4 ms·

Interesting point. The cryptocurrency energy consumption problem will never be solved, since if it is, it will be economically feasible to attack. So cryptocurr

Interesting point. The cryptocurrency energy consumption problem will never be solved, since if it is, it will be economically feasible to attack. So cryptocurrency adoption in the mainstream will require massive electricity consumption.

bennofs 8y ago
Only if it uses proof of work.
gascan 8y ago
You might even say it will ultimately require at least 51% of worldwide electricity production, to ensure no actor (including nation-states) can suddenly on-line additional capacity to seize control. And then if that's true, one might dream of a power plant arms race, where two competing nations build additional power plants as fast as possible to prevent the other from gaining enough electrical capacity to attack the network...
- auto 8y ago
  There's a great sci-fi plot here
- 2bitencryption 8y ago
  ...this is an intriguing start for a sci-fi novel.
- sgt101 8y ago
  Alternatively one side opting out and using Fiat instead? Oh...
jsutton 8y ago
Not necessarily, non-hashing consensus seems to be where most blockchain projects are going. So these would require a stake of assets or similar, instead of wasting computing cycles.
- ufo 8y ago
  Creating a proof-of-stake algorithm that doesn't degenerate to proof-of-work and that doesn't require a central authority (checkpoints, etc) is still an open problem.
  - arez 8y ago
    I'm waiting for the cardano guys on this one, testnet with PoS will start soon and they don't make bullshit hype announcements ever
- celticninja 8y ago
  Proof-of-Stake(POS) is still theoretical at this stage, there is no working solution or proof-of-concept. It is a nice(ish) idea to reduce the energy consumption of blockchains but isnt really a solution to decentralisation.
  - dlubarov 8y ago
    There are some working solutions now, like NEO, Dash, and NXT. Ethereum is sure to adopt it as well; a lot of details are TBD but there's little question that the community will adopt some form of PoS. I'm not saying it's perfect -- there are some downsides like needing a cap on fork distance in order to prevent stake bleeding attacks [1] -- but it's certainly viable. [1] https://eprint.iacr.org/2018/248.pdf https://eprint.iacr.org/2018/248.pdf
sudomake 8y ago
Yup, it anti-scales. If anything its scale resistant. Its a red queens race.

bennofs 8y ago

Only if it uses proof of work.

gascan 8y ago

You might even say it will ultimately require at least 51% of worldwide electricity production, to ensure no actor (including nation-states) can suddenly on-line additional capacity to seize control. And then if that's true, one might dream of a power plant arms race, where two competing nations build additional power plants as fast as possible to prevent the other from gaining enough electrical capacity to attack the network...

auto 8y ago
There's a great sci-fi plot here
2bitencryption 8y ago
...this is an intriguing start for a sci-fi novel.
sgt101 8y ago
Alternatively one side opting out and using Fiat instead? Oh...

jsutton 8y ago

Not necessarily, non-hashing consensus seems to be where most blockchain projects are going. So these would require a stake of assets or similar, instead of wasting computing cycles.

ufo 8y ago
Creating a proof-of-stake algorithm that doesn't degenerate to proof-of-work and that doesn't require a central authority (checkpoints, etc) is still an open problem.
- arez 8y ago
  I'm waiting for the cardano guys on this one, testnet with PoS will start soon and they don't make bullshit hype announcements ever
celticninja 8y ago
Proof-of-Stake(POS) is still theoretical at this stage, there is no working solution or proof-of-concept. It is a nice(ish) idea to reduce the energy consumption of blockchains but isnt really a solution to decentralisation.
- dlubarov 8y ago
  There are some working solutions now, like NEO, Dash, and NXT. Ethereum is sure to adopt it as well; a lot of details are TBD but there's little question that the community will adopt some form of PoS. I'm not saying it's perfect -- there are some downsides like needing a cap on fork distance in order to prevent stake bleeding attacks [1] -- but it's certainly viable. [1] https://eprint.iacr.org/2018/248.pdf https://eprint.iacr.org/2018/248.pdf

sudomake 8y ago

Yup, it anti-scales. If anything its scale resistant. Its a red queens race.