Author: Gregory Maxwell 2015-07-29 19:53:02
Published on: 2015-07-29T19:53:02+00:00
In this conversation from 2015, Mike Hearn and Gregory Maxwell discuss the founding vision of Bitcoin. Hearn argues that decentralization was not meant to be limited by the size of the chain on small devices, but Maxwell quotes Satoshi's words to contradict him. The discussion revolves around the increasing cost of Bitcoin mining and the ramifications it has for the system overall. The trend towards mining centralization is a concern, and there are different forces modulating this trend. The advocate of increasing the cost of decentralized ecosystem around verification and driving the system toward a more centralized mode is questioned. They also debate the issue of scaling in relation to Moore's law and discuss the possibility of smart contracts creating trustless trade with off-chain systems.Hearn accuses Maxwell of revising history and arguing from distortions of random quotations. They exchange views on the trend towards mining centralization and its impact on Bitcoin. The argument that SPV is what was always intended to be used is presented, but it is noted that it is far more limited than often thought. The creator of Bitcoin had initially laid down a plan to run the system on small devices such as Raspberry Pi and removing SPV capability from the protocol so everyone has to fully validate. However, the need to find ways to accommodate people with different preferences under one tent rather than fragmenting the marketplace is emphasized.
Updated on: 2023-05-19T20:56:29.054458+00:00