On the Merits of Proof of Work | Braiins \ stacker news ~bitcoin

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On the Merits of Proof of Work | Braiins braiins.com/blog/merits-of-proof-of-work

69 sats \ 7 comments \ @BTCMiner 19 Apr 2022 bitcoin

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10 sats \ 1 reply \ @uco 19 Apr 2022

Bitcoin POW follows Conservation of Energy:

Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. It can only be transferred or transformed from one form to another.

Proof of Stake doesn't abide by the above. Instead POS creates "energy" from thin air.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @247bf84fda 25 Aug freebie

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0 sats \ 3 replies \ @BTCMiner OP 19 Apr 2022

Table of Contents

Historical Context

Bitcoin as a Communication Protocol

Electricity and Bitcoin

The Morality of Bitcoin’s Energy Use

Proof of Stake: a Better Alternative?

Conclusion

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @BTCMiner OP 19 Apr 2022

Is it wrong that the electricity consumed by the bitcoin network is significant? Frankly, no. As we showed in the previous section, the electricity used is directly related to the value that users place on its block space.

Proof of Work is a brilliant invention by Adam Back, and an essential component to the bitcoin network. It has roots in defeating Sybil attacks and denial of service, and is what makes bitcoin economically unattractive to attack. Proof of work in bitcoin establishes a pay-to-use communications network, and assigns a cost to block space (bandwidth) that is directly related to the value that its users place on the ability to transact, via fees. Bitcoin miners provide a service, which they consume electricity to provide.

Proof of stake is an alternative method of establishing consensus in blockchains, but the outsized capital required to secure the network may be derived from ecologically costly means, and it has inherent centralizing forces that pose risks to the protocol over time.