Guy’s Take_009 – A Trust Model Comparison: Bitcoin vs. the Mighty Dollar
Disclaimer: If you are an ardent supporter of government projects, believe in the moral fiber of politicians, and in the power of voting to produce the greater good, then you will likely not enjoy this episode. You were warned 😉
It feels like a good day for a long discussion comparing the trust model of government money, and the trust model of a decentralized, proof-of-work blockchain. Aka – Bitcoin vs. The Dollar. So lets take a dive into the various systems, their consequences, and the incentives that envelop both the rules and monetary policy that govern the Bitcoin system, and those that govern our political and banking institutions. Don’t forget to check out Cryptoconomy.life to explore more episodes like this plus hundreds of Bitcoin articles made available in audio format.
Spoiler alert: The dollar doesn’t fair so well.
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Read_223 – Ethereum Architecture is Flawed [Hugo Nguyen]
“Ethereum’s #1 problem is not a problem of product-market-fit but one of engineering soundness. Ethereum architecture is based on a flawed and unscalable idea: it assumes that “smart contracts” need computations to be replicated on thousands and thousands of machines.”
Today we cover Hugo Nguyen’s Twitter-thread-turned-blog-post on the flawed fundamental philosophy of the Ethereum system and what the core value provided by a public blockchain network really is.
Drop some applause and explore the many other great posts from Hugo over at his Medium page and follow him on Twitter:
https://medium.com/@hugonguyen/why-ethereum-architecture-is-flawed-d4eefd15db3e
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Read_222 – Decentralized Disruption, Who Dares Wins: BitTorrent Lesson 4 [Simon Morris]
So what is the outcome of decentralized disruption? Who are the winners when there is a shift to an entirely new paradigm? Don’t miss the conclusion of Simon Morris’s excellent series on the lessons #Bitcoin & Crypto can learn from the history and challenges of the BitTorrent ecosystem.
Somehow I managed to entirely miss the Post Script at the end of the article which deserves a nod! So when you head over to follow @Simonhmorris on Medium and applaud this series don’t forget to check out the post script at the end of Part 4!
https://medium.com/@simonhmorris/decentralized-disruption-who-dares-wins-bittorrent-lessons-for-crypto-4-of-4-f022e8641c1a
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Read_221 – Intent, Complexity, & Governance Paradox: BitTorrent Lesson 3 [Simon Morris]
In the context of Part 2, knowing that the true value of decentralization is in breaking rules, Simon Morris now explores the consequences of a systems “intent,” the incredible complexity and balance it requires to sustain them, & the paradox of making changes to a system whose power resides in its capacity to resist change. Listen to Part 3 of Simon’s series on the lessons we can learn from BitTorrent.
Lets see if we can’t add 300 claps to Simon’s series by heading over to the original article and going trigger happy on the applause button at:
https://medium.com/@simonhmorris/intent-complexity-and-the-governance-paradox-bittorrent-lessons-for-crypto-3-of-4-1d14ac390f3f
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Read_220 – Not Breaking Rules? You’re Doing it Wrong: BitTorrent Lesson 2 [Simon Morris]
Today we cover Part 2 of Simon Morris’s excellent series on the lessons we can take from BitTorrent to better understand the goals and value of Bitcoin and Crypto. If it doesn’t break the rules, then why does decentralization even matter? Don’t miss the excellent article, with a few exciting updates from today about Lightning Network development, and followed by my commentary on all the different ways I think #Bitcoin is “Breaking the Rules.”
Click that applause button like crazy to throw some digital claps at Simon Morris on Medium (also follow him on Twitter) for this great series!
https://medium.com/@simonhmorris/if-youre-not-breaking-rules-you-re-doing-it-wrong-bittorrent-lessons-for-crypto-2-of-4-72c68227fe69
To check out the #Lightning developments discussed early in the episode, follow the links below:
https://twitter.com/alexbosworth/status/1108414132997353472
https://twitter.com/lightning/status/1108398809481003008
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Read_219 – Why BitTorrent Mattered: Lesson 1 [Simon Morris]
Bitcoin is an incredibly novel technology, there are few technologies that can boast the revolutionary impact that Bitcoin potentially has. However, there is still much to be learned from its predecessors and benefactors. One of those being the resilient and disruptive ecosystem of the BitTorrent protocol. Simon Morris, a 10 year veteran of the company, BitTorrent Inc., brings us a 4 part series exploring exactly what we can learn from our Peer-2-Peer history, and the challenges that faced an industry breaking technology.
