4 ms·

You’re right that number of blocks until transaction is considered safe is arbitrary but you can’t just arbitrarily raise this number to compensate for lower di

• gridlockd 7y ago
  > You’re right that number of blocks until transaction is considered safe is arbitrary but you can’t just arbitrarily raise this number to compensate for lower difficulty because interval between blocks is 10 minutes and so in effect you’re reducing usefulness (and value) of the whole transaction system. Yes, I admitted as much, but it's not a linear value relationship. There's a point where difficulty that is "too low" makes the system unacceptably vulnerable, but at that point the coin must be almost worthless and the incentive to be a malicious actor is equally low. There's another point where difficulty is high enough that for all practical purposes, a malicious actor has no chance of turning a profit. No further increase in difficulty beyond that point adds any value. Bitcoin is well past that point. I wouldn't rule out that the belief that "more difficulty = more security" may cause certain people to go bullish and buy, therefore driving the price, but it's not such a direct relationship as price vs. cost of mining.