Cryptocurrencies continue to be talked about. But as the Ethereum blockchain prepares to migrate to Proof-of-Stake (PoS), Vitalik Buterin confides in Noah Smith’s microphone and his statements could worry more than one!
The future of bitcoin (BTC) according to Vitalik Buterin
Vitalik Buterin is one of the emblematic figures of the crypto ecosystem. While the sector is struggling to get out of the downward trend, the young entrepreneur has a string of projects. Recently, at the microphone of Noah Smith, the latter answered many questions and gave his point of view on the future of crypto, and that of bitcoin in particular.
Indeed, he thinks people have a hard time understanding the true meaning of cryptocurrencies and what they stand for. As a result, they have become accustomed to following the trend. Their reactions vary depending on the situation: optimistic when prices are up and uncertain when prices are falling.
However, his concern is all the greater regarding the future of bitcoin (BTC). As we know, BTC uses Proof-of-Work consensus. However, it requires a lot of energy resources, which is harmful to our environment.
However, if emissions eventually reach near zero, bitcoin may face another major problem. Indeed, reducing emissions will benefit the environment. However, the Bitcoin blockchain could suffer as it will now have to work hard on its security.
Proof-of-Stake, the solution to reduce costs?
For the past few months, the cryptosphere has been shaken by the announcement of the Ethereum merger. Right now all eyes are on Vitalik Buterin who is sort of the mastermind behind it all. However, chances are that some people don’t understand the real purpose of this transition.
During his interview, the co-founder of the second largest blockchain explained the peculiarities of proof of stake. According to him, the degree of security of a blockchain depends solely on the entry costs, because that is what an attacker must pay to attack. Thus, unlike the Proof-of-Work (PoW) which has average entry costs and average ongoing costs, the consensus of Proof-of-Stake (PoS) has high entry costs and low ongoing costs.
Moreover, in PoW, one can only respond to an attack by changing the consensus algorithm. This inevitably results in the burning of mining hardware, good or bad. And yet in PoS, it is possible to make the protocol only burn the attacker’s assets while protecting the ecosystem.
Thus, Vitalik Buterin is worried about the security of bitcoin (BTC) in the long term. According to him, blockchain security will rely entirely on fees. However, BTC’s revenue level hasn’t really changed over the past five years unlike Ethereum. Moreover, he might well consider moving to proof of stake. However, this could be very tricky.
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