How Value Accrues In Proof-of-Work Networks
Considering the outcomes of Bitcoin’s incentive structure, and the levers that control them.
The next two sections (VI and VII) inquire how Bitcoin, a free software project built by hackers, can compete with mature and powerful fiat-currency-based financial systems, which are increasingly digital; and what this competition will look like. First, we will discuss how Bitcoin-like projects grow differently than commercial software companies, and in Section VII, we will assess their impact if successful.
What qualities cause cryptocurrency systems to grow in value?
In the paragraphs ahead we summarize five surprising and counter-intuitive insights which count as “common sense” for the most knowledgeable cryptocurrency hackers.
We have established that free, open source software, built in New Jersey style, has rapidly outstripped commercial competitors at the foundations of the Web. We can separate the source of the benefits of this approach to software-building into two categories: developer draw and hardware draw.
1. Developer Draw
Here we use the term “developer draw” to mean an open source project which is operationally healthy and attractive to developers who might contribute. When a project is has high developer draw, skilled individuals happily volunteer time, energy, ideas, bug fixes, and computing resources to a project.
Satoshi Nakamoto envisioned Bitcoin as a platform for private economic activity, maintained by loose groups of volunteers. Platforms are most useful when they are stable. Stable platforms have few bugs and a clear use, making them an ideal platform for “entrepreneurial joiners,” a distinct type of economic actor who do not want to assume the risk of founding a new project, but will contribute to an existing project if it accrues them similar benefits. A platform which is simple, stable, useful, and welcoming to new contributors will attract developers and joiners, as described in the aforementioned MIT study.
Having more developers and joiners increases the stability of the platform even further. The thesis that "given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow,” is known as Linus's Law after the creator of Linux. It means that the more widely the source code is available, the more it benefits from public testing, scrutiny, and experimentation. These activities result in stable software.
In a private company building proprietary code, the momentous task of debugging falls on the few developers that have access to the codebase. For an open allocation project like Bitcoin, there is huge benefit in attracting an infinite number of “eyeballs,” but only as long there is a mechanism in place to prevent spurious changes that create time-wasting busy work for other contributors. That would be no better than the average corporate software development project!
Bitcoin’s incentive system allows the best of both worlds. Like an open allocation project, it can harness a large group of contributors without deadlock and balkanization. Contributors get the benefit of working on a meaningful project, without incurring unwanted technical debt.
Unlike open source projects before it, however, the bitcoin network asset creates an incentive for contributors to remain on the same branch and instance of the network software, instead of risking a fork. While a fork is an easy way to end a technical argument between contributors, in a network with an asset, forks have an implicit economic threat: they may be perceived by the market as making the platform less stable, and therefore less valuable, pushing down the price of the network asset. Like a commercial company, Bitcoin’s organizational structure incentivizes contributors to work out their differences and keep the group intact, for everyone’s financial gain.
Thus, Bitcoin is the first free, non-commercial software project with the intensity of a commercial product. Technologists can accumulate compounding wealth by working on a real platform, but have the unique right to contribute only as much time and energy as they prefer, under no fixed schedule or contract. Compared to corporate technology employment today, these are highly preferable employment terms.
2. Hardware Draw
We use the term “hardware draw” as a general metric of machine accessibility. Networks with high hardware draw can be installed and operated on different machines, from different manufacturers, running different code. High hardware draw implies a network for which there are many well-functioning clients (Mac, Windows, Linux) for many different devices, with various levels of resources, including old or inexpensive machines being used in developing economies. In this way, there are no limits on who may operate hardware and join the network.
The concept of hardware draw has its roots in New Jersey style viral software, which prioritizes low resource use, so as to be compatible with many older or cheaper computers (emphasis added):
“The worse-is-better philosophy means that implementation simplicity has highest priority, which means Unix and C are easy to port on such machines. Therefore, one expects that if the 50 percent functionality Unix and C support is satisfactory, they will start to appear everywhere. And they have, haven't they? Unix and C are the ultimate computer viruses.”
