Re: A question about inputs and outputs - re: Aantonop's bitcoin book
So I was starting to read Andreas' Antonopoulos' "Mastering Bitcoin" and I was wondering about this diagram:
Quoting from the book
My question is:
Does "Output 1" mean that there will be a new "Input" for Alice's account?
Quoting from the book
Quote
In summary, transactions move value from transaction inputs to transaction outputs. An input is a reference to a previous transaction’s output, showing where the value is coming from. A transaction usually includes an output that directs a specific value to a new owner’s Bitcoin address and a change output back to the original owner. Outputs from one transaction can be used as inputs in a new transaction, thus creating a chain of ownership as the value is moved from owner to owner
My question is:
Does "Output 1" mean that there will be a new "Input" for Alice's account?
Umm... from what I understand there, this is your own wallet. You are Alice.
So I see that input 1 as the change from an older transaction of yours. (you'll understand this later).
You send money to Bob, but less than your total, hence you create one output (1) that'll be sent to Bob and one output (2), the change, back to yourself.
So this output 2 is money you have sent to yourself. So the wallet sees as money coming to you, or, as an input.
This input can be seen then as input 2. And you can make from it new transactions, like you've done with input 1. And maybe the starting part is clearer too.
All this is "somewhere in the middle" of the "life" of your coins, since at very start, the first input to your wallet clearly came from elsewhere (let's say from John).