<p>For mathematical operations, Bitcoin treats byte vectors as signed (signed magnitude) little endian values. So let's look what the numbers are then:</p>
<ul>
<li>The byte vector <code>ba07</code> is the hexadecimal number (0)7ba.</li>
<li>The byte vector <code>6985</code> is <code>8569</code> in big endian. Since the highest bit is set the number is negative. So the hexadecimal number is -(0)569.</li>
<li>The byte vector <code>5102</code> is the hexadecimal number (0)251.</li>
<li>The byte vector <code>0d23</code> is the hexadecimal number (0)23d.</li>
</ul>
<p>Therefore we end up with the two statements <code>7ba+(-569)=251</code> and <code>7ba-(-569)=d23</code> which are true.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-01T14:21:38.280Z
Ah, got it, thanks!  I had tried playing with the sign bits, but I didn't realize it was little-endian on top of all that.
Dave M.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-01T07:50:38.850Z
2022-05-01T07:50:38.850Z
Marcel Krüger
<p>Testnet transaction <code>c474c67cabc13f74c65e7cf503db971d5ba176794bff7de36f46d51ca675cf3a</code> locked 0.0005BTC with a simple math script:</p>
<pre><code>OP_2DUP
OP_ADD
5102
OP_EQUALVERIFY
OP_SUB
230d
OP_EQUAL
</code></pre>
<p>Transaction <code>b6714e05dd014cc92de09271886e62d85e7d41dd44fad417c520eb51d57f94c0</code> spent that output with the sigscript:</p>
<pre><code>ba07
6985
</code></pre>
<p>I can't see how <code>(ba07 + 6985) == 5102</code> or <code>(ba07 - 6985) == 230d</code>.</p>
<p>What am I missing about Bitcoin script, integers, and math?</p>

<transactions><script>
How did testnet transaction b6714e05dd014cc92de09271886e62d85e7d41dd44fad417c520eb51d57f94c0 validate?
Dave M.
# How did testnet transaction b6714e05dd014cc92de09271886e62d85e7d41dd44fad417c520eb51d57f94c0 validate?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-05-01)

Testnet transaction c474c67cabc13f74c65e7cf503db971d5ba176794bff7de36f46d51ca675cf3a locked 0.0005BTC with a simple math script:
OP_2DUP
OP_ADD
5102
OP_EQUALVERIFY
OP_SUB
230d
OP_EQUAL

Transaction b6714e05dd014cc92de09271886e62d85e7d41dd44fad417c520eb51d57f94c0 spent that output with the sigscript:
ba07
6985

I can't see how (ba07 + 6985) == 5102 or (ba07 - 6985) == 230d.
What am I missing about Bitcoin script, integers, and math?

**Tags:** transactions, script


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-05-01. Score: 6 | Accepted answer

For mathematical operations, Bitcoin treats byte vectors as signed (signed magnitude) little endian values. So let's look what the numbers are then:

* The byte vector `ba07` is the hexadecimal number (0)7ba.
* The byte vector `6985` is `8569` in big endian. Since the highest bit is set the number is negative. So the hexadecimal number is -(0)569.
* The byte vector `5102` is the hexadecimal number (0)251.
* The byte vector `0d23` is the hexadecimal number (0)23d.

Therefore we end up with the two statements `7ba+(-569)=251` and `7ba-(-569)=d23` which are true.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Ah, got it, thanks!  I had tried playing with the sign bits, but I didn't realize it was little-endian on top of all that.  

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