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Largest Bitcoin Mining Pool Pledges Not To Execute '51% Attack'
An anonymous reader writes "Bitcoin transactions are confirmed by performing complex calculations, also known as 'mining.' If a single mining pool gains 51% of the overall computational power in the network, various forms of transaction manipulation become possible. Only a few years into Bitcoin's existence, this existential threat appears to be at hand, with Bitcoin mining pool ghash.io approaching 51% of mining power. ghash.io has now assured the Bitcoin community in a press release (PDF): 'GHash.IO does not have any intentions to execute a 51% attack, as it will do serious damage to the Bitcoin community, of which we are a part.' But can a network relying on such assurances survive in the long run?"
Also, you could just as easily read this the opposite way: "Nice cryptocurrency you have there. It would be a real shame if we got to the point where we could completely control its value in other currencies and reap huge profits while doing so. Not that we'd ever dream of doing that - we promise that we're not even really considering the possibility."
I am officially gone from
Libertarian currency in "falls into monopoly" shock.
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
Let me get this straight. In order to use Bitcoins, I don't have to trust any government ... but I *do* have to trust a group of random people on the Internet who have a massive stake in the market and say they would never manipulate that market.
Choose your poison, I guess.
[Sir Garlon] is the marvellest knight that is now living, for he destroyeth many good knights, for he goeth invisible.
That's utterly backwards.
The US dollar works because the Federal Reserve promises to manipulate it.
You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
Bitcoin is decentralized. It is not controlled by a central government. It is secure against manipulation, unlike cash. It's like cash, so if it's in my wallet, there's no way anyone can steal it. Bitcoin is surely going to replace all the fiat paper currency. I can already spend it at overstock.com, purchase a Tesla car, or buy illegal drugs online with it. And it has no impact on the environment, because mining operations are forced to go where electricity is cheapest to be profitable. Who could ask for more?
It is secure against manipulation
Did you even read the headline or summary?
I wish people who didn't understand basic economics wouldn't post like they did.
Deflation makes an item worth $1000, worth $990 later. It hurts people with assets. However, if you have cash, that same amount of cash will buy more as deflation continues. Deflation is bad because SMART people stop buying things that will be cheaper tomorrow and inventory in shops is a bad thing because you pay interest on holding it while it reduces in value.
Inflation does not allow a country to deficit spend forever. Inflation allows paying off debt at a future time cheaper only if you ignore the interest on the debt. Usually interest on debt is higher than inflation, so that doesn't work.
What you were attempting to say is a fiat currency can never go bankrupt. If they country cannot pay debt they can print money until they can pay debt, that is the cause of hyper-inflation.
Please stop posting explanations of things that you don't understand.
Did you feel the whoosh?
[FUCK BETA]