Author: Eric Voskuil 2018-09-17 15:40:30
Published on: 2018-09-17T15:40:30+00:00
Proof of memory (space) is a process that uses extra steps but does not reduce energy consumption. Merge mining is non-dedicated cost and does not improve energy efficiency either. As long as the hashrate keeps rising, miners will incrementally get the reserve fees until the "contract" times out, after which the remaining part can be used as fees by the users who created the reserve fee "contract". Users get the reserve fees back if the hashrate remains the same or falls. The hashrate is related to the demand for Bitcoin (price) and the amount of fees/subsidies the miners will get paid. For every level of mining rewards (based on demand), there exists a limit on the hashrate. Once hashrate gets large enough, no new miners (additional hashrate) will want to join since their share of the hashrate is too small to make a profit. In the future, merge mining and proof of space can be quite efficient. Although it can be good to educate people to use less resources than they need, this philosophy is a bit outside of the scope of what the Bitcoin software protocol does.
Updated on: 2023-06-13T14:39:34.949819+00:00