Author: eric at voskuil.org 2021-06-30 08:55:47
Published on: 2021-06-30T08:55:47+00:00
The discussion revolves around avoiding chain splits. The term "economic" refers to those who are presently accepting Bitcoin, and their validation is of economic consequence in the event of a split. It is important to note that the economy is not necessarily less centralized than mining is pooled. The support of the economy can be measured by meeting with exchange operators. Exchanges are highly regulated and compliant institutions. Mining operations are heavily pooled. A split of any size is possible, requiring no majority. All it requires is other people to trade with. The core innovation of Bitcoin is proof of work which settles the question of who has authority to order transactions, where majority hash power has that authority. Merchants can split again and again, but their miners will still have that authority. If one wants a say, one can mine.The conversation between Jorge, Luke, and Billy Tetrud centers around avoiding chain splits when possible. Some people want a rule change but only if enough others agree to follow those rules too, and some people might want a rule change but aren't willing to follow, say, a 20% minority fork. Timing issues can be important, and delays can help to avoid chain splits. Miners have a large incentive to follow the economic majority. The goal is to do what the economic majority wants, or some other group, and the accuracy of measuring what the economic majority wants is questionable.
Updated on: 2023-06-14T23:36:33.799814+00:00