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| DATE | 2017-08-02 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
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| SUBJECT | Subject: [Hangout - NYLXS] bitcoin chaos
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From hangout-bounces-at-nylxs.com Wed Aug 2 01:38:14 2017
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Subject: [Hangout - NYLXS] bitcoin chaos
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anyone mining bitcoins?
Check this out
https://www.wired.com/story/bitcoin-is-splitting-in-two-now-what/
Imagine logging into your checking account and seeing that you now also
have a second account, stocked with an equal amount of a newly created
currency. It could happen this morning to many people who hold the
cryptocurrency bitcoin.
Not long after 8 am EDT, a new currency called Bitcoin Cash is due to
appear, split from bitcoin in a technical maneuver called a =E2=80=9Chard f=
ork.=E2=80=9D
It=E2=80=99s the project of a group that says bitcoin=E2=80=99s keepers are=
limiting its
reach by resisting change.
The creation of Bitcoin Cash is the most striking result yet of a
2-year-old feud over bitcoin=E2=80=99s future. Bitcoin is collectively valu=
ed at
$47 billion but remains a niche product. Backers of the new currency say
it=E2=80=99s necessary if bitcoin is to make a real mark on how the world u=
ses
money.
Bitcoin Cash=E2=80=99s confusing origin=E2=80=94and name=E2=80=94risk makin=
g it harder for
cryptocurrency to gain wider acceptance. =E2=80=9CBitcoin=E2=80=99s an incr=
edibly
well-known brand, and to the extent it=E2=80=99s fracturing into various pi=
eces,
that=E2=80=99s confusing to regulators and consumers,=E2=80=9D says Dan Mor=
ehead,
founder and CEO of Pantera Capital, which invests in bitcoin and
digital-currency startups. Morehead says he=E2=80=99s neutral on the disput=
e.
=E2=80=9CIt just sounds bad; we=E2=80=99re not used to currencies that spli=
t into two.=E2=80=9D
Adding to the confusion: Not everyone who holds bitcoin will get an
instant stash of Bitcoin Cash today. Some leading bitcoin-storage
services have said they won=E2=80=99t recognize the new currency, forcing p=
eople
to move their business if they want to claim the new variety of cryptocoins.
Bitcoin was created by a pseudonymous coder (or coders) known as Satoshi
Nakamoto, who released the software that powers the currency in 2009. It
relies on a network of computers linked over the internet that
collaborate to process and record all transactions in a digital ledger
called the blockchain. Computers dubbed =E2=80=9Cminers=E2=80=9D keep the l=
edger updated
by adding to the sequence of =E2=80=9Cblocks=E2=80=9D that make up the bloc=
kchain as new
transactions take place. Proponents say this system creates a
trustworthy currency free from political oversight and capable of
faster, cheaper digital transactions than possible with conventional
currencies.
Acrimony among bitcoiners stems from disagreement about limits on the
blockchain=E2=80=99s capacity baked into Nakamoto=E2=80=99s design, and wha=
t to do about
them. The bitcoin network can only support around seven transactions per
second, compared with thousands per second piped through conventional
financial networks such as Visa.
Bitcoin Cash is a variation on bitcoin=E2=80=99s design, incorporating much
bigger blocks, allowing for more transactions in a given time.
Supporters say their project is necessary because planned changes that
could expand bitcoin=E2=80=99s capacity are not sufficient. =E2=80=9CAt thi=
s point, it
seems that the differences are irreconcilable and a split is
unavoidable,=E2=80=9D says Amaury S=C3=A9chet, an ex-Facebook engineer who =
has
developed code to implement Bitcoin Cash.
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The Bitcoin Schism Shows the Genius of Open Source
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Stellar Emerges From Shadow of Bitcoin to Find a Home Overseas
Owners of pre-split bitcoin will be recorded as owning cryptocoins on
both blockchains. Some bitcoin exchanges=E2=80=94where owners transact and =
store
cryptocurrency=E2=80=94have said that they will support the new currency and
credit customer accounts with Bitcoin Cash when it appears. But others
will not.
Bitcoin Cash=E2=80=99s value, and its effect on cryptocurrency=E2=80=99s pl=
ace in the
world, will be determined by how many investors and users switch from
traditional bitcoin. Late Monday, one futures market pegged the value of
a unit of Bitcoin Cash at about $300, roughly 1/10 the value of one Bitcoin.
The Bitcoin Cash adjustment to Nakamoto=E2=80=99s original creation does he=
lp
address the currency=E2=80=99s capacity problem, says Emin G=C3=BCn Sirer, =
an
associate professor at Cornell who has studied bitcoin=E2=80=99s design. =
=E2=80=9CThe
science to the extent we=E2=80=99ve measured it aligns with their reasoning=
,=E2=80=9D he
says. More important, and trickier, is whether enough people will use
and invest in Bitcoin Cash to keep it going. =E2=80=9CThe crucial part is t=
he
amount of economic interest in this new currency,=E2=80=9D Sirer says.
Support by bitcoin exchanges will enable use of Bitcoin Cash. Crucially,
that could motivate more miners to put their computing power to work on
maintaining Bitcoin Cash=E2=80=99s new blockchain, making it more reliable =
and
stable, Sirer says. Miners are incentivized with new bitcoins for their
work, and if Bitcoin Cash looks healthy, earning some early could strike
miners as a good bet.
Would success for Bitcoin Cash come at the expense of the original
bitcoin=E2=80=99s ideals? It depends on whom you ask.
Defenders of the original design say too sharp an increase in capacity
could raise the computer hardware requirements for contributing to the
blockchain too much, opening the door to centralizing control in the
hands of a few dominant players. S=C3=A9chet argues he=E2=80=99s fighting f=
or the
soul of bitcoin, and Bitcoin Cash will force the cryptocurrency
community to take scalability more seriously, even if the project fails.
=E2=80=9CEither bitcoin does not scale and Bitcoin Cash will overtake it ov=
er
time, or it will scale because of the pressure created by Bitcoin Cash,=E2=
=80=9D
S=C3=A9chet says. =E2=80=9CEither is a win for bitcoin users.=E2=80=9D
Some trying to build businesses on top of bitcoin are becoming
frustrated by the ongoing arguments. =E2=80=9CIt really has dragged on,=E2=
=80=9D says
Morehead of Pantera Capital. Nobody ever said that upending the
financial system would be easy.
-- =
So many immigrant groups have swept through our town
that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological
proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
http://www.mrbrklyn.com
DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002
http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software
http://www2.mrbrklyn.com/resources - Unpublished Archive
http://www.coinhangout.com - coins!
http://www.brooklyn-living.com
Being so tracked is for FARM ANIMALS and and extermination camps,
but incompatible with living as a free human being. -RI Safir 2013
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