Talk bitcoins

As always, Zhorik appeared unexpectedly. His eyes were burning with a new question that required immediate clarification, and his hair moved with anticipation of knowledge. There is nothing in this world sweeter than knowledge, and this young man was curious as a four-year-old child.

“No, you tell me,” he shouted from the doorway, “why do we need bitcoins?”
I sighed.
- tried to google?
- Tried, nothing is clear.
- Well, we start an educational program for degenerates.
Zhorik offended:
- I am not a degenerate, just asking why we need bitcoins.
- Okay, I will answer in an adult way. Do you like banks?
- what are the banks?
- Credit institutions.
“I don't like them,” answered Zhorik carefully, but firmly.
- Why?
- fighting is expensive. In general, parasites ...

- That's right, parasites. And the Bitcoin system works without parasites, no credit institutions are required to operate Bitcoins.
- True? - Zhorik was surprised.
- If it is written in Wikipedia, it means true. Googly wikipedia.
Zhorik put on an article in Wikipedia and read:
- Electronic payment between the two parties occurs without intermediaries.
- That's what bitcoins are for. There are no intermediaries, and there is no bank commission. Read here ...
Zhorik read:
- There is no obligatory commission for carrying out operations; any transactions can be carried out for each of the parties for free.
- Isn't it great?
- Class! - agreed Zhorik. - However, further it is written: Commission for conducting operations is appointed by the sender voluntarily. Still misunderstood. Mandatory commission is absent, but voluntary, it turns out, is present?
“She is voluntary, nobody forces you,” I explained condescendingly.
- In fact, do I feel sorry for a penny? - muttered Zhorik. - However, look what is being said further. Non-commission transactions are possible and are also processed, but not recommended, since the processing time is unknown and can be quite long. It turns out that if I do not pay the voluntary commission, my transaction will be processed is unknown when?
- This is a fee for the absence of intermediaries.
Zhorik wrinkled his forehead.
- That is, for the lack of intermediaries, I have to pay a commission? Who if there are no intermediaries?
- Guess yourself.
I became silent, and Zhorik was silent.
“Well, let's say ...” he said uncertainly a minute later. - Suppose I refused a part of the payment, called a commission, in favor of the Bitcoin system or specialized intermediary services, what's the difference? But after all, ordinary banking intermediaries are still present. It says that the exchange for ordinary currencies occurs through an online digital currency exchange service, other payment systems or exchange offices. Banks in any case in the case, so it turns out?
- And what do you want me to do if the bitcoins are not accepted in the stores?
“Bankers earn money on bitcoins,” Zhorik nodded in the affirmative.
“Not just bankers,” I said, in fairness.
- Who else?
- Mining! - I said, making a profound expression.
- What is it like? - Zhorik was surprised.
“Googly,” I ordered.
A minute later Zhorik Nuggul:
“The volume and time of production of new bitcoins are known in advance, but they are distributed relatively randomly among those who use their equipment for computing ... A standard portion of new bitcoins is added to the amount of fees from transactions included in the next block. The total amount as a reward is received by the one who added the next block to the transaction base.
“Exactly,” I said. - It is in obsolete monetary systems that money is emitted out of need, depending on the production of goods. And bitcoins are emitted by themselves, without reference to the economy. Therefore, bitcoins - the newest cryptographic currency.
“ Since 2013 ,” read Zhorik, “ there are reports about“ bitcoin factories ”- specialized, deserted enterprises, where thousands of ASIC processors are working. The monthly income of a factory can exceed one million dollars (several thousand bitcoins).
- See? - I said. - The state has appropriated a monopoly to print money, is it fair? And bitcoins have everything to be honest: Namaini yourself as much as you can. Direct benefit to users. Money due to inflation is constantly getting cheaper, while bitcoins are constantly becoming more expensive.
“This is true,” Zhorik had to agree. - Here and in Wikipedia it is written. At the end of November 2013, the BBC went through a story about a British man who was looking for his old computer hard drive with a secret key to the address where 7.5 thousand bitcoins had been stored since 2009, were being thrown away by him at a local dump. From the news, the Briton found out about a significant increase in the Bitcoin rate and “realized what he had done”. At the time of the "excavations", the value of the lost bitcoins exceeded $ 7.5 million.
