4 ms·
> Knowing consensus rules I can verify the chain and if I notice something fishy - I go back to figuring out if I’m being attacked. But you don't know the cons
by stale2002 8y ago
> Knowing consensus rules I can verify the chain and if I notice something fishy - I go back to figuring out if I’m being attacked.
But you don't know the consensus rules. How do you know that sha256 is the "real" bitcoin proof of work algorithm? Maybe the real POW algorithm is sha512?
You can't get around this bootstrapping problem.
- keymone 8y agothere is no "real" bitcoin. everybody decides for themselves which consensus rules they deem "correct". it's your money, it's your choice and it's your responsibility. the point is that when you choose consensus rules bootstrapping doesn't rely on third parties in bitcoin. it does in many other coins including ethereum.
- stale2002 8y agoYes, and just like you can choose which consensus rules to follow, other people can choose which chain to follow. There are no first principles where you derive everything from. A person simply picks a chain to follow, it is their choice and their responsibility, in the same exact way that one chooses for consensus rules.
- keymone 8y ago> just like you can choose which consensus rules to follow, other people can choose which chain to follow. the two are not the same. consensus rules dictate how to validate the chain. following the chain without knowing the rules and validating it is meaningless. might as well trust any existing fiat system. > There are no first principles where you derive everything from. no, but there is an objective measure of security contributed to every chain - proof of work. by validating competing chains and measuring how much work they contain you can make informed decision. PoS has none of that, trusting chainstate from third party has none of that, only validating for yourself.