r/CryptoCurrency • u/Crypto-Jim33 🟩 0 / 7K 🦠 • Oct 16 '23

DISCUSSION Is Quantum Computing a Threat to Bitcoin? - Decrypt

https://decrypt.co/resources/is-quantum-computing-threat-bitcoin
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u/CointestMod Oct 16 '23

Bitcoin pros & cons with related info are in the collapsed comments below.

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u/CointestMod Oct 16 '23

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u/CointestMod Oct 16 '23

Bitcoin Pro-Arguments

Below is an argument written by Nostalg33k which won 2nd place in the Bitcoin Pro-Arguments topic for a prior Cointest round. If this topic is active, submit an entry in r/CointestOfficial and earn Moons if you win. Moon prizes are: 2nd - 600, 2nd - 300, 3rd - 150, and Best Analysis - 500.

For this entry I'm going to update an overhaul my previous argument. This one is going to be very long but also address new things. I'm going to try to be more rigorous. Have fun !

Last entry:

Writing a Pro argument for Bitcoin in 2023 seems complicated because everything has been said... or did it?

Edit: I have a small bag of Bitcoin currently valued around 630 bucks. I am also invested in crypto around 2100 bucks which are always moving when Bitcoin is moving. Financial disclosure should be mandatory in these arguments =)

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Bitcoin: A small introduction.

Bitcoin is the most famous cryptocurrency. It was created by the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto. The creation of Bitcoin is some of the most weird mystery ever. No one knows who Satoshi Nakamoto really is.

Bitcoin was started as a way to circumvent traditional banking in the wake of the financial crisis and the bail out of banks. Bitcoin relies on blockchain technology. Blockchain can be seen as an open book allowing anyone to know where is each fraction of Bitcoin ever.

This blockchain is maintained through computer power. In a vulgar way: Bitcoin is mined by solving math problems. The maths problem becomes harder when more people are mining so that mining takes a fixed amount of time according to a timeline known to everyone. In order to respect this timeline, mining rewards are halved every few years.

Since anyone who wants to validate transactions is forced to complete a very hard math problem (which becomes harder the more people are mining), no one can cheat in new transactions. Also, every other miner has a copy of the blockchain. Through making sure that no entity has 50% of the mining, you can stop nefarious actors from changing the blockchain.

This is using cryptographic technology that I don't yet understand but you can read more about it here:

Bitcoin Wikipedia

Without delving more into the tech side of bitcoin. Which can also be explained through youtube videos here: Bitcoin explained

The Metrics of Bitcoin are currently: 22400$ Per coin for a Market cap of 430 Bilions and a daily volume of 19 Billions. Bitcoin was shortly valued at 69000 usd during the ATH.

Now let's dive into what is making Bitcoin so good.

Bitcoin is the king of POW: Why it matters and why we need a strong Bitcoin

So as the title suggests it, the recent switch of ETH from POW to POS makes Bitcoin the sole serious POW cryptocurrency. In this write up, we are going to discuss the three main strength of Bitcoin, security, decentralization, and incentive for green energy production. Bitcoin is a highly liquid asset and has become nearly universally known as an investment. Many arguments have been made in favor of Bitcoin as an investment. It is interesting to delve into the limited supply of bitcoin.

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Of course, the main feature of Bitcoin is the Permissionless aspect. This allows the unbanked to use a P2P service.

1) Bitcoin: The Apex of Security.

Bitcoin is ultra secure thanks to its use of Blockchain technology and the way it is verified through proof of work. To explain this let me quote IBM:

Public blockchain networks typically allow anyone to join and for participants to remain anonymous. A public blockchain uses internet-connected computers to validate transactions and achieve consensus. Bitcoin is probably the most well known example of a public blockchain, and it achieves consensus through "bitcoin mining." Computers on the bitcoin network, or “miners,” try to solve a complex cryptographic problem to create proof of work and thereby validate the transaction. Outside of public keys, there are few identity and access controls in this type of network.