Find Part 1: Why Bitcoin Mattered, on Simon’s Medium page below, along with the rest of this excellent series. Don’t forget to drop some claps on this one!
https://medium.com/@simonhmorris/why-bittorrent-mattered-bittorrent-lessons-for-crypto-1-of-4-fa3c6fcef488
You can also check him out on Twitter below:
https://twitter.com/simonhmorris
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Read_218 – The Resolution of the Big Block Experiment [Lucas Nuzzi]
If you missed the insanity that happened during the “Block Wars” that extended from 2014 all the way to late 2017 with the split of Bitcoin Cash, then you aren’t going to want to miss this article. With a thorough overview of both the history and core ideas behind the numerous ideas and personalities wrapped into the blocksize debate, Lucas Nuzzi lays out the full picture with his article “The Resolution of the Big Block Experiment.”
Drop some applause on this excellent write-up by heading over to https://medium.com/digitalassetresearch/the-resolution-of-the-big-block-experiment-e1df3e38d03f and while you are there be sure to check out his more recent article on Schnorr Signatures and Bitcoin privacy!
Follow @LucasNuzzi on Twitter to stay up on the other incredible work he is doing.
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Read_217 – Sovereignty as a Service [Jeremy Welch]
Another short but excellent blog post covering the incredible work being done by the team over at @CasaHODL. For the first time we are seeing a user friendly application of one of Bitcoin’s core differentiators. Sovereignty as a service is a beautifully simple idea with huge implications. Don’t miss this great piece by Jeremy Welch on the philosophy behind the Casa service, & check out the other awesome tools and products at https://blog.keys.casa/
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Read_216 – Formalizing & Securing Network Relationships [Part 3 – Nick Szabo]
The risks and benefits of chargebacks, the nature of the trade-off between contract enforcement & ensuring privacy, the elements of splitting contractual elements (the ripped dollar bill) to minimize trust, pseudonymous credit ratings, and so much more in our completion of Szabo’s essay, “Formalizing and Securing Relationships on Public Networks.” More amazing foresight into the problems of smart contract design, detailed more than a decade before Bitcoin even existed.
Link to the Nakamoto Institute for hosting this incredible work:
nakamotoinstitute.org/formalizing-securing-relationships/
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Read_215 – Formalizing & Securing Network Relationships [Part 2 – Nick Szabo]
Listening to an essay from 1997 that details specific challenges of something as distant as the smart contract embedded into the Lightning Network shows the unbelievable foresight of the cypherpunks. As well as the dedication to seeing their vision become a reality. Don’t miss the continuation of Szabo’s amazing piece, “Formalizing and Securing Relationships on Public Networks.”
Link to the Nakamoto Institute for hosting this incredible work:
https://nakamotoinstitute.org/formalizing-securing-relationships/
Don’t forget to check out the many different elements discussed in the commentary if you want to learn more.
Neutrino:
https://cryptoconomy.life/2018/10/18/neutrino-the-lighter-side-of-lightning/
Eltoo:
https://cryptoconomy.life/2018/05/01/eltoo-a-simplified-update-mechanism-for-lightning/
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Read_214 – Formalizing & Securing Network Relationships [Part 1 – Nick Szabo]
“… The movement from static to dynamic media promises to bring about a fourth cost revolution in the related areas of jurisdiction, trust, and security. Impacts on business will be felt in law, accounting, auditing, billing, collections, contracts, confidentiality, and so on: in short, the entire nature of our business relationships will be altered in ways only partially foreseeable.”
– Nick Szabo
Diving into another excellent piece from Szabo on establishing and updating how we create, enforce, and control relationships in the world of cyberspace. Check out the full essay at the Nakamoto Institute:
https://nakamotoinstitute.org/formalizing-securing-relationships/
And don’t forget to follow Szabo on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/NickSzabo4
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Read_213 – MuSig, A New MultiSignature Standard [Andrew Poelstra]
Cypherpunks write code!
Last year we received a published paper detailing the advantages of the new MuSig Multisignature Scheme, this year we get the code. From the incredible minds at Blockstream, don’t miss an exciting development in cryptographically securing and verifying ownership among increasingly complex & private groups of individuals.
To explore numerous links and further reading, as well as the other amazing work from Blockstream, check out the full article below:
https://blockstream.com/2019/02/18/musig-a-new-multisignature-standard/
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