What do you think about a Bitcoin proof-of-work algorithm change to combat mining centralisation like Monero did? Is ASIC-resistance futile? Is a hard fork still a valid option in case of an emergency?

These questions were part of the monthly live Patreon Q&A session on March 31st and the (rescheduled) April session on May 5th. If you want early-access to talks and a chance to participate in the monthly live Q&As with Andreas, become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/aantonop

RELATED:
The value of proof-of-work – https://youtu.be/ZDGliHwstM8
The mining process – https://youtu.be/L4Xtau0YMJw
Miners, pools, and consensus – https://youtu.be/JHz7LM4ncLw
Bitmain and the ASICBoost allegations – https://youtu.be/t6jJDD2Aj8k
Energy consumption – https://youtu.be/2T0OUIW89II
What is Consensus? Rules Without Rulers – https://youtu.be/2tqo7PX5Pyc
Forkology: A Study of Forks For Newbies – https://youtu.be/rpeceXY1QBM
What is a fork? – https://youtu.be/QwEDtdkV3Q4
Altcoins and specialisation – https://youtu.be/b_Yhr8h6xnA
Cryptographic primitives – https://youtu.be/RIckQ6RBt5E
Nonces, mining, and quantum computing – https://youtu.be/d4xXJh677J0
Migrating to post-quantum cryptography – https://youtu.be/dkXKpMku5QY

Andreas M. Antonopoulos is a technologist and serial entrepreneur who has become one of the most well-known and respected figures in bitcoin.

Follow on Twitter: @aantonop https://twitter.com/aantonop
Website: https://antonopoulos.com/

He is the author of two books: “Mastering Bitcoin,” published by O’Reilly Media and considered the best technical guide to bitcoin; “The Internet of Money,” a book about why bitcoin matters.

THE INTERNET OF MONEY, v1: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Internet-Money-collection-Andreas-Antonopoulos/dp/1537000454/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

[NEW] THE INTERNET OF MONEY, v2: https://www.amazon.com/Internet-Money-Andreas-M-Antonopoulos/dp/194791006X/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

MASTERING BITCOIN: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mastering-Bitcoin-Unlocking-Digital-Cryptocurrencies/dp/1449374042

[NEW] MASTERING BITCOIN, 2nd Edition: https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Bitcoin-Programming-Open-Blockchain/dp/1491954388

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35 COMMENTS

  1. BCH did hark fork twice since the chain split and didn't have any serious issue. The fact BTC never hard fork will be problematique in the future. Doing regular hard fork is a nice drill!

  2. Apple is working on its A12 chip using 7nm lithography. Doesn't this mean we are still a lonh way off the end of moore's law in regards to asics?
    Also, what about the possibility of Bitmain holding a majority of the mining power by Bitmain themselves mining with their newly developed asics and then releasing those used asics as new to buyers once the development of their latest asics is finished? Isn't that a good reason for changin PoW?

  3. ASICs is a natural progression. Just need more competition within manufactures of ASICs. This is coming. Having no ASICs would make you vulnerable because when ASICs are invented they would temporarily have a huge advantage making a 51% attack much easier.

  4. In the current proof of work setup, the objective for the miners is to find a block header with a hash value, that is smaller than some target.
    With rising mining difficulty, the number of potential hashes of valid blocks shrinks, and therefore the chance of a collision, where two blocks have the same hash, rises.
    What do you think of changing the proof of work, such that the difficulty constraint is not imposed on the hash of the block header, but rather "some different" hash of the block, that is only used for proof of work and not for referencing the block.
    For example, a "hash field" could be added to the block header.

  5. Plz in your next mastering bitcoin print show us the steps to run a full node in a rasbary pi connected to go tenna then connected to blockstream satalite or full node directly connected to the blockstream satalite and a lighting node….:-)

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