Glossary

Pay-to-Witness-Script-Hash (P2WSH)

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A Pay-to-Witness-Script-Hash (P2WSH) is a type of transaction similar to a P2SH transaction in most ways, except that it uses SegWit. Like a P2SH transaction, a P2WSH transaction locks bitcoin to the hash of a script. In order to spend this bitcoin, the spender must present the script, called the RedeemScript, and any required signatures.

On a technical level, P2WSH actually describes the ScriptPubKey which is used to lock bitcoin to a SegWit script hash. A P2WSH transaction spends bitcoin which was previously locked to a P2WSH address. Since P2WSH is a SegWit transaction, when a P2WSH output is used as an input, the ScriptSig is moved to the Witness section and called the WitnessScript.

Related Terms
Pay-to-Script-Hash (P2SH)
Pay-to-Script-Hash (P2SH) is a type of transaction which allows for the spending of bitcoin based on the satisfaction of any script provided by the sender. P2SH is used for multisig and SegWit transactions.
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Witness
The witness of a transaction is a section of SegWit transactions not included when a transaction is hashed and signed. The witness contains the witnessScripts for all SegWit inputs of a transaction.
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SegWit
Segregated Witness (SegWit) is a soft-fork upgrade to Bitcoin which was activated in 2017. SegWit fixed the problem of transaction malleability, and paved the way for the implementation of the Lightning Network and many other upgrades.
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Redeem Script
A redeem script is the script used to unlock bitcoin sent to a P2SH address. A P2SH transaction locks bitcoin to the hash of a redeem script.
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ScriptPubKey
The ScriptPubKey is a script which controls how bitcoin can be spent. Bitcoin is locked by the ScriptPubKey and unlocked when the owner submits a valid ScriptSig.
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ScriptSig
The ScriptSig is the part of a transaction which contains the required signatures and the script which unlocks a UTXO for spending.
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