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Are there any alternative to the Bitcoin?

by rfoo 6y ago

linux-user 6y ago
Depends on the use case. If you want to pay anonymously online then there is Paysafecard for example (available in some countries and for some services). There are other blockchain currencies of course, but I think they all have the same environmental issues.
CryptoPunk 6y ago
Ethereum, but it still relies primarily on Proof of Work, with Ethereum's Proof of Stake Beacon Chain currently in the first phase of its launch, and not being used to secure transactions.
aww_dang 6y ago
Yeah, there's Nanocurrency. No fees, instant transactions and delegated proof of stake consensus. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nano_(cryptocurrency) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nano_(cryptocurrency) https://content.nano.org/whitepaper/Nano_Whitepaper_en.pdf https://content.nano.org/whitepaper/Nano_Whitepaper_en.pdf The whitepaper specifically addresses BTC's energy consumption on page one.
- StavrosK 6y ago
  I really like Nano, the whitepaper is pretty easy to read, they seem reasonably good and sending money is instant (sub-second). Pretty great for a currency that's meant to be used, rather than hoarded.
xerxespoy 6y ago
Take your pick: https://coingecko.com https://coingecko.com While many of these are forks of Bitcoin and use similarly wasteful proof mechanisms, many are also completely new and different. Several different consensus mechanisms are broadly used across these, most of which improve drastically on Bitcoins wasteful Proof of Work (PoW). Some even solve the problem with only very negligible energy footprint, such as the variations on Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT). It's been long-debated whether those alternatives trade safety for energy-savings, but after many years it would appear the reverse is true. The majority of projects that have succumbed to some kind of system-inherent weakness have been PoW protocols being "51% attacked", which is generally not a concern for the alternatives.

Are there any alternative to the Bitcoin?

by rfoo 6y ago

Are there any alternative to the Bitcoin?

Depends on the use case. If you want to pay anonymously online then there is Paysafecard for example (available in some countries and for some services). There are other blockchain currencies of course, but I think they all have the same environmental issues.

CryptoPunk 6y ago

Ethereum, but it still relies primarily on Proof of Work, with Ethereum's Proof of Stake Beacon Chain currently in the first phase of its launch, and not being used to secure transactions.

aww_dang 6y ago

Yeah, there's Nanocurrency. No fees, instant transactions and delegated proof of stake consensus. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nano_(cryptocurrency) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nano_(cryptocurrency) https://content.nano.org/whitepaper/Nano_Whitepaper_en.pdf https://content.nano.org/whitepaper/Nano_Whitepaper_en.pdf The whitepaper specifically addresses BTC's energy consumption on page one.

StavrosK 6y ago
I really like Nano, the whitepaper is pretty easy to read, they seem reasonably good and sending money is instant (sub-second). Pretty great for a currency that's meant to be used, rather than hoarded.

xerxespoy 6y ago

Take your pick: https://coingecko.com https://coingecko.com While many of these are forks of Bitcoin and use similarly wasteful proof mechanisms, many are also completely new and different. Several different consensus mechanisms are broadly used across these, most of which improve drastically on Bitcoins wasteful Proof of Work (PoW). Some even solve the problem with only very negligible energy footprint, such as the variations on Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT). It's been long-debated whether those alternatives trade safety for energy-savings, but after many years it would appear the reverse is true. The majority of projects that have succumbed to some kind of system-inherent weakness have been PoW protocols being "51% attacked", which is generally not a concern for the alternatives.