Example of a problematic scenario with timeout treesThere’s been a lot of hand-waiving about timeout trees over the last few days. The point here is just to present a concrete example of what…Feb 22, 2024Feb 22, 2024
Bitcoin is Dead (long live IBIT.)The possibility of abandonment has been crucial to the security of Bitcoin. Without it, what forces Bitcoin to maintain its character?Jan 18, 20244Jan 18, 20244
Thoughts on Drivechain II: How bad is MEV?Some suggest MEV will lead to miner centralization. Centralization is always a major concern, and anything that potentially adds…Aug 4, 20232Aug 4, 20232
Thoughts on Drivechain I: Miners can do things about which we will inevitably argue whether it is…There seems to be two main lines of criticism about drivechain, MEV and “miners can steal. ” I’m working on the MEV (still thinking through…Jul 18, 20231Jul 18, 20231
What can go wrong if demand for Bitcoin blockspace becomes taken up by non-Bitcoin uses?Moar security = good, right?May 1, 2022May 1, 2022
How bitcoin transactions can be censoredFor this to work, you need to have 51% of miners that are “rational”. If there are 51% of miners that are not maximizing profits in the…Mar 1, 2022Mar 1, 2022
The Bitcoin Security Trilemma and the security budgetBitcoin Security Trilemma: In as much as an attacker can marshal sufficient hashrate, Bitcoin must be A) Exploitable B)Value-Destructible…Feb 1, 2022Feb 1, 2022
Here’s how the miners will change the total supplyIt will happen 2031/2032, when the halving is expected to change the block reward from 1.5625 to 0.78125 BTC / block. In 2030, the…Jan 5, 2022Jan 5, 2022
Bitcoin’s Layer 0.51 : A quick proposal to reduce the hashrateAbstract: At the outset of some predetermined time epoch, miners run a quick hashing competition to signal their interest in joining a…Dec 10, 2021Dec 10, 2021
Proposal to assert United States Control over the Bitcoin blockchain by 2037 /sBrief DescriptionSep 10, 20213Sep 10, 20213
The Frog and the more rational ScorpionA scorpion wants to cross a river but cannot swim, so it asks a frog to carry it across. The frog hesitates, afraid that the scorpion might…Aug 20, 2021Aug 20, 2021
Yes, “miners can form a cartel and choose to systematically exclude certain persons from this…As Bitcoin creeps into the real economy, a little backwards induction shows why one would expect such security assurances to failJul 1, 20213Jul 1, 20213
Some Progressive Concerns with CryptoIs Crypto just another driver of inequality?Apr 29, 2021Apr 29, 2021
The Bitcoin FUD is going to keep on coming. Here’s what you have in store.While some FUD is easy to defend, some will only get much worse.Apr 12, 2021Apr 12, 2021
Peter Thiel is Right about Bitcoin and China.The question of if a nation-state could attack Bitcoin comes up somewhat often in the Bitcoin community. Almost always, that nation is…Apr 7, 2021Apr 7, 2021
Griefing Bitcoin with a 61% attackIt’s fun and easy to make Bitcoin miserable if you have a supermajority of the hashrate.Apr 7, 20211Apr 7, 20211
The Pissing Attack against BitcoinThis generalizes the “empty-block attack” and has not been debunked.Apr 1, 2021Apr 1, 2021
A Nation-state could destroy BitcoinNo this has not been debunked. Game theory suggests the opposite.Mar 30, 20212Mar 30, 20212
How To Kill Bitcoin with EthereumIn Joe Kelly’s piece “How to Kill Bitcoin”, he describes a front door take-down of Bitcoin. Ultimately this requires powerful people…Feb 23, 20212Feb 23, 20212
Bitcoin could break everythingFinancial populism and loose monetary policy could combine to create the perfect storm as the US economy attempts to recover from the…Feb 9, 20213Feb 9, 20213
