pull down to refresh
21 sats \ 4 replies \ @Scoresby OP 21 Mar \ parent \ on: POLL: Bitcoin needs low transaction fees or low cost to run a node? bitcoin
It is an interesting topic. And thanks for the thoughtful questions it's forcing me to articulate some things, which is always good.
I don't really think Luke Jr's count of nodes is relevant to what happens in the event of a contested hard fork.
Say a large movement got going to double the supply of bitcoin to 42 million (it's the answer to life, the universe and everything isn't it?).
I wouldn't accept it.
But I can only know what I'm accepting if I'm running a node. So that's why running a node is important.
If I don't accept bitcoin anyway and I'm just running the node out of solidarity, what can I do? Show up as a number on Luke's graph?
How many nodes are running a certain set of rules is an interesting signal, but do you think it is one that will alter outcomes?
There is no voting and no weighting, there is only people who are willing to accept bitcoin. If a person is not transacting with bitcoin, running a node doesn't have much to do with the matter.
I think what I'm trying to get at with this poll is that noderunners aren't who enforce bitcoin's consensus rules. The rules are enforced by node runners who accept bitcoin transactions.
Thank you for your clarifications. I think we are mostly on the same page. In fact I agree with just about everything you wrote here! The only caveat is that I think non transacting nodes still have voting power. To what degree is uncertain.
You could be HODLing a block reward for decades without making a transaction. However you would likely run a node and vote through the software you decide to run and seemingly just be another number in the graph. I suppose you could argue that the block reward is technically a transaction. Is HODLing technically transacting? How many transactions are necessary to enforce the consensus? 1? more? Can someone support and enforce Bitcoin without actually using it via a transaction? Could a person living with generational wealth like the idea and run a node just to support what Bitcoin represents for the world without actually accepting Bitcoin since they have no personal economic need for it?
I don't think transacting is necessary to have a say or enforce the rules. I agree that the raw numbers don't necessarily determine consensus but they are a useful metric and could signal general consensus. Consensus is not black and white nor easily measurable. Its very perplexing and fascinating.
Thank you for your insights. Definitely some interesting threads to investigate here. The rabbit hole just keeps going and I love it =)
reply
That's about the stupidest thing I have ever read.