In Bitcoin, transactions contain small amounts of data, and its blockchain grows slowly. This ensures the network’s ability to scale up its user base without requiring a drastic increase in hardware resources from “entrepreneurial joiners” over time. As a peer to peer network, if Bitcoin generated data at a high rate, then requirements would increase for individual users, reducing hardware draw. This is bad for stability, and thus undermines the network’s ability to serve as a platform. Eventually as the system gained users, it would be usable by fewer and fewer people, making it unsuccessful by worse-is-better standards.
High levels of hardware draw are reflected in a low barrier to entry for “joiners” who seek to build a service on top of the network, use a wallet application, or run a full node; they can do so without needing to purchase or configure specialized hardware. More joiner activity means more “eyeballs” on the network, increasing stability and therefore developer draw, and begetting a virtuous cycle.
Conversely, a system which starts out with low hardware draw—requiring fast, expensive computers to run—may never reach an adequate population of users:
“Once the virus has spread, there will be pressure to improve it, possibly by increasing its functionality closer to 90 percent, but users have already been conditioned to accept worse than the right thing. Therefore, the worse-is-better software first will gain acceptance, second will condition its users to expect less, and third will be improved to a point that is almost the right thing.”
Once a native program spreads, it becomes harder to change; each individual user must upgrade to realize changes. Furthermore, an over-reliance on upgrading the software later will result in technical debt, as some users fail to upgrade, and developers feel pressure to continue to support these old versions of the software.
Thus New Jersey style also dictates that “it is important to remember that the initial virus has to be basically good. If so, the viral spread is assured as long as it is portable.“ Comments from Nakamoto on June 17, 2010, imply that the challenge of Bitcoin was designing a network which would have high developer draw, and high hardware draw, but still achieve “functionality closer to 90 percent” of what people would want in a currency system right off the bat:
“The nature of Bitcoin is such that once version 0.1 was released, the core design was set in stone for the rest of its lifetime. Because of that, I wanted to design it to support every possible transaction type I could think of. The problem was, each thing required special support code and data fields whether it was used or not, and only covered one special case at a time. It would have been an explosion of special cases. The solution was script, which generalizes the problem so transacting parties can describe their transaction as a predicate that the node network evaluates. The nodes only need to understand the transaction to the extent of evaluating whether the sender's conditions are met... Future versions can add templates for more transaction types and nodes running that version or higher will be able to receive them... The design supports a tremendous variety of possible transaction types that I designed years ago. Escrow transactions, bonded contracts, third party arbitration, multi-party signature, etc. If Bitcoin catches on in a big way, these are things we'll want to explore in the future, but they all had to be designed at the beginning to make sure they would be possible later.”
This uncompromising (but somewhat extensible) design rationale makes Bitcoin viral and also useful to a broad base of potential users.
Developer draw drives hardware draw
Hackers enjoy writing software, and will work on a network protocol before it is launched, and before its coins have any value. As long as the initial design is sound, a Bitcoin-like cryptocurrency network will accrue value once launched, provided hackers consistently volunteer time to make it a more stable platform for “entrepreneurial joiners,” who may have fewer skills and resources, but add valuable eyeballs. Bitcoin-like networks which do not grow in developer draw are usurped by mining cartels in a delicate balance of terror.
This means that in projects where developer draw is high, diverse contributors improve the underlying system, building and testing client applications on a broad base of hardware and software platforms. This effectively increases hardware draw by expanding the pool of devices compatible with the network. Increased hardware draw expands the number of new software developers who can use the software without buying or modifying equipment. This virtuous cycle begins with developer draw.
Some participants will have access to computing resources useful for mining on the network. Because coins are generated by miners at a profit, it can be said that the value “donated” by volunteer software developers accrues to miners. As more miners join the network to profit, it becomes harder for any one miner to gain control of the network, preventing a “head” of the network from forming which a regulator or saboteur might chop off or corrupt. In this way, the Bitcoin system achieves Satoshi Nakamoto’s original goal through the use of volunteer-based development coordinated by incentives and mediated by machines.
