Tuesday, December 26, 2017

About Bitcoins, Ethereum and other Altcoins

I feel like i am living in a tulip mania. Admittedly, i am not technologically inclined or maybe i am not as open-minded as i think i am. And it is very very difficult to tell what is real in this time and age. I feel more alone as i get older.
"Human action can be modified to some extent, but human nature cannot be changed. "- Abraham Lincoln.
I want to believe in digital currency but i can't seem to find the answers. People who have spoken to me have been mixing up Block Chain with Bitcoins, Ethereum, Litecoins or other Altcoins and showing me articles about major banks and MAS sanctioning trials on Block Chain instead.

Some questions that needs to be answered.
1) The advantage of digital currency is decentralised, so no one can control it.
But what happens when the digital currency vanishes, who do we turn to or is there insurance like SDIC 50k in singapore? Which country law to apply?
And it seems that it can be controlled or at least corrupted if a group takes over more than 51% of the mining power based on this link
https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-miners-ditch-ghash-io-pool-51-attack/

2)The advantage of digitial currency is its limited supply, with Bitcoin purportedly capping the supply at 21 million coins. Miners , earn digital currency by verifying the transactions, so what happens when 21 million coins is reached? No more miners, mean nobody willing to verify anymore since there is electricity bills involved?
I think they will increase the cap when this is reached but then again, it contradicts its original aim which is to stop the disadvantage of money printing by governements.

3)Internet says it saves transaction cost compared with traditional credit card fees or wire fees. But when i see i want to convert into bitcoin or trade, the fees damn high like 5-6% for ATM conversion or 3.99% for some transactions. Is this a marketing lie about the fees involved?

4) Is it impossible to hack these kind of thing to steal? I understand that the information is stored in millions of computers so one cannot change one ledger without no one knowing since it wont tally with the others millions of computers ledger based on BlockChain technology. With a virus that can affect millions of computers at one go like wannacry or God knows what, is this really unhackable? At least for a centralised source, the company or bank can spent billions for security but for millions of computers who many dont or use low grade security, is it really safer?

5) The software is also open source, meaning that anyone can look at it to make sure that it does what it is supposed to. It seems like there is transparency especially with all the negativity about secrecy agendas of the government so it appeals to the masses , BUT shouldnt open source be easier to hack and who has MORE motivation to check the codes, a person who wants to profit OR a person who is civic minded ?

1 comment:

  1. Interesting questions about the outlook of cryptocurrency. Personally, I see a future in the blockchain development but not a future in the valuation of the cryptocurrency.

    Technology can advance at a incredible rate and there is no guarantee that your crypto currency will not be replaced by a simply better one or even be used eventually . There might be a pile of losers among very few emerging winners.

    Not vested in cryptos but interested in the outlook of it. Great post!

    ReplyDelete

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