BTC power usage

[jon-nyc]

Wow.

[jon-nyc]

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[Klaus]

Shouldn't the problem solve itself at some point? Either because the value of bitcoins drops below where mining pays off, or because bitcoin enters the phase were no more mining takes place.

[89th]

@jon-nyc said in BTC power usage:

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That is good.

[jon-nyc]

@klaus said in BTC power usage:

Shouldn't the problem solve itself at some point? Either because the value of bitcoins drops below where mining pays off, or because bitcoin enters the phase were no more mining takes place.

There is no point where proof-of-work stops, unless BTC just fails. It's just at some point they'll have to charge for it.

[xenon]

@klaus said in BTC power usage:

Shouldn't the problem solve itself at some point? Either because the value of bitcoins drops below where mining pays off, or because bitcoin enters the phase were no more mining takes place.

I think the increase in money supply is asymptotic. That doesn't guarantee that mining will always be profitable.

The mining is also needed to crunch the hashes for transactions.

I could be wrong - but that's how i think it works.

[Klaus]

@jon-nyc said in BTC power usage:

@klaus said in BTC power usage:

Shouldn't the problem solve itself at some point? Either because the value of bitcoins drops below where mining pays off, or because bitcoin enters the phase were no more mining takes place.

There is no point where proof-of-work stops, unless BTC just fails. It's just at some point they'll have to charge for it.

There’s an upper limit of 20,999,999.9769 bitcoins hardcoded into the system.

[jon-nyc]

Everybody knows that. The idea has always been that when the limit is reached the ‘mining’ won’t be compensated from seigniorage (new coins added to the money supply) but from essentially a transaction tax.

That’s what I meant by ‘charge for it’.