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881 sats \ 1 reply \ @siggy47 4 Dec 2023 \ on: Btc, specialization, and ecological niches bitcoin
My prior response did not directly address your question. I tend to default to the idea that the bitcoin base level remains simple and secure, with all the functionality being built out in layers. In your scenario, though, there is nothing preventing the proliferation of clone btc networks. It would take a lot more work, though, reinventing the wheel to add specialized functionality. By then it would probably be easier to piggyback onto specialized layer 2s and 3s that have already proven to be viable.
One of the key questions, to me, is to ask: what does it mean to be a "layer" vs a totally other project? I'm not clear on the matter. For LN, the layer-ness is that transactions are grounded in the same asset, which seems preferable when the affordances work out.
But consider the shittiest of shitcons, Tron, which now seems to have genuine utility, as a kind of transport layer for Tether. It's an abuse of the term to say it's an L2 for Tether; but also you can't deny that you know what I'm talking about when I say that.
I expect more stuff like this, except that intersects w/ btc. Actually, Tether itself is irrevocably bound up with btc's fate. I'm still not sure how much this is because of the nature of technology unfolding (e.g., an alternate kind of determinism) and how much is bc of the strategic choices of USDT leadership.
That would be a fun thing to dig into, but I sadly don't know enough about the nuances of Tether to take it on.
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