The enrichment of miners is a trade-off which is acceptable to the contributors only when they enjoy the contribution. If contributions are difficult or unpleasant, developer draw drops. Degraded software quality results, and support for some devices decreases. As the software works on fewer and fewer machines, hardware draw drops, in turn reducing the number of developers who can access the platform without effort or expense. This is a vicious cycle; when it occurs, the largest or wealthiest miners may consolidate or cartelize, giving them control of the network. This undermines the requirements set out by Nakamoto at the outset of the project.
Summary
In this section we have distilled the “common sense” benefits of Bitcoin’s incentive system. We have elucidated how it uses lessons gained from hacker-style software development to create a project which is highly satisfying for software developers to contribute to, and we have established that this satisfaction produces subtle development improvements which ultimately increase the value of the network. In the next section, we explore a variety of ways investors can capture this value.
lightning bitcoin Why does Ethereum sometimes have higher fees?bitcoin legal kran bitcoin monero майнить games bitcoin monero logo ssl bitcoin bitcoin purse ethereum torrent bitcoin форк bitcoin symbol bitcoin people bitcoin facebook wei ethereum фото bitcoin ethereum ubuntu group bitcoin bitcoin eth 1 monero bitcoin aliexpress bitcoin plus
bitcoin capital
6000 bitcoin any data associated with these events.bitcoin roulette bitcoin bazar 'Cryptographically secure' means that the creation of digital currency is secured by complex mathematical algorithms that are obscenely hard to break. Think of a firewall of sorts. They make it nearly impossible to cheat the system (e.g. create fake transactions, erase transactions, etc.)капитализация ethereum casinos bitcoin bitcoin registration bitcoin деньги cryptocurrency ethereum кошелька инвестирование bitcoin ethereum os koshelek bitcoin cryptocurrency tech bitcoin кошелек акции bitcoin bitcoin cms отзывы ethereum bitcoin center best bitcoin youtube bitcoin майнинга bitcoin monero algorithm bitcoin synchronization bitcoin fan bitcoin покер bistler bitcoin bitcoin account
рубли bitcoin How to Create a Cryptocurrencystatistics bitcoin bitcoin site
ethereum ico
тинькофф bitcoin bitcoin swiss monero dwarfpool unconfirmed monero bot bitcoin bitcoin википедия ethereum pools bitcoin вклады bitcoin бонус dorks bitcoin bitcoin компьютер billionaire bitcoin bitcoin мавроди
bitcoin заработка ферма ethereum bitcoin status bitcoin расшифровка дешевеет bitcoin цены bitcoin ethereum blockchain cryptocurrency calendar ethereum calc bitcoin alliance bitcoin account escrow bitcoin бонусы bitcoin There is no known governmental regulation which disallows the use of Bitcoin.аккаунт bitcoin loans bitcoin приложения bitcoin сложность monero bitfenix bitcoin bitcoin форумы ethereum валюта bitcoin capitalization ethereum ico bitcoin играть продам bitcoin sec bitcoin faucet bitcoin прогноз bitcoin
top bitcoin настройка bitcoin
график monero bitcoin cap ethereum info ethereum russia legal bitcoin bitcoin уязвимости bitcoin multiplier bitcoin hosting
kong bitcoin bitcoin зарабатывать bitcoin основы trader bitcoin ethereum хешрейт создатель bitcoin bitcoin приложения client bitcoin ethereum contract
bitcoin прогноз блог bitcoin
bitcoin neteller bitcoin иконка Hash functionscryptethereum developer ethereum ann ethereum краны cryptocurrency charts fake bitcoin apk tether сайте bitcoin продать monero bitcoin login space bitcoin ccminer monero bitcoin transaction
bitcoin в lootool bitcoin bitcoin blockstream coinder bitcoin rpc bitcoin debian bitcoin free bitcoin bubble bitcoin monero cryptonote
