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I would suggest you read the white paper (https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki/White-Paper https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki/White-Paper) The short answer
by anilshanbhag 9y ago
I would suggest you read the white paper (https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki/White-Paper https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki/White-Paper)
The short answer is contracts are accounts. Just like your normal ethereum accounts. When you invoke a method marked as payment, you are essentially transferring some ether from your account to the contract. If someone wrote contract from which you can't withdraw and you send ether to it, thats stupidity - even fiat can be destroyed by stupidity.
- k__ 9y agoI see, thank you :) Stupidity? Doesn't Ethereum want to prevent all money getting locked up somewhere?
- teod 9y agoI believe there are times when it is favorable to "burn" ether or another cryptocurrency, i.e. lock up the money in an unowned account. For example, the decentralized market place OpenBazaar discusses proof-of-burn to establish a user's reputation (https://blog.openbazaar.org/proof-of-burn-and-reputation-pledges/ https://blog.openbazaar.org/proof-of-burn-and-reputation-ple...). Burning coins allows a user to show they are invested in their reputation on the platform, without being forced to pay money to a central party.
- eof 9y agoJust as much as people want to solve the halting problem.