Prerequisite reading:
- Original Bitcoin White Paper
- Annotated version: https://fermatslibrary.com/s/bitcoin
Note, this is a separate discussion of the environmental impact and sustainability of Proof-of-Work
- https://ethereum.org/en/energy-consumption/
- https://medium.com/@nic__carter/noahbjectivity-on-bitcoin-mining-2052226310cb
- https://nydig.com/bitcoin-net-zero vs https://digiconomist.net/bitcoin-energy-consumption vs https://ccaf.io/cbeci/index/comparisons
- https://medium.com/@nic__carter/comments-on-the-white-house-report-on-the-climate-implications-of-crypto-mining-8d65d30ec942
- https://bitcoin.energy/
- https://hbr.org/2021/05/how-much-energy-does-bitcoin-actually-consume Or the trade-offs between PoW and PoS
- https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/consensus-mechanisms/pos/
- https://medium.com/@VitalikButerin/a-proof-of-stake-design-philosophy-506585978d51
- https://vitalik.ca/general/2017/12/31/pos_faq.html
- https://vitalik.ca/general/2020/11/06/pos2020.html
- https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/consensus-mechanisms/pos/pos-vs-pow/
Here is a clear description of why the current model is unsustainable in the long term: https://twitter.com/DeFiSurfer808/status/1528187887908540418
This is a clear explanation of how Bitcoin security works in 2022 and what options are available: https://braiins.com/blog/bitcoin-fees-security-threats
Aside, this is interesting: https://insights.braiins.com/cost-to-mine-bitcoin-user-guide
Gavin Andresen, former Bitcoin lead developer lays out one “do nothing” scenario: http://gavinandresen.ninja/a-possible-btc-future
Dan Held argues that Bitcoin’s security model is fine: https://danhedl.medium.com/bitcoins-security-is-fine-93391d9b61a8
- Note, this is a “maximalist” position that posits its arguments on Bitcoin being somehow uniquely desirable that I don’t think holds.
- No amount of fees can compensate for security unless large holders (eg,BigGo WBTC, large exchanges, etc) consolidate with miners a la Andresen’s scenario
https://dataalways.substack.com/p/bitcoin-security-endgame https://www.cs.princeton.edu/~arvindn/publications/mining_CCS.pdf https://petertodd.org/2022/surprisingly-tail-emission-is-not-inflationary https://thebitcoinmanual.com/articles/btc-tail-emissions-debate/
Dashboard on Bitcoin Security Budget https://dune.com/niftytable/bitcoin-security-budget https://twitter.com/0xKofi/status/1630611908054138880
Ordinals + Soverign Rollups are a good thing? https://twitter.com/ercwl/status/1633166395922939913
Bitcoin as DA layer is not good for Bitcoin? https://twitter.com/ryanberckmans/status/1633302819490136066