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The value lies not in the energy but in its utility to facilitate transfers without the expressed permission of some authority. The energy isnt wasted though,
by midjji 6y ago
The value lies not in the energy but in its utility to facilitate transfers without the expressed permission of some authority.
The energy isnt wasted though, the safety of the trustless transaction is proportional to the expended energy. While not the source of value, it is a necessity, not a waste.
- fakedang 6y agoSome authority could just demand your bitcoin on some gimmicky pretext (USA) or draft laws largely stymying its use (China). Also I've yet to find a reason to transfer $30k in one go for any reason - I've yet to fall victim to some kidnapper or blackmailer who wants cash by the evening without raising any alarms on my part.
- ForHackernews 6y agoThe energy is a pure waste. The "difficulty" of bitcoin blocks is continually increasing but the utility of being able to transact in bitcoin is not greater today than it was in 2015 (arguably less, since fewer merchants will sell goods in bitcoin)
- tsimionescu 6y ago> The energy isnt wasted though, the safety of the trustless transaction is proportional to the expended energy. While not the source of value, it is a necessity, not a waste. This would be somewhat true if Bitcoin were the only mechanism for trustless transactions, but there are others that consume far less energy, such as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawala https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawala.
- jasdine817 6y agoIn what way is Hawala trustless?
- tsimionescu 6y agoOops, you're absolutely right, I was thinking of distributed payments and somehow confused that in my head with being trustless...
- mr_woozy 6y agohow could you possibly call Hawala trustless if you understand it?
- tsimionescu 6y agoOops, you're absolutely right, I was thinking of distributed payments and somehow confused that in my head with being trustless...