- Great, huh?
Zhorik thought for a long time.
“It seems I am beginning to understand why this is happening,” he said at last. “Money is constantly being printed, so they are getting cheaper, but bitcoins ... Here,” he found the necessary paragraph. - The total amount of Bitcoin emissions is limited, since it is the sum of the members of a decreasing geometric progression, and will not exceed 21 million. So, - Zhorik concluded, - those who started earlier have a benefit. As in the classic financial pyramid. Like this British from the landfill or the inventor of bitcoins Satoshi Nakamoto. According to the same Wikipedia, the probability of a miner successfully creating a block is approximately equal to the ratio of its computing power to the computing power of the entire network. Therefore, if the computing system consists of a single computer, you can spend an unlimited amount of money. Suppose, at the time of the invention of bitcoins, when nobody knew about them, Satoshi Nakamoto namainil 50% of the final number of bitcoins. Then, in the year when humanity will completely switch to Bitcoins, Satoshi Nakamoto will be the owner of 50% of all the wealth accumulated in the history of mankind. Provided, of course, that the Bitcoins will not be used up ahead of time. An ordinary pyramid increases the face value of obligations and exists until new infusions stop there, and the Satkosi Nakamoto bitcoins represent shares of total capital, therefore they can cover the entire population of the Earth, and the system will not collapse. At the same time, each subsequent participant in the system is a bigger sucker than the previous one, since it will receive a smaller share of the wealth from the previous one.
“Be careful with expressions,” I warned.
But Zhorik already sold.
- Moreover, - he exclaimed enthusiastically, - The initial groundwork will allow you to control the rest of the transaction. Here and in Wikipedia it is written ... - and Zhorik excitedly read out. - If you control more than 50% of the total computing power of the network, then there is a theoretical possibility, at any confirmation threshold, to form a parallel longer block chain in which the same bitcoins will be transferred to another recipient (the problem of “double spending”). When the network receives information about the second block chain, it will become the main one, and the transaction in it will be confirmed, the first transaction will lose confirmation and will be considered erroneous. As a result, there will not be a doubling of Bitcoins, but their current owner will change, and the first recipient will lose Bitcoins without any compensation. Thus, by namainiv 50% of global capital, the inventor of bitcoins will be able to redistribute bitcoins in the system from one user to another at their own discretion, completely arbitrary, that is, to control not 50, but 100% of transactions. And this progressive money system, in your opinion?
- Doesn't traditional money circulation have flaws?
- It has some more, - Zhorik puzzled.
“You see, you just admitted that bitcoins are superior to the traditional currency on all counts.” In addition, Satoshi Nakamoto namainil yourself not 50% of bitcoins, but much less, I think. You have nothing to worry about.
“Suppose I don’t worry ...” began Zhorik.
But I interrupted him.
“Understand, young man,” I said with a stern expression on my face, and even shook my finger, “no one has yet succeeded in stopping scientific and technical progress and will never succeed.” Therefore, I strongly recommend not talking about bitcoins badly, otherwise we - I focused on "we" - understand you incorrectly. Remember, bitcoins are much safer and safer than traditional bank payments, the future for bitcoins. Read Wikipedia carefully, this is the most advanced source of information for today. Read, make mercy ...
And he prodded with his nose on the line where it was written:
- It is impossible to cancel a standard transaction, even with an obvious error or fraud.
- Got it? - I asked. - Cancel the standard transaction is not possible, even with fraud. Is not it the slope?
- What's so cool about that? - did not agree Zhorik. - Is it impossible to cancel a transaction, especially if it is fraudulent? Yes, and about the cancellation ... If not, how to deal with this? - and triumphantly read. - On August 6, 2010, even before the system became widespread, an error was noticed that allowed to bypass the check and it was possible to form a transaction with any number of bitcoins at the output. August 15 was thus created 184 billion bitcoins. Within a few hours, the transaction was noticed, the network was stopped, erroneous blocks were deleted from the transaction database, and a revised version of the program was released. It is impossible to cancel, but with the system glitch they took it and easily canceled it turns out?
