What Satoshi Got Wrong About Bitcoin

Peter Todd joins us to talk about Bitcoin’s technical evolution, discussing terminology like “blockchain” vs “timechain,” and revealing flaws in Satoshi’s original design. Peter dives deep into mining economics, explaining the risks of block withholding attacks, the problems with activation mechanisms for soft forks, and controversial funding models like demurrage. Despite surviving significant challenges, Bitcoin faces ongoing security concerns as block rewards diminish, requiring creative solutions to ensure mining remains economically viable long-term.

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Notes:

– Block withholding attacks remain an unsolved risk

– Mining rewards currently ~0.5% tax on Bitcoin savings

– Bitcoin difficulty algorithm relies on halving events

– Miners have ~24-30% hash power can disrupt network

– Transaction fees alone insufficient for mining economics

– Demurrage could stabilize mining revenue long-term

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