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Most people who are new to cryptocurrency try to "fix" Bitcoin at least once. After a while some come to realize that Bitcoin's proof-of-work algorithm is actu

Most people who are new to cryptocurrency try to "fix" Bitcoin at least once. After a while some come to realize that Bitcoin's proof-of-work algorithm is actually a feature and not a bug.

Marazan 9y ago
It's a terrible feature.
TeMPOraL 9y ago
Yup. And that feature is why we need to get rid of it. Bitcoin asks you to pay a humongous upkeep for a trusted system. I am not convinced the benefits of such a system outweigh the energy waste it requires.
- fragsworth 9y ago
  I'm not sure there's anything we can do about it. Proof of Stake is extremely difficult and potentially impossible. Mostly because of the problem that there's no economic incentive to mine a single chain: self-interested miners will mine every fork and there won't be consensus.
  - loceng 9y ago
    Have it be state-mandated, against the law to not use the decidedly best option? No economic incentive needed then at all.
gooseus 9y ago
So bitcoin, which still has almost no practical use for anyone in the real world, consumes as much energy as a country with a GDP of $98B and population of $16M. It used to be that this was acceptable because bitcoin was going to solve our inequality problems and make money more egalitarian and all internet transactions smoother (or something). Yet, with a price of $7K per coin I still struggle to find anyone I know who has ever made a real purchase with it. So what exactly are we getting from this energy demand? Does there exist a pie chart for where all the miners source their energy and maybe a metric for tons of CO2 per coin/transaction?
- QAPereo 9y ago
  Some people think they’ll be rich, that’s enough for them, and they either don’t care about, or rationalize away the rest.
- equalunique 9y ago
  I have purchased hotel rooms and computer parts with Bitcoin.
- loceng 9y ago
  And realize these energy costs can only be afforded because of the speculation that these crypto-assets will gain mass legitimacy, and therefore cause a (unreasonable) wealth distribution weighted towards the earliest adopters - along with the increased perceived value of the crypto-assets.
- molloy 9y ago
  You can spend fractions of a Bitcoin, so it doesn't matter what the price of a full one is. ~15,000 satoshis (a satoshi is the lowest it can be split, 1/100,000,000 BTC) is currently equivalent to 1USD.
greyman 9y ago
No, it is not a feature. It is an implementation of the feature - to have secure and zero trust transactions.

Most people who are new to cryptocurrency try to "fix" Bitcoin at least once. After a while some come to realize that Bitcoin's proof-of-work algorithm is actually a feature and not a bug.

Marazan 9y ago

It's a terrible feature.

TeMPOraL 9y ago

Yup. And that feature is why we need to get rid of it. Bitcoin asks you to pay a humongous upkeep for a trusted system. I am not convinced the benefits of such a system outweigh the energy waste it requires.

fragsworth 9y ago
I'm not sure there's anything we can do about it. Proof of Stake is extremely difficult and potentially impossible. Mostly because of the problem that there's no economic incentive to mine a single chain: self-interested miners will mine every fork and there won't be consensus.
- loceng 9y ago
  Have it be state-mandated, against the law to not use the decidedly best option? No economic incentive needed then at all.

gooseus 9y ago

So bitcoin, which still has almost no practical use for anyone in the real world, consumes as much energy as a country with a GDP of $98B and population of $16M. It used to be that this was acceptable because bitcoin was going to solve our inequality problems and make money more egalitarian and all internet transactions smoother (or something). Yet, with a price of $7K per coin I still struggle to find anyone I know who has ever made a real purchase with it. So what exactly are we getting from this energy demand? Does there exist a pie chart for where all the miners source their energy and maybe a metric for tons of CO2 per coin/transaction?

QAPereo 9y ago
Some people think they’ll be rich, that’s enough for them, and they either don’t care about, or rationalize away the rest.
equalunique 9y ago
I have purchased hotel rooms and computer parts with Bitcoin.
loceng 9y ago
And realize these energy costs can only be afforded because of the speculation that these crypto-assets will gain mass legitimacy, and therefore cause a (unreasonable) wealth distribution weighted towards the earliest adopters - along with the increased perceived value of the crypto-assets.
molloy 9y ago
You can spend fractions of a Bitcoin, so it doesn't matter what the price of a full one is. ~15,000 satoshis (a satoshi is the lowest it can be split, 1/100,000,000 BTC) is currently equivalent to 1USD.

greyman 9y ago

No, it is not a feature. It is an implementation of the feature - to have secure and zero trust transactions.