Bitcoin is a storage of value.steemCreated with Sketch.

in #blog5 years ago (edited)

And Lightning is its cash.

You can buy and or sell goods and services with it.

Cryptos are means of exchange.

It is a kind of fun to come across some attacks on Cryptos these days. A private banking corporation is going to use its own blockchain and crypto apparently, ow how I love the irony. First Bitcoin and the rest of the Cryptos were worthless and useless. Then only blockchain technology was great, but Cryptos and Bitcoin were crap. And now it seems to be some kind of solution, a so called 'stable coin' on a private bank owned blockchain. Cryptos have been declared dead many times, yet Bitcoin {BTC} could celebrate its tenth year of existence! And it kept moving forward, despite all the attacks. It even survived what I believe was a blowup attempt. You know the time when BTC got close to 20K and shortly after that the market appeared to have crashed? That is what I believe was part of an attack. How? Well, imagine a system that can create fake money out off nothing, against an interest-bearing debt? Such an ongoing counterfeit system could be used to pump any market and then let it crash, by shorting it hard. Did it happen? Well, a correction did, back to what seems to be a more realistic track for the Crypto currencies market.

Why can Cryptos like Dogecoin {DOGE}, Litecoin {LTC}, Bitcoin {BTC}, Whaleshares {WLS} or Steem {STM} be seen as a kind of digital currencies? Well, because you can actually buy and or sell goods and services with them. And it is possible to store and keep value in it. Where the main difference is that it is valuta that is not created by a virtual entity like 'a state/ government' and or 'a private bank'. Cryptos are free substantive virtual valuta entities. Where those that are Open Sourced (and patent free) build upon Public Blockchain technology can function without an human intermediate system. In a sense this has created a unique soevereign valuta system, that flows around in a virtual realm. And it can actually function on its own, without external regulations, as it regulates itself. Now it could be seen as that Cryptos are a sovereign substantive entities, build up from zeros and ones, that exist in a virtual realm of flowing currents. And when you have private keys of some Cryptos, you can move them around that realm as you see fit. Some might even attach some real world conclusions to that and that is all in line to what they mutualy agree upon.

The fake Sensei

Bitcoin, the real BTC, had some hard forking blockchain splitting attacks of the clones to endure too. And I did warn up front that one of them clones would split off in a double way. They way this was done did cost the original Bitcoin a severe loss of value and it also did bad for the whole Crypto community. Normally new Cryptos would be created using some Free and Open Source software code and start clean with its own so called 'genessis' block. But some rogue groups wanted to get value out off the original Bitcoin blockchain. That to me is an value drain attack, a robbery, but I know the looters have another tale to tell. The reason is simple, the attackers can get some value right away for their clone and get right up there in the top of the market capacity list. Easy money to be made there. And even if it would only hold a relative small value compared to the real Bitcoin, buying and selling it could result in some heavy leverage profit. That this could happen though is also because some central controlled private exchanges started to open gambling support for the clones. Even before the real splits happened.

One key role in the last clone split was for somebody who I'd like to call 'the fake Sensei'. And the reason I believe that person is a deceiver, for whatever reasons, is because of the disinformation being spread by that individual. In the original Whitepaper of Bitcoin {source https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf}, considered a holy scripture to some, there is an important part about Privacy.

And I quote from the Bitcoin Whitepaper:

10. Privacy

The traditional banking model achieves a level of privacy by limiting access to information to the parties involved and the trusted third party. The necessity to announce all transactions publicly precludes this method, but privacy can still be maintained by breaking the flow of information in another place: by keeping public keys anonymous. The public can see that someone is sending an amount to someone else, but without information linking the transaction to anyone. This is similar to the level of information released by stock exchanges, where the time and size of individual trades, the "tape", is made public, but without telling who the parties were.

{...some drawing example in the source...}

As an additional firewall, a new key pair should be used for each transaction to keep them from being linked to a common owner. Some linking is still unavoidable with multi-input transactions, which necessarily reveal that their inputs were owned by the same owner. The risk is that if the owner of a key is revealed, linking could reveal other transactions that belonged to the same owner.