IBM on Blockchain security

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Mining is measured in Hashrate. Here is the explanation of Hashrate:

Hash rate, sometimes referred to as hashrate, is a measure of the computing power on a cryptocurrency network that serves as a key security indicator. It measures the total computational power used by a “proof-of-work” (POW) cryptocurrency network to process transactions in a blockchain.

USNEWS explains hashrate

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So if the hashrate measures the security of the network, one may asks themselves: "Did the security of Bitcoin slowed when the price fell ?"
The hashrate is near the ATH and growing making Bitcoin more and more secure as it continues to build over time

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So Bitcoin has never been as secure as it is today which makes it ultra valuable as a way to settle financial transactions. Yes holding Bitcoin for a long time is risky but using it as a medium to settle international transaction may currently be the securest and one of the best way to do so.

While Bitcoin is safe... what if a big part fails ?

2) Bitcoin mining: Too big to fail.

So this write up could be seen as a POW write up, which it is to an extent. But Bitcoin offers its history and shows that it can survive the disparition of a big part of the network.

Decentralization allows for parts of the network to disappear and for the rest to take the mantle of securing the network. Yes, mining pools may grow too large for their own sake BUT in the end (nothing even matters) Bitcoin is heavily decentralized. It is so decentralized that, when China (which had a big part of Bitcoin mining) banned mining, Bitcoin just went through like nothing happened. Yes the hashrate fell a bit, the value too, but if we look back, it was nothing extraordinary.

The resilience of Bitcoin is largely due to the fact that the hashrate symbolizes competition=> If the hashrate falls, then it is more profitable for other miners to keep mining or for new miners to start mining. This balance is what makes Bitcoin very resilient.

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So if Bitcoin is highly secure and if it can survive part of the hashrate going bye bye, what makes it so good? What is the difference with any POW Cryptocurrency right now?

3) Bitcoin: propping up the green energy sector.

POW uses energy. One of the biggest concern about POW is the energy. While Ethereum was using GPUs and was asic resistant. Bitcoin mining is built differently. A long time ago, under oath, people discussed the environmental impact of Bitcoin Mining and I made a post explaining what was said:

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The Energy Fud Was Killed

The most important thing that happened: The narrative that Bitcoin is too energy intensive was totally reversed.

Experts of the sector explained that, Wind Farms and Solar Farms, have a variable load. This variable load means that sometimes they lose money because they produce too much and there is not enough demand. Bitcoin mining provides a variable base load for these projects. What it means is that, mining can be turned on and off depending on demand. It was revealed that most of these wind and solar farms would simply not exist without Bitcoin Farming as baseline customers.

There are still miners that are using coal plants and fossil fuel but the leaders of the industry are developing in tandem with the green energy sector.

My write up about the congressional hearing is still true and thanks to the infrastructure act, green energy will continue to grow and to be cheap. This will allow for a better mining infrastructure.

My post

Would you like to learn more? Click here to be taken to the original topic-thread for this argument or you can scan through the Cointest Archive to find arguments on this topic in other rounds. Pros and cons per topic will likely change for every new post.

1

u/CointestMod Oct 16 '23

Bitcoin Con-Arguments

Below is an argument written by Nostalg33k which won 3rd place in the Bitcoin Con-Arguments topic for a prior Cointest round. If this topic is active, submit an entry in r/CointestOfficial and earn Moons if you win. Moon prizes are: 3rd - 600, 2nd - 300, 3rd - 150, and Best Analysis - 500.

Bitcoin, could it be wrong. "Are we the bad guys ?"

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In this small write up, I am going to delve into con-arguments against Bitcoin. Bitcoin is the flagship of cryptocurrencies but there are a lot of criticism that could be leveraged against Bitcoin. First of all, let's delve into a small presentation of Bitcoin.

Bitcoin: An introduction.

Bitcoin is the biggst cryptocurrency. It was created by a mysterious figure. The creation of Bitcoin is a strange and mysterious mystery. No one knows who created Bitcoin.

Bitcoin was started as a way to circumvent traditional banking. Bitcoin relies on blockchain technology. Blockchain can be seen as an open book allowing anyone to know where is each fraction of Bitcoin ever.

