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No, it isn't. "Validating" a transaction takes very little energy -- in most cases, it's a simple ECDSA signature check. What's being "validated" by PoW mining
by duskwuff 5y ago
No, it isn't. "Validating" a transaction takes very little energy -- in most cases, it's a simple ECDSA signature check.
What's being "validated" by PoW mining is that someone has done a bunch of expensive, energy-intensive work on a block of transactions to satisfy an arbitrary condition (that a hash of the block be less than a target value). Explaining how this actually "secures the transactions" involves a great deal more hand-waving.
- randomhodler84 5y agoNo hand waving. One needs to outspend the energy (hash rate of the network) to undo transactions, censor or reorder transactions. The (probabilistic) finality of the transactions is contingent on the energy spent. It’s not a complex idea.
- lottin 5y agoBitcoin's hashrate has dropped by 50% a number of times and no transactions have been undone, censored or reordered. This is pretty solid evidence that at least a large percentage (if not all) of the energy spent by bitcoin is wasted.