“What did you want, fool?” - I shouted, finally losing my temper. - To Satoshi Nakamoto - a man equal in genius to John Law, Albert Einstein and Ilon Mask, taken together, due to an accidental mistake, destroyed an immortal creation? Abandoned world financial management? Of course, Satoshi Nakamoto removed the erroneous blocks. To believe that he could do otherwise is an extreme degree of stupidity and irresponsibility! .. Well, if the impossibility of canceling transactions does not convince you, look here.
Zhorik read the indicated place:
- “Bitcoin” was the first to provide the possibility of a direct transfer of property rights to another person via the Internet without the involvement of external guarantors, while the transfer is safe and reliable, no one can dispute it.
“Safe and secure, like no bank transaction, clear to you?”
In response, Zhorik read another place:
- If the access password is stolen from the user and the bitcoins are transferred to another address, the victim will not be able to find out who did it, because the recipient's address does not contain identification information. There is also no mechanism to guarantee a refund in the case when the payment is made, but the service or product is not received. This is used by fraudsters. I do not understand. If the transfer is safe, how is fraud possible? Here's a lot more! - the young man cried out in a murdered voice and began frantically scrolling and reading. - There are many reports about the use of bitcoin errors and vulnerabilities in third-party systems for the theft. The previously known problem of the random number generator in the Android OS allows in some cases to select electronic keys, including for the Bitcoin system. In 2011, an error was detected in the processing of unconfirmed transactions in the accounting systems of many exchange services, which made it possible to transfer funds without transferring bitcoins. Ignoring this problem led to the bankruptcy of Mt.Gox. Other hacks of exchange sites and joint production pools have also been recorded. At the end of 2013, 96,000 bitcoins owned by users were stolen from the transit accounts of the underground Sheep Marketplace store. And this, in your opinion, safe and secure?
Zhorik's face expressed unfeigned amazement.
- You are still an opponent of scientific and technological progress, Zhorik.
- No, but…
- No but!
“It is written in Wikipedia itself that it is a pyramid,” and Zhorik quoted some phrases from this worthy, respectable source. - Many economists consider the Bitcoin system a speculative bubble. Former US Federal Reserve head Alan Greenspan on December 5, 2013, in an interview with Bloomberg, said that he believes Bitcoin is a “bubble” because, in his opinion, bitcoins have no real value ... James Surovecki, an economic observer for The New Yorker, believes that thanks to the rapid growth of prices, and at the same time their popularity, the Bitcoin system looks like a classic bubble ... Former Senior Advisor to the US Treasury and the International Monetary Fund Nouriel Roubini announced in March 2014 that Bitcoin was a variant of the financial pyramid . Jonathan Trughman of the New York Post is convinced of this.
“Just think, financial pyramid,” I shrugged. - So what? One more, one less.
- Are you fucking? - the young man turned pale from indignation.
- Do not banter, you yourself will soon understand if you think carefully. You said negatively about banks at the very beginning of our conversation, right? Do not dare to deny. So, bitcoin denies the banking system completely. Classical banking institutions do not provide clients with complete anonymity, but bitcoin provides, in this there is a fundamental difference between them ... If fraudsters withdraw money from your bank card, what will you do?
- I'll go to the bank to make trouble.
- That's right, to the bank. And when using bitcoins, there is no bank, there is nowhere to go, there is no one to demand money back, did you understand? Such a wonderful progressive monetary system was invented by the conditional Japanese Satoshi Nakamoto. The cryptocurrency is called ... Now, bye, I'm tired, I need to take a shower before tomorrow's lecture.
After sending out Zhorik, I sighed with relief - after all, this young man had angered me greatly with his infinitely naive questions.
I filled the bath and threw off the clothes. Having thought it, he also freed himself from the bioscafand, dived to the very bottom and hid, enjoying the coolness. Each of my scales was pleasantly stung, the gills breathed calmly and joyfully, I did not want to think that someday I would have to fly away from the hospitable planet into emptiness, into the cold of space ...
It is interesting, when these avid technical innovations, trustingly indecent creatures, will understand that we are really doing our best?
')
* - italicized quotes from Wikipedia.