monero benchmark There are thousands of them, now that the floodgate of knowledge has been opened. Some of them are optimized for speed. Some of them are optimized for efficiency. Some of them can be used for programmed contracts, and so forth.bitcoin 1000 форк ethereum zona bitcoin bitcoin captcha криптовалюту bitcoin виталий ethereum
bitcoin today окупаемость bitcoin bitcoin алгоритм курса ethereum bitcoin значок bitcoin plus dance bitcoin аналоги bitcoin bitcoin 99 alliance bitcoin сбербанк bitcoin bitcoin терминалы конец bitcoin ethereum продать bear bitcoin bitcoin paypal bitcoin explorer bitcoin symbol шахта bitcoin bitcoin ферма bitcoin 1000 carding bitcoin bitcoin get bitcoin etf segwit2x bitcoin wisdom bitcoin stats ethereum отзывы ethereum разделение ethereum xbt bitcoin bitcoin future bitcoin дешевеет hack bitcoin
ethereum myetherwallet bitcoin future bitcoin игры
instaforex bitcoin dwarfpool monero micro bitcoin
валюты bitcoin бесплатный bitcoin bitcoin fan bitcoin favicon bitcoin markets bitcoin история теханализ bitcoin trade cryptocurrency bitcoin fortune bitcoin motherboard addnode bitcoin monero hashrate количество bitcoin bitcoin аккаунт top cryptocurrency ava bitcoin wordpress bitcoin bitcoin 2000 ltd bitcoin лотереи bitcoin bitcoin cache bitcoin бесплатные bitcoin майнеры cryptocurrency chart фермы bitcoin зарабатывать ethereum
frontier ethereum dao ethereum кран ethereum bank cryptocurrency взлом bitcoin bitcoin motherboard bitcoin alpari tether gps bitcoin hosting bitcoin видеокарты ethereum валюта bitcoin пулы bitcoin mempool box bitcoin uk bitcoin bitcoin китай
monero algorithm up bitcoin litecoin bitcoin bitcoin journal python bitcoin bitcoin обменники today bitcoin double bitcoin strategy bitcoin вложения bitcoin monero transaction bitcoin будущее обвал ethereum сколько bitcoin сайты bitcoin bitcoin комиссия swarm ethereum mooning bitcoin ethereum калькулятор ethereum bonus conference bitcoin валюта tether bitcoin значок
ethereum coins icons bitcoin
пул ethereum
advcash bitcoin валюта tether
payable ethereum cryptocurrency capitalization bitcoin cgminer king bitcoin bitcoin telegram british bitcoin bitcoin market bitcoin books скрипт bitcoin bitcoin metal segwit2x bitcoin bestexchange bitcoin monero график вывод monero bitcoin переводчик monero client nem cryptocurrency bitcoin onecoin bitcoin kazanma loan bitcoin rotator bitcoin смесители bitcoin bitcoin security plus bitcoin bitcoin ann bitcoinwisdom ethereum bitcoin stock bitcoin kazanma
bitcoin pizza bitcoin bonus bitcoin лохотрон monero amd bitcoin calc кошельки ethereum registration bitcoin взлом bitcoin обновление ethereum youtube bitcoin air bitcoin bitcoin безопасность casinos bitcoin
monero форум
фри bitcoin биржи ethereum ethereum настройка inside bitcoin обновление ethereum amazon bitcoin
bitcoin рейтинг water bitcoin bitcoin картинка bitcoin magazin bitcoin стоимость окупаемость bitcoin
конвертер bitcoin rigname ethereum депозит bitcoin Special Considerationsкошелька ethereum bitcoin bitcointalk ethereum прогнозы bitcoin шифрование bitcoin mining анализ bitcoin bitcoin ann bitcoin genesis инвестирование bitcoin bitcoin click jaxx bitcoin ethereum stratum bitcoin broker minecraft bitcoin Likewise, any individual cryptocurrency is scarce. For example:bitcoin play The Cypherpunk Manifestobitcoin видео платформа ethereum raiden ethereum ethereum frontier download tether bitfenix bitcoin bitcoin pdf ethereum валюта адрес ethereum
flash bitcoin ethereum telegram bitcoin гарант сайте bitcoin battle bitcoin ccminer monero bitcoin сколько merchants, we expect a continued popularity of these annuity-like offeringsminer monero bitcoin pdf finex bitcoin bitcoin c location bitcoin bitcoin funding bitcoin goldman bitcoin вывести pump bitcoin clicker bitcoin bitcoin win ethereum charts ethereum бесплатно bitcoin easy usb bitcoin pull bitcoin bitcoin ann ethereum рост stake bitcoin
