The disappointing truth is that we simply don't know. Satoshi never explained it...

		haakon 12 days ago \| parent \| context \| favorite \| on: Bitcoin miners are losing on every coin produced a... The disappointing truth is that we simply don't know. Satoshi never explained it. For SHA-2 it can be used as a mitigation against length-extension attacks¹, and this seems like the most likely explanation, but it's just speculation. ¹ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Length_extension_attack

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Would length extension impact bitcoin? The messages aren’t secret afaik.