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I think it's more that case that it's a transfer mechanism. It transfers the irrefutability of transactions into an energy cost. The reason it consumes so much

I think it's more that case that it's a transfer mechanism. It transfers the irrefutability of transactions into an energy cost. The reason it consumes so much energy is because people really don't trust each other.

timeon 5y ago
> because people really don't trust each other Not necessary people in general. But people interested in crypto certainly don't trust each other.
- politician 5y ago
  Closer. The user-agents running Bitcoin (nodes) are performing an algorithm that was purposely designed such that all such user-agents are mutually distrusting.
  - hgfshfg123 5y ago
    My second point also includes that people are willing to spend all of this energy for mining because of the Bitcoin value. I'm suggesting that people are in because they distrust the current currency system: The more they distrust other currency, the more Bitcoin they buy, the higher the energy costs as more participate, the more irrefutable the ledger, the more energy is spent... So the more demand there is for irrefutability, the higher the energy costs.
    - cuteboy19 5y ago
      Most people buy Bitcoin on exchanges. That negates trustlessness
      - scottiebarnes 5y ago
        A crypto exchange is not part of a blockchain's protocol. Its a distribution layer built on top of it.
        cuteboy19 5y ago
        That's fine, I'm just telling you that these people clearly are not interested in the properties of the blockchain itself
- Avshalom 5y ago
  If the constant scams in cryptocurrency space show anything it's that they trust each other way too much. "Trust less" is a sort of aesthetic pose more than anything
cuteboy19 5y ago
> people really don't trust each other Not even that. A large majority of Bitcoin holders actually store 'their' Bitcoin in exchanges (who are known to be completely untrustworthy). Binance's cold wallet is actually the largest single holder of Bitcoin. It's just a get rich quick scheme
- hgfshfg123 5y ago
  Not denying that there's a HUGE bubble in it with hustlers and suckers. That there's a link between how irrefutable the ledger is and the energy cost/how distributed the miners are is what I find quite interesting. It's not quite E=mc^2, but it feels like it's getting there.
- scottiebarnes 5y ago
  Most of the world's gold is stored in central bank vaults guarded round the clock by armed guards. What does this quality imply for most commodities?

timeon 5y ago

> because people really don't trust each other Not necessary people in general. But people interested in crypto certainly don't trust each other.

politician 5y ago
Closer. The user-agents running Bitcoin (nodes) are performing an algorithm that was purposely designed such that all such user-agents are mutually distrusting.
- hgfshfg123 5y ago
  My second point also includes that people are willing to spend all of this energy for mining because of the Bitcoin value. I'm suggesting that people are in because they distrust the current currency system: The more they distrust other currency, the more Bitcoin they buy, the higher the energy costs as more participate, the more irrefutable the ledger, the more energy is spent... So the more demand there is for irrefutability, the higher the energy costs.
  - cuteboy19 5y ago
    Most people buy Bitcoin on exchanges. That negates trustlessness
    - scottiebarnes 5y ago
      A crypto exchange is not part of a blockchain's protocol. Its a distribution layer built on top of it.
      - cuteboy19 5y ago
        That's fine, I'm just telling you that these people clearly are not interested in the properties of the blockchain itself
Avshalom 5y ago
If the constant scams in cryptocurrency space show anything it's that they trust each other way too much. "Trust less" is a sort of aesthetic pose more than anything

cuteboy19 5y ago

> people really don't trust each other Not even that. A large majority of Bitcoin holders actually store 'their' Bitcoin in exchanges (who are known to be completely untrustworthy). Binance's cold wallet is actually the largest single holder of Bitcoin. It's just a get rich quick scheme

hgfshfg123 5y ago
Not denying that there's a HUGE bubble in it with hustlers and suckers. That there's a link between how irrefutable the ledger is and the energy cost/how distributed the miners are is what I find quite interesting. It's not quite E=mc^2, but it feels like it's getting there.
scottiebarnes 5y ago
Most of the world's gold is stored in central bank vaults guarded round the clock by armed guards. What does this quality imply for most commodities?