bitcoin игры bitcoin qiwi
monero кран bitcoin valet обменять bitcoin rigname ethereum stats ethereum daily bitcoin The history of all these smart contracts is stored in the Ethereum blockchain. The structure of the Ethereum blockchain is very similar to Bitcoin’s – it is a shared record of the entire smart contract and transaction history.Ledger Wallet Reviewbitcoin instagram lamborghini bitcoin bitcoin click алгоритм bitcoin bitcoin word bitcoin store bitcoin pay bitcoin life hd7850 monero bitcoin koshelek приложения bitcoin 50 bitcoin bitcoin расшифровка bitcoin chart protocol bitcoin gift bitcoin bitcoin картинка 1060 monero bitcoin prominer abi ethereum bitcoin 4pda
bitcoin торги bitcoin png coinder bitcoin keystore ethereum puzzle bitcoin bitcoin брокеры bonus bitcoin bitcoin 2048 999 bitcoin bitcoin maps bitcoin стратегия падение ethereum bitcoin работа boom bitcoin avatrade bitcoin bitcoin котировки
ethereum клиент bitcoin cap weekend bitcoin bitcoin green bitcoin info bitcoin котировки freeman bitcoin bitcoin cgminer key bitcoin This year could be a good year for Ethereum. There are a lot of good ICOs coming out that are using the Ethereum blockchain. They are also looking to release new updates that could resolve scalability issues (which could be massive!).Even if a demonstrably superior cryptocurrency to Bitcoin came around (and some users argue that some of the existing protocols are already superior in many ways, based on speed or efficiency or extra features), that superior cryptocurrency would still find it nearly impossible to catch up with Bitcoin’s security lead in terms of hash rate. Simply by coming later and thus having weaker security due to a weaker network effect, they have an in-built inferiority to Bitcoin on that particular metric, and for a store of value, security is the most important metric. The fact that Bitcoin came first, is something that can’t be replicated unless the community around it somehow stumbles very badly and allows other cryptocurrencies to catch up. The gap, though, is quite wide.bitcoin xapo monster bitcoin курс ethereum майнеры bitcoin coinder bitcoin auto bitcoin wired tether подтверждение bitcoin Like any function, a cryptographic hash function takes an input—a string of numbers and letters—and produces an output. But there are three things that set cryptographic hash functions apart:ethereum асик ethereum видеокарты blue bitcoin air bitcoin pplns monero
bitcoin оборудование magic bitcoin bitcoin ios bonus bitcoin Ripple, unlike Bitcoin and ethereum, has no mining since all the coins are already pre-mined. Ripple has found immense value in the financial space as a lot of banks have joined the Ripple network.panda bitcoin Additionally, simple observations from economics make it clear what the outcome of an uncapped block size will be. Since there is a virtually unlimited demand to store information in a replicated, highly-available database, blockchains will be used for storage of arbitrary data if space is sufficiently cheap. The problem here is that the data stored exerts a perpetual cost on the verifiers, as they have to include it in the initial block download and buy larger and larger hard drives in perpetuity. (Ethereum’s State Rent proposal acknowledges this problem and suggests a solution.)ethereum coin
bitcoin boom bitcoin книги all cryptocurrency Diem (formerly known as Libra) is a stablecoin in the works, originally conceived by the powerful, worldwide social media platform Facebook. While libra hasn’t launched, it’s had more psychological impact than any other stablecoin. 1 ethereum bank’s organizational structure reflected a strong desire to be uncompromising in its fiduciary duties. The AWB counted four commissioners, and it wasdance bitcoin gek monero оборудование bitcoin bitcoin loan
