3 ms·

Is that true? Can the "difficulty" level in hashing ever reach the bit-length of the key?

• chiph 13y ago
  Technically, I don't know, as I don't personally understand the code behind the mining and what the difficulty would be like to mine the very last bitcoin. But from a social aspect, cracking that key would be like hitting one of the multi-state lotteries. And people continue to play them all the time, despite the astronomical odds against their winning.
  • hrjet 13y ago
    Thinking about this a bit more, if it ever becomes reasonable to co-operatively crack a key, it could only be a good thing for bitcoin economy. 1. If the owner of the wallet still has access to it, they can easily transfer the amount to smaller wallets, and reduce their risk. 2. If the owner has lost access, it is good for the community to recover the lost coins.