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Bitcoin network hash rate down 13.4% due to Kazakh protests

26 points by ushakov 5y ago

knuthsat 5y ago
Obviously Chinese miners went to Kazakhstan to mine.
- Proven 5y ago
  [dead]
verdverm 5y ago
Reminder that Bitcoin and crypto can only be successful in the presence of government due to the stability they create.
- sunshinerag 5y ago
  ? Not sure why that inference? Hashrate going down is something Bitcoin is designed to cope with. It adjusts accordingly and no harm done.
schappim 5y ago
Why has the value of Bitcoin dropped during the same time frame? Would a decrease in hash rate create scarcity in new coins, and push up value? Or is the creation of new coins so few that they have no impact on price anymore?
- sunshinerag 5y ago
  No. Hash rate decrease does not alter coin emission (scarcity).
  - thedudeabides5 5y ago
    Well, on the margin is makes finding a block take marginally longer (is my understanding). So over looong periods of time, it would lead to marginal differences in outstanding blocks. But with the resets in the difficulty (to target ~10min block time, again I could be wrong) every two weeks, it's not really an issue. On the other hand, it should increase the profitability of mining for those left in the game, who are X% more likely to get a block with the rest of the network down.
    - schappim 5y ago
      >> makes finding a block take marginally longer (is my understanding) This was my general understanding, but The rest I was uncertain about, thanks for adding to my knowledge!
- SamReidHughes 5y ago
  That was because of the Fed.
- bgroat 5y ago
  Drops in hash rate make a 51% attack easier which compromises the stability of the network
mythrwy 5y ago
BTC probably is much less a store of value when the internet is cut off. Didn't seem very hard for the Kazakhstan government to do either. I feel like there might be a cautionary tale in there somewhere.
mwattsun 5y ago
In my attempts to learn more about crypto, I've been reading about 51% attacks and thinking that a nation state or states working together could destroy Bitcoin if they wanted to. This Kazakh situation is another piece of the puzzle: Nation states could turn off the biggest miners before launching the 51% attack With a per-unit consumption of 3250 W, that would put the electricity capacity needed to power all those ASICs at ~4.4 GW of power. That limits the possible candidates to pull off such a huge endeavor to powerful nation states who would work in coordination with large energy producers. (Jan 2020) https://braiins.com/blog/how-much-would-it-cost-to-51-attack-bitcoin https://braiins.com/blog/how-much-would-it-cost-to-51-attack...
- Proven 5y ago

26 points by ushakov 5y ago

knuthsat 5y ago

Obviously Chinese miners went to Kazakhstan to mine.

Proven 5y ago
[dead]

verdverm 5y ago

Reminder that Bitcoin and crypto can only be successful in the presence of government due to the stability they create.

sunshinerag 5y ago
? Not sure why that inference? Hashrate going down is something Bitcoin is designed to cope with. It adjusts accordingly and no harm done.

schappim 5y ago

Why has the value of Bitcoin dropped during the same time frame? Would a decrease in hash rate create scarcity in new coins, and push up value? Or is the creation of new coins so few that they have no impact on price anymore?

sunshinerag 5y ago
No. Hash rate decrease does not alter coin emission (scarcity).
- thedudeabides5 5y ago
  Well, on the margin is makes finding a block take marginally longer (is my understanding). So over looong periods of time, it would lead to marginal differences in outstanding blocks. But with the resets in the difficulty (to target ~10min block time, again I could be wrong) every two weeks, it's not really an issue. On the other hand, it should increase the profitability of mining for those left in the game, who are X% more likely to get a block with the rest of the network down.
  - schappim 5y ago
    >> makes finding a block take marginally longer (is my understanding) This was my general understanding, but The rest I was uncertain about, thanks for adding to my knowledge!
SamReidHughes 5y ago
That was because of the Fed.
bgroat 5y ago
Drops in hash rate make a 51% attack easier which compromises the stability of the network

mythrwy 5y ago

BTC probably is much less a store of value when the internet is cut off. Didn't seem very hard for the Kazakhstan government to do either. I feel like there might be a cautionary tale in there somewhere.

mwattsun 5y ago

In my attempts to learn more about crypto, I've been reading about 51% attacks and thinking that a nation state or states working together could destroy Bitcoin if they wanted to. This Kazakh situation is another piece of the puzzle: Nation states could turn off the biggest miners before launching the 51% attack With a per-unit consumption of 3250 W, that would put the electricity capacity needed to power all those ASICs at ~4.4 GW of power. That limits the possible candidates to pull off such a huge endeavor to powerful nation states who would work in coordination with large energy producers. (Jan 2020) https://braiins.com/blog/how-much-would-it-cost-to-51-attack-bitcoin https://braiins.com/blog/how-much-would-it-cost-to-51-attack...

Proven 5y ago