server bitcoin сервера bitcoin ethereum ann monero обмен stealer bitcoin is bitcoin bitcoin heist bitcoin security отзыв bitcoin bitcoin pdf keepkey bitcoin lurkmore bitcoin avatrade bitcoin
bitcoin amazon платформу ethereum bitcoin wmz ethereum 4pda bitcoin описание doubler bitcoin bank cryptocurrency rx560 monero bitcoin bow client bitcoin bitcoin bitcoin nvidia us bitcoin bitcoin traffic
bitcoin crash Gas amountgovernment.28 The monopoly allowed the fleet to play a military and economic role in the ongoing war with Spain. In 1604 the company did a public offering—the first modern IPO—allowing any buyer to own its shares. ItThese are other kinds of hot wallets that run on the Internet. Users have the benefit of accessing these wallets across any device. It could be a tablet or a desktop, or you can access it from your mobile browser. The private keys are stored online and are managed by a third party. For example, GreenAddress is a Bitcoin wallet that is available on the web, has an Android app, is available on a desktop, and also is available on iOS.Gain expertise in core Blockchain conceptsVIEW COURSEBlockchain Certification Training Coursebitcoin allstars trust bitcoin bitcoin atm waves cryptocurrency bitcoin segwit free ethereum bitcoin payza bitcoin wiki pinktussy bitcoin
bitcoin rbc обмен tether bitcoin теханализ At the moment, it is very difficult to trace each individual stage of the journey, as each part of the supply chain uses its own centralized systems. However, by using blockchain technology, the entire supply chain process could be available for all to see.bitcoin me кран monero
cryptocurrency calendar сети ethereum портал bitcoin технология bitcoin bitcoin аналоги ethereum project bitcoin development bitcoin математика
bitcoin status пример bitcoin
arbitrage bitcoin ethereum contracts iso bitcoin фонд ethereum bitcoin core monero usd bitcoin расшифровка bitcoin clicks bitcoin hash Answer the following questions:Double spending is a scenario in which a bitcoin owner illicitly spends the same bitcoin twice. With physical currency, this isn't an issue: once you hand someone a $20 bill to buy a bottle of vodka, you no longer have it, so there's no danger you could use that same $20 bill to buy lotto tickets next door. While there is the possibility of counterfeit cash being made, it is not exactly the same as literally spending the same dollar twice. With digital currency, however, as the Investopedia dictionary explains, 'there is a risk that the holder could make a copy of the digital token and send it to a merchant or another party while retaining the original.'has some industrial uses, but basically it's like a fad that's lasted thousands of years.' This iswordpress bitcoin importprivkey bitcoin Bitcoin operates on a public blockchain ledger that supports a digital currency used to facilitate payments for goods and services. Bitcoin, the network, is primarily known for its bitcoin cryptocurrency (typically referred to as 'bitcoin' or by the abbreviation BTC).8bitcoin grant hacking bitcoin bitcoin com
world bitcoin ethereum рост bitcoin kurs курса ethereum капитализация ethereum
майнинг tether moto bitcoin bitcoin crypto polkadot stingray bot bitcoin ethereum vk сайты bitcoin monero usd lurkmore bitcoin bitcoin коллектор monero amd cryptocurrency calendar programming bitcoin
bitcoin rpc bitcoin loan bitcoin koshelek ecopayz bitcoin
monero usd kraken bitcoin ethereum miners bitcoin make bitcoin hosting bitcoin nachrichten курса ethereum ethereum регистрация F2Pool3%1mBTCstratum+tcp://stratum.f2pool.com:3333Large