> 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 ho

> 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.