[h4l0]

Fully implementing Bitcoin white paper would require moderate amount of work if you do not consider every little detail related to security of your client code. However, current Bitcoin protocol added many features such as scripting.

I think one can maintain code readability in a python implementation but documentation is the key here. Developer needs to clearly state the objective of each function.

For ethereum, you need one external element called: Ethereum Virtual Machine. Smart Contracts are basically byte code that runs on EVM. Without it, blockchain cannot function. So, ethereum development may require extra knowledge on top of blockchain technology.

[Gargoyle]

I've been ignoring bitcoin for a while. Do the devs still maintain the official implementation is the only implementation possible since it contains quirks the spec doesn't specify?

[pmorici]

Yup, though a group got fed up with that and forked to create Bitcoin Cash which has a spec and multiple teams and implementations. Much healthier situation.

[krisives]

Bitcoin has had scripting since that first release TX signatures themselves are OP_SIGHASH