Andreas Antonopoulos Talks Bitcoin’s Hybrid Proof-of-Stake and Design Challenges
Posted on
2:00 pm April 24, 2016 Author
JP BuntinxCategories
Bitcoin,
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The lightning Network is a pure proof-of-stake system, but it will be based on the Bitcoin network in a trustless manner, and guaranteed by Bitcoin’s proof-of-work.
To quite some people, the connection between creativity and financial freedom has remained invisible for quite some time now. But Andreas Antonopoulos pointed out how there is a distinct correlation between creativity and what fine-grained components have to offer.
Also read: Blockchain Disruption Will Affect Every Aspect of Daily Life
Andreas Antonopoulos: “Bitcoin Has A Lot of Exciting New Features.”
One of the more prominent very few people are aware of is how
Bitcoin will have a hybrid
Proof-of-Work and
Proof-of-Stake system in the near future. This is a creative decision by the developers very few people had envisioned up until now, and it will effectively turn the entire Bitcoin ecosystem on its head.
A lot of people were shocked when
Andreas Antonopoulos made this announcement during a
Bitcoin Berlin meetup. The
Lightning Network, which is scheduled for launch later this year, is based on proof-of-stake. However, it does not operate like people envision this system in the altcoin scene, as the Lightning Network is an entirely different creature.
People have to understand the Lightning Network uses a concept that requires money to be committed to a
multisignature address. More money increases the number of transactions to be handled, which will generate new fees. This is a real proof-of-stake system, but it will be based on the Bitcoin network in a
trustless manner, and guaranteed by Bitcoin’s proof-of-work.
The
consensus algorithms of the future may benefit from proof-of-stake according to Antonopoulos, as this solution would allow for further scalability than the proof-of-work technology is capable of right now. This is just one of the many surprises Bitcoin users can expect in the coming years as creativity is being stimulated by the open source nature of this Bitcoin concept, and its open nature welcomes all kinds of different ideas.
The
design of Bitcoin is another area where lots of innovation and creativity will be stimulated over the coming years. But the design of Bitcoin goes well beyond what the users see, as the concept behind
cryptocurrency is completely new and different while creating an entirely new ecosystem which can be explained through metaphors linking to existing financial paradigms.
Up until this point, the efforts to explain Bitcoin through design have failed utterly, Antonopoulos stated. Even the
name Bitcoin is not helping matters much, as the cryptocurrency is very different from coins, and the term “Bit” is not attracting too many people either. Moreover, the concept of a Bitcoin “wallet” is not helping matters much either, as