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This isn't true. A protocol change would require every Bitcoin user to change their software. 51% regards miner based attacks on the network such as double spen
by josephagoss 12y ago
This isn't true. A protocol change would require every Bitcoin user to change their software. 51% regards miner based attacks on the network such as double spends.
Miners still have to obey the rules of the Bitcoin nodes. If a miner tried to generate more coins, even if 100% of miners tried, it would fail as the several thousand active Bitcoin nodes would simply reject the blocks.
- sanswork 12y agoit is true. Google softforks for more info.
- josephagoss 12y agoI guess I wasn't very clear, good point! Softforks cannot add more coins into the network, they can, at most, restrict earlier valid transactions. It's always been known that someone with over 51% of the power can rewrite the blockchain, but only within the rules of the Bitcoin nodes. For example, a softfork could never spend coins from your wallet without your key, it could never make more coins or delete a users balance. This is a good post on the difference: http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/30817/what-is-a-soft-fork http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/30817/what-is-a-s... 51% certainly gives someone a lot of power, but it's power with limits, and the limits are the rules coded into every Bitcoin node.
- sanswork 12y agoI never claimed those abilities just that a small group of people had feature control over the currency.