bitflash developers (2026).
+
+<div align="center">
+<br/>
+<b>⚡ One CPU. One vote. Mining returns to the people. ⚡</b>
+</div>