Now this text seems to be opposite of many publications made by 'the fake Sensei'. Where the claim has been made that Bitcoin {BTC} was not supposed to be anonymous at all, it would just have pseudo-privacy at the most. And it got weirder because now there seems to be a claim that the Bitcoin Whitepaper was based on a much older document, as apparently written by 'the fake Sensei'. But it appears that it has been debunked already. The 'older' document had the same text changes as the last Bitcoin Whitepaper, but they were not in a previous release of august 2008. That was some badly done forgery, or so it appears.

And all of a sudden it now appears as a kind of proof? Hey, just move some BTC of the first blocks ever mined. Or would that be just too easy to proof after 10 years?

Cryptos have a future

Well, I have no idea why 'the fake Sensei' keeps suggesting he is 'the' Satoshi Nakamoto. Stating to dislike anarchism, while Bitcoin {BTC} is quite the freedom promoting digital currency that could be used within an anarchic realm. Nobody does own it as a whole system, it is substantive and sovereign all by itself. It needs no rulers and the mutual agreements are build into the code and changes are activated by consensus of a majority. Therefore the more strange it gets when it is stated that 'state governments' and 'private banks' will be a part of it. Apparently even have to be a part of it, because of, eurm, big blocks, did I type 'big'? No, they are huge, what? NO, even bigger, they will be humongous! Well, all in all, some forked off, just let them. As I think the value of those splitting blockchain clones will drop over a longer period of time. Until they wont be in the top 100 anymore. And Cryptos like Bitcoin {BTC}, Litecoin {LTC}, Dogecoin {DOGE} will be at the top of the list. Together with DPOS blockchain Tokens like EOS, Bitshares {BTS}, Whaleshares {WLS} and Steem. Where for the POW type of blockchains the Lightning Network {LN} will become more like a virtual 'cash' system. As the private banks and government together are trying to get rid of the last of legal tender like coins and bills, the cold hard cash.

Moving the virtual 'cash' around inside the Lightning Network {LN}, that was 'locked down' into the mainchain first, is extremely fast. It is almost like the cold hard cash used as legal tender currently. Now private banks do dislike that a lot, because they can not create it out off nothing against interest baring debt. Meaning that the private banks their counterfeiting would be game over. To me it seems all about getting, or keeping, central control over any currency. As it seems that who ever controls the flow of money in our world could believe it might act as the superior ruler. Now, how did I come up with that nonsense, right? Hah! As if the world was governed by such a corrupted private banking system. And I could be wrong, could be right... Yet to me it seems though that blockchained Cryptos, as a free open sourced, publicly available, substantive sovereign virtual valuta, are really causing some nervous feelings here and there in the realm of 'the powers that were'. And the more Cryptos get accepted anywhere for just about anything, the stronger it will get. Where at some point the old system will become obsolete. All done in a voluntary and peaceful way.

Yes I do

"Do you use Cryptos as a means of exchange and or storage of value?" Sure I do! It would be weird if I did not. And I do wish that more support would come for the use of Cryptos as a means of exchange in our day to day life. In the meantime it is a kind of fun to watch 'the powers that were' struggle with it. A make-belief virtual entity claiming it is an sovereign authority and so it has given itself 'the right' to rule over humanity. This virtual entity I named 'the banking monetary governance system' and it has many sub-divisions, like 'the state' for instance. It is a make-belief thing that claims it has sovereignty over us, as individual human beings. And whether you understand this or not, the beauty of what started with the original Bitcoin {BTC} is that humanity now has the means to declare itself liberated from debt-slavery. Although we are not there yet, there is an alternative means of value exchange system that can function substantive on its own. The intermediates and rulers have been send to oblivion with it. And that to me is a good thing.

Who knows, we even might witness the moment where we actually can state that we live in peace on earth and all in a state of well being.

Have a great one!


This article is published on the Steem and Whaleshares blockchains.

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" And it kept moving forward,

Marketcapwise maybe, but not payment wise they are struggling.

2019- 25-02
https://www.longhash.com/news/bitcoin-is-processing-fewer-payments-per-month-than-it-was-in-2016

Prolly because of the "10.000 btc pizza-man". Nobody wants to be that guy. So they just holdl.

In contrary with other payments-apps which are growing rapidly in certain countries. Im sorry dont shoot the messenger.

