3 ms·

is anyone actually using this?

• wongarsu 8y ago
  One person is enough. If one person inside Runet receives blocks from the wider internet (via satellite or other means), their client will automatically forward the blocks to all clients they are connected to, quickly spreading them accross Russia. And because Bitcoin follows the chain of blocks that took the most work to create, latency isn't an issue. Mining (and making a profit while doing so) is more latency sensitive, but should be able to tollerate a satelite uplink. And again, one person having a satelite uplink is enough to give all Russian miners a chance.
  • ForHackernews 8y ago
    Is there even much mining in Russia? My understanding is the overwhelming majority of bitcoin mining is in China.
    • wongarsu 8y ago
      Mining is mostly a game of getting cheap electricity, and it's hard to beat China (where infrastructure construction is often about creating jobs and projecting power instead of classic profitability). It seems like electricity prices in Russia are similar to the US. The legal position of bitcoin seems to be worse in Russia though, so you would expect less mining than in the US, and a lot less than in China.