The flames consist of two parts of different meanings. Part1 are the flames on the outer border clockwise top to left, then inner left top down to the dove's tail. Part2 is the rest of the flame continuing on the way CCW to inner top. This obeys the size bit sequence of 0x1x1x.
The six ribbons attached to the key handle define how to interpret the three bit attributes "inner width", "inner color", "outer color", given that they need to match the first to flames. There are only 2 possibilities, one being very counterintuitive.
Interpret the part1 flames as 3-bit values indicating directions while creating a knight's path through the 9x7 board. Must start on white.
Flame values are to be used as follows:
- Define a starting point on a white field
- Use a separate "dial" of the eight knight's target fields, number them 0-7 in CW fashion.
- The first flame has value f1, so make a first move in direction f1.
- Next flame value f2 must be used to select one of the remaining available directions (excluding blocked ones) - if f2 > the number of possibilities, round robin. Starting point for counting will be your last used direction. If doing it manually, a marker on the "dial" will help. Rinse and repeat.
- For each pale flame passed for flame x, add one to its flame value.
- Guess the right flames at the spaces where leaves point to empty spaces in the outer border (top outer, left inner).
- Ignore the two flames pointed at (2x left outer). Ignore their preceding pale flames.
- Eventually, paths evolve, but leaving three fields open. They can be completed unambiguously.
Given a knight's path K, and a maeander path M, construct a mapping like:
- If input integer s (in 0..63) is taken as the step s of K, it indicates a board field.
- That field has a step number s_m on M.
This is the mapping s -> s_m, K->M.
Always do it twice (learning of the last riddle): Combine two mappings using two different maeander paths. This gives you K->M,K->M' / K->M,M'->K / M->K,K->M' (silly) / M->K,M'->K.
Now interpret the part2 flames pair-wise, yielding 6 bit values of 0 - 62 (how convenient!). Map the values according to the mapping of choice, also counting the number of different leaves touched on the two transient board fields.
Only take mappings into account that touch all 12 board leaves. When mapping the values, omit those which touch two leaves. The remaining base63 values are to be decoded into an integer or hex value. Keep those of length 32.
Collect all those integers and xor them with the dbl_sha of a string concatenation of the very prominent objects in the center. No rabbit there for me. Two of the xored 32-byte values were PKs to "1FLAME..." addresses:
1FLAMEXP5QJ4gghnDTLSTqRLeNCVovE9k6
1FLAMEULgbZKFH6ve9N8AVg3wxpouwNHQc
And that's how far I got - not far enough; not enough times to get all the bugs out of my 1000 lines of python; still too many assumptions, too many parameters spanning the solution space. After having invested ~250 hours since early December, disappointment is huge. The riddle has the fascinating quality of being obvious (once you "saw"), being ambiguous where it (probably) doesn't matter, being truly crypographic (the knight's path is beyond brute force for example). And its difficulty was very much in line with the reward.
To me, the storyline of the puzzle authors revoking the reward because it had gotten far too valuable seems plausible. This forum (being my only lurking place) did not show any progress at all, so someone solving out of the blue? Being faster than me? Incontheivable :-)
Be it as it may, the doubt will remain. As it will with all crypto"currencies", no matter how hard the cheerleaders wiggle.