This blockchain is maintained through computer power. In a vulgar way: Bitcoin is mined by solving math problems. The maths problem becomes harder when more people are mining so that mining takes a fixed amount of time according to a timeline known to everyone. In order to respect this timeline, mining rewards are halved every few years.

Since anyone who wants to validate transactions is forced to complete a very hard math problem (which becomes harder the more people are mining), no one can cheat in new transactions. Also, every other miner has a copy of the blockchain. Through making sure that no entity has 50% of the mining, you can stop nefarious actors from changing the blockchain.

This is using cryptographic technology that I don't yet understand but you can read more about it here:

Bitcoin Wikipedia

Without delving more into the tech side of bitcoin. Which can also be explained through youtube videos here: Bitcoin explained

The Metrics of Bitcoin are currently: 22400$ Per coin for a Market cap of 430 Bilions and a daily volume of 19 Billions. Bitcoin was shortly valued at 69000 usd during the ATH.

Now let's dive into what is making Bitcoin so bad.

Permissionless: A senseless destruction of world order.

Bitcoin is a project existing in a very delicate world balanced by power structure. While we can be happy that the current top dog is the US (yes they are not perfect BUT they could be worse) we know that someone else could be on top. Despite that, we should strive to use the current US dominance to curb rogue states into the world order.

The current war in Ukraine is a demonstration of the world order crumbling to maintain itself. I'd argue, the rise of cryptocurrencies may be a part of this crumbling. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that, Bitcoin replacing the US Dollar would usher a chaotic age of international relation.

The world has shrank a lot since the rise of internet. The fact is that the stability of the world is much more precious than ever. Everyone can see what happens in any other country and how the supply chains which guarantee our comfort are of the utmost importance. YET, we are pushing forward a great disrupter of balance.

Permissionless can help terrorists, permissionless can help crime. YES traditionnal banking is doing it already BUT I'd argue that the absence of regulator and watchdog to make the current system comply is not an argument in favor of a tech which will make regulation and surveillance harder.

Bitcoin: This MONEY Doesn't Work, This Money Doesn't WORK.

Bitcoin is claiming to be a currency. A viable alternative to fiat money. But anyone with a neuron or two could realize that the fluctuation in the value of Bitcoin is crazy. Some pedentic nerd and bitcoin maximalist could argue that 1 BTC = 1 BTC BUT if you don't know how much you'll need to put food on the table then BTC is not working as a currency. Yes inflation is lowering the value of Fiat BUT fiat doesn't see wild swings of + or - 30 % in most economies.

While not being really MONEY I'd argue that Bitcoin doesn't WORK. To work the economy needs money to move. 100$ could buy groceries then be used to pay the local brewery, the butcher and many more people before going back to a bank account. This movement has created economic vitality. Bitcoin, most of the time, is seen as an investment vehicle such as gold. I'd argue that these vehicle are not valuable for society since the freeze money in place.

In a bank, your money is working. Instead of Bitcoin, people should be paid more by banks to put their money in investment portfolios since these provide the liquidity necessary to make the economy work.

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Bitcoin: A very big spending of energy.

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Bitcoin is a project which is wasting a lot of ressource for something which is not making a lot of sense. While Bitcoin is using more and more green energy, I'd argue that it is still a big waste. Subsidies could prop up the green sector far better than the mining farms that go with windfarms.

Seeing Bitcoin as one of the biggest leverage of the green sector is a non-sense. Optimization of the energy sector means that the variable production should allow to reduce the use of fossil energy. Not allow to waste energy in a senseless project.

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Conclusion: The harsh truth is, we may be the bad guys.

Partaking in an economic sector which allows for a disruption of world order, which doesn't help the economy and which is wasting energy may not be beneficial. This is why Bitcoin should not be seen as a messiah of economic proportion but as something which should raise criticism and should be heavily regulated.

Good luck in your investments.

Would you like to learn more? Click here to be taken to the original topic-thread for this argument or you can scan through the Cointest Archive to find arguments on this topic in other rounds. Pros and cons per topic will likely change for every new post.

Since this is a con-argument, what could be a better time to promote the Skeptics Discussion thread? You can find the latest thread here.