Oddbean

Bitcoin and the State (as we know it) can't both survive, especially the US. With suffient hashpower (of the levels that "Soft War" guy are advocating the Pentagon to acquire), mining empty blocks makes Bitcoin completely useless because transactions can't be put into blocks. The State has nuclear power plants and ASIC fabs (ask the NSA). This will not be an easy fight and it could go either way.

That guy is a little kookie imo. Heavy on big sounding stuff. Loose on details. How much do you think they are willing to spend to dos bitcoin? I can’t see them ever even trying knowing that the entire current US budget would still let transactions with faaat stacks of fees slip through.

Reminder that the US government has spent 8 trillion dollars over 20 years on "the war on terror". It's not that Budget isn't relevant. On the contrary, the racket thrives on unlimited spending. 70 billion a year to "fight shady criminal superhackers sponsored by North Korea and Iran"? That's exactly the type of thing they want.

I hear you and that’s a good point. I think I still disagree. 72B still lets 10% of current txs through! 8T every 20 years would only allow them to bring transactions down to ~2% of current rate. Fees would be &$$&, ecash in a given mint would still be free. I suppose the mining industrial complex would lobby for that money, but we wouldn’t have any boys to immortalize for their sacrificed lives. No football stadium flyovers cuz ASICS are boring. Just data centers consuming loads of electricity, creating relatively few jobs, costing tons. There environmentalists would be absolutely extinct over the amount of CO2 or what have you being pumped into the air/earth Maybe I’m wrong about this. Oh, hey, “they” might actually leverage it to finally commercialize fusion 😆

I just wanted to bring that up. My personal opinion has always been that the status quo is split between: 1. those who are too old to get on the train like Buffet and that other dinosaur partner of his all will simply be swept aside 2. the ones that even today think they can fight this, like some leftist politicians and academics who realize that Bitcoin is inherently anti-State 3. the ones that realize that Bitcoin is inherently anti-state and instead of fighting it want to coopt it. Like BlackRock and JP Morgan. I think the last faction is destined to win.