Bitcoins

Satoshi

So when the last of the 21million bitcoins has been mined, and each of the 21 million maybe individually being divided up into thousands of transactions like 0.00000001 bitcoins everyday -WHO WILL RUN THINGS AND ON WHAT COMPUTERS AND WHO WILL PAT FOR IT ALL?

At the moment its those letting their computers be used for all the bitcoin transactions but what when they all stop because the last of the bitcoins has been used?

If there is a bitcoin 2 then it will devalue bitcoin 1, even the talk of such a thing will damage confindence in Bitcoin 1.

It would be like the Americans adding 85 billion units to their currency supply every month. The attraction of bitcoin is it can not be abused the way the rest of the worlds currencies are bing.

Satoshi

dryhat wrote: »

When there is no more mining to be done, miners will make their money from processing transactions and earning fees for doing so.

Incidentally, although the last coin is due to be mined in 2140, it will never actually happen due to an effect similar to "zeno's paradox"

Sounds too problematic, say I wanted to process transactions and charge a fee for doing so, how could someone trust me and have confidence to pay me the fee? There will surely need to be some central authority once all of them have been mined. The only way it works without a central authority now is because people have incentive to let their computers be used.

I do not believe that the end of bitcoin mining is anything like a hundred years away. Do you not understand exponential arcs? That number is worked out by the current number of miners assumed to be continuing the same numbers.

If bitcoin carries on the same exponential curve it will be sooner.

JohnRo

Two parts to the block reward, the current mining payout and the inclusive transaction fees. When the mining payout ends, which won't be for a great many years, then we're left with transaction fee payouts, so that's clearly where the future lies.

Now transaction fees, there are some problems with that model and scaling but it's my opinion these will be overcome as and when they arise and the btc landscape evolves, which won't be the first half of this century.

The one thing to remember is that the value of bitcoin is only preserved by the nature of what it is, so any changes made by third parties to try and gain an advantage for themselves would be a self defeating endeavour and the barrier to attempting that or even just vandalism is the requirement for huge expense in resources and coordination.

dryhat

Satoshi wrote: »

Sounds too problematic, say I wanted to process transactions and charge a fee for doing so, how could someone trust me and have confidence to pay me the fee? There will surely need to be some central authority once all of them have been mined. The only way it works without a central authority now is because people have incentive to let their computers be used.

I do not believe that the end of bitcoin mining is anything like a hundred years away. Do you not understand exponential arcs? That number is worked out by the current number of miners assumed to be continuing the same numbers.

If bitcoin carries on the same exponential curve it will be sooner.

Well, that's the way it works.

The "difficulty" of mining automatically increases when either the hash rate increases or more people start mining.
If you don't like it or don't think it will work, start your own coin with different characteristics.

You ask basic questions with one post and then provide details of what you think are solutions in the next.

You are either trolling or just ignoring the answers.

DiggerUK

I only ever see posts from those who have bought, or who are thinking of buying bitcons.
Why do we never see anything written by those who have succeeded in mining the coins. Is it because nobody has ever mined them, and is the reality that it is just a pair of Kray type brothers who are selling these crypto cons to suckers.
..._

dryhat

DiggerUK wrote: »

I only ever see posts from those who have bought, or who are thinking of buying bitcons.
Why do we never see anything written by those who have succeeded in mining the coins. Is it because nobody has ever mined them, and is the reality that it is just a pair of Kray type brothers who are selling these crypto cons to suckers.
..._

Well, for a start. few people are mining and even fewer are likely to be on here.
I joined a mining pool at the start of the year and receive payouts as a result of successful "block solving"

Apart from that, I'm not really bothered about who is doing what.

What I most definitely know is that I have 10 times more money now than what I put into Bitcoin 9 months ago.

Satoshi

dryhat wrote: »

If you don't like it or don't think it will work, start your own coin with different characteristics.
.

It is an interesting question, could anyone just start a currency out of thin air? Well yes Satoshi did, or whoever Satoshi represents.

There could well be many other competing currencies in the future.

dryhat

Satoshi wrote: »

There could well be many other competing currencies in the future.

There already are many competing crypto-currencies.

(and I have a few quid's worth of some of those too)

JohnRo

DiggerUK wrote: »

I only ever see posts from those who have bought, or who are thinking of buying bitcons.
Why do we never see anything written by those who have succeeded in mining the coins. Is it because nobody has ever mined them, and is the reality that it is just a pair of Kray type brothers who are selling these crypto cons to suckers.
..._

I mine btc, have done for a while. It's low level and just a hobby. I'm not looking at bitcoin as a get rich quick scheme or I'd have bought hundreds, I didn't and maybe I should have, so more fool me, but it doesn't alter the fact that the technology is fascinating and here to stay.

One reason I keep posting in this and similar threads is to at least try and provide some element of balance to proceedings or it'd be full of hysterical ill informed nonsense and trolling.

Satoshi

dryhat wrote: »

There already are many competing crypto-currencies.

(and I have a few quid's worth of some of those too)

Which ones lightcoin/world of warcraft currencies?

Remember e-gold?

There is also gold money these are not unbacked like bitcoin and world of warcraft virtual currencies.