Got this question today from a shitcoin trader, who deep down knows only Bitcoin has a future.
Legit question: if, over time, fees replace block rewards as the incentive for securing the Bitcoin network, but all the Bitcoin is either sat in ETFs or wrapped on other chains (in either case fees are not accrued), then what will secure the network?
How would you answer this?
Or better, point me to discussions on other Bitcoin platforms that have already answered and pondered this question in much detail. I remember reading about it, but didn't really commit the knowledge to memory.
I'm sure you'll get better answers, but the guy should listen to this Bitcoin Audible episode on Bitcoin's exchange theory of value.
In essence, bitcoin won't stand alone as a store of value if it is not a medium of exchange.
reply
216 sats \ 0 replies \ @OT 29 Oct
  • Banks still need to settle with other banks.
  • ETF's need to prove their deposits.
  • LN channels need to be opened.
  • OG bitcoiners need to upgrade our cold storage.
If it really becomes something like a world reserve currency there will be traffic.
reply
Never mind. Just found this thread on the security budget: #263306. Also this one on tail emissions: #245468
Basically, no one really knows before we know how things play out :)
reply
and yet something about drinking too much alcohol... ;) I think you will enjoy it:
reply
I know, and I wrote about it in comments inside: #245468
i.e.: global network hashrate regression until we understand that we need to delay halvings from time to time ;)
reply
all the Bitcoin is either sat in ETFs or wrapped on other chains
Do you believe this deranged statement?
If you start with false premises you'd end up with absurd conclusions.
reply
If all the bitcoin was held in custodians, on other chains, or on other Bitcoin layers all those entities would still need to settle on chain. In this case it would be like fedwire where only large entities are moving large amounts where paying 130k sats in fees for a transaction isn't a huge deal.
Also by the time this becomes an issue we have no clue what the usage of block space is. There may be some other demand for block space that we aren't even considering.
reply
My guess: much higher fees. Like $5k/ transaction.
Don't think of it like free insta settlement, think of it like a brinks truck transporting a 10mm in gold from nyc to san francisco to square accounts between banks.
Coffee n regular life transactions happen on lightning.
Visualization:
I think tool builder has anti bitcoin bias in faq, but doesn't matter, unintentionally useful tool jeje
reply
We'll be dead or have our brains uploaded to the cloud by then so he should get his affairs in order instead of gambling what shitcoin is going to pump next
Hash power is increasingly coming from waste energy and by the time the block subsidy ends it'll be so distributed the economics of it wont matter at all, distribution of security will have already been achieved
reply