4 ms·

Nothing "stopping" it, except the tens (hundreds?) of millions of dollars worth of hardware investment it would take before your new hashrate becomes at all com

Nothing "stopping" it, except the tens (hundreds?) of millions of dollars worth of hardware investment it would take before your new hashrate becomes at all competitive. It's a bit like saying there's nothing stopping you from launching your own soft drink and beating out Coca Cola (you could try, but you probably won't win). China has a huge and possibly insurmountable lead in not just existing built hardware, but a head start in the know-how of rolling out new ASIC designs to production, (relatively) cheap factories to mass-produce hardware, access to cheap/state-subsidized electricity, and (in this hypothetical scenario of nationalization) the support of the central government of one of the largest/most-powerful nations on Earth.

tboyd47 9y ago
Miners have very little power over Bitcoin as a whole. They are constrained both by Bitcoin's rules and economics. If they mine invalid blocks or optimize for something other than fees, the operation will turn unprofitable. If they just stop mining, the mining difficulty will adjust and suddenly ASICs will not be needed to turn a profit. There is a delicate balance in Bitcoin, currently tipped slightly in their favor, that they probably don't want to disrupt.
- imron 9y ago
  > Miners have very little power over Bitcoin as a whole. Chinese miners currently control significantly more than 50% of Bitcoin mining. If the government takes control of the the miners, they take control of the bitcoin network. There's plenty of mischief they could make with that if they were so inclined.
  - tboyd47 9y ago
    Your reply does not refute the point you quoted in any way, nor does it address the other points I made. You are merely restating what the other person said in an equally hand-wavy manner.
- XR0CSWV3h3kZWg 9y ago
  Miners obviously are okay taking a hit as there are plenty that are working on the less profitable BCH chain.
  - tboyd47 9y ago
    BCH is roughly on par with BTC in terms of mining profitability. https://cash.coin.dance/blocks/profitability https://cash.coin.dance/blocks/profitability

tboyd47 9y ago

Miners have very little power over Bitcoin as a whole. They are constrained both by Bitcoin's rules and economics. If they mine invalid blocks or optimize for something other than fees, the operation will turn unprofitable. If they just stop mining, the mining difficulty will adjust and suddenly ASICs will not be needed to turn a profit. There is a delicate balance in Bitcoin, currently tipped slightly in their favor, that they probably don't want to disrupt.

imron 9y ago
> Miners have very little power over Bitcoin as a whole. Chinese miners currently control significantly more than 50% of Bitcoin mining. If the government takes control of the the miners, they take control of the bitcoin network. There's plenty of mischief they could make with that if they were so inclined.
- tboyd47 9y ago
  Your reply does not refute the point you quoted in any way, nor does it address the other points I made. You are merely restating what the other person said in an equally hand-wavy manner.
XR0CSWV3h3kZWg 9y ago
Miners obviously are okay taking a hit as there are plenty that are working on the less profitable BCH chain.
- tboyd47 9y ago
  BCH is roughly on par with BTC in terms of mining profitability. https://cash.coin.dance/blocks/profitability https://cash.coin.dance/blocks/profitability