Author: Eric Voskuil 2015-06-02 00:09:10
Published on: 2015-06-02T00:09:10+00:00
In an email exchange between Mike Hearn and Satoshi Nakamoto, Hearn argued that Bitcoin's value comes from its decentralization, while Nakamoto countered that usage is what gives Bitcoin value. Hearn disagreed, saying that while Visa, Dollar, Euro, Yuan, and Peso all have usage, the value in Bitcoin is despite its far lesser usage. He argued that Bitcoin has utility due to its lack of centralized control, and that if it were centralized, nobody would be interested in it. Hearn also stated that decentralization was the primary objective of Bitcoin, and that the absolute number of independent people in control is what matters for decentralization, not just the percentage of the community that mines. Finally, he expressed concern about ill-considered ideas like the inversion of the core value proposition staying on the margins.
Updated on: 2023-06-09T22:01:38.720955+00:00