On 2018-03-20 21:44 +0100, Philip Hands wrote:
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/mar/20/child-abuse-imagery-bitco...
There's always someone isn't there? This is why we can't have nice things.
I'm quite surprised that the format allows inclusion of random extra files. Why isn't it just a list of transaction IDs (or however it works), i.e. the data needed to make the blockchain work. Or are they just abusing some 'Name' or 'Comment' type freeform field?
It seems to me that bitcoin needs to fail on energy terms alone - it's mind-bogglingly inefficent (and, contrary to my initial understanding, this problem doesn't get better over time as more coins are mined). Plenty of other cryptocurrency algorithms exist, using much more sensible amounts of energy (Wh/transaction: bitcoin: 634,000, Ethereum: 43,000, (Visa: 1.69) Stellar: 0.03). The tricky bit is making sure that remains true when the thing gets popular.
If those numbers are right bitcoin is generating the same emissions as a flight to Spain from the UK (300kG) _per transaction_ which is completely nuts. Buying a beer in the Haymakers really shouldn't have that sort of footprint.
Wookey