? But i got a question who is paying for the btc-machines as we speak? How does that work? Is there a sort of funding in the btc community? Do you know that?

Peace

Interpretation of numbers and figures, one states this, the other that. It depends on what kind of filter one uses. More transactions per month, there is a clear recovery I would state, the least. https://oxt.me/charts

How about considering the Lightning Network {LN} in the actual use of Bitcoin {BTC} for sending and receiving payments? To me the main blockchain of BTC is the slow one, keeping track of the large numbers, can be used to store value, to HODL as it were. Solutions like LN are the virtual 'Cash' part of that network. Although I do prefer Dogecoin {DOGE} for making fast en cheap payments, I also bought things like a laptop in NL with BTC. Payment took a while to finalize but hey, that is okay, got the laptop the next day. https://www.informatique.nl/bestellen-en-betalen/#betmogelijkheden

One thing I did notice is that the possibility of using Cryptos for payment often gets hidden at websites that support it. And of course the market 'crash' after the weird crazy pump had a lot of people and businesses running away scared. That is bad for the confidence in using things like Bitcoin {BTC} for day to day use.

And I'm peaceful btw so you are okay @markush, I do appreciate your reply. :-)

Do not know what payments systems you are referring to, but there will be plenty to choose from, I guess. A lot of things concerned are relative, as all things in life. The point I wanted to make was that although Cryptocurrencies overal got some hard beating to deal with it is still alive and moving forward. Sure, some companies stopped accepting payments using Bitcoin for instance, but others picked up the Lightning Network {LN}. And new startups are ready to rock.

As long as something keeps moving forward means it is still alive. Not waving Bitcoin flags while cheering loudly "Go Cryptos!" here but I do see a slow and steady recovery. Where the overall line is on the upwards movement. And I do also still HODL some BTC.

Who funds BTC machines?

It finances itself, through getting rewarded for finding blocks and because of payments for transactions. And as far as I know there is not external funding. Although it might be some future aspect that business will also invest in mining equipment, because their companies depend on it? Maybe this is already happening, for a part. When energy costs go to near zero, than it will be enough to get some small amounts of BTC for relaying and mining transactions into blocks. Some miners could also decide, or already have done so, to setup Lightning Network channels and earn from doing so. Besides also earning from 'locking' and 'unlocking' BTC for use on LN channels. Plus the settlements that will still be made on the main Bitcoin blockchain.

It is very interesting to look at some statistics about it: https://pool.viabtc.com/ Looking at the amount of nodes actively mining for BTC then it still seems to be worth the while. Development goes forward too. Less KWh per TH and maybe at some point there will be some changes made to the POW protocol. Also what is interesting to note is that there is an energy development that is completely self serving. It creates Hydrogen from water-vapor in our air, using solar cell panels. This gas can be stored for later uses and then burned to create any amount of energy in a form of electricity, resulting in water-vapor at the exhaust. And that can be used again...

When this gets mainstream then Bitcoin miners would be crazy to pay 'grey' electricity, when they can get it almost for free. Also reuse the heat that the hardware emits while finding block solutions. Heat can be converted into voltage too, maybe be used for creating Hydrogen gas, to be stored for later use. Or to cook food with, heat the house and so on and forth.

Because it will pay back itself innovation in the Cryptos realm will be going at a very high speed. That will be good for Bitcoin too. As machines will become cheaper to run and so become even profitable when just being financed by transaction blocks payments and LN channels . The higher the price of Bitcoin {BTC} will go, the more interesting this will get for many to get involved.

It is a very extended answer, there is a lot to it, as I see it. And maybe there are even in the community groups that finance the Bitcoin mining hardware. There are businesses where one can rent them. So these are not in hands of the home miner. Well, that one will be mining, but on a remote machine, or more than one. There are programs for that, which even will switch between several mining services, based on profit expectations.

Such a company will maybe even build those miners themselves, that is a possible business model. Just like there will be those who mine at home, invested about 3500 to be able too. But energy costs will be a key issue.

As long as it serves a purpose though this mining of Bitcoin will go on. Being it a community, a single private, a pool, a corporate thing or a combination of those things, it will keep itself going as long as it as least results in a break even and a profit, of some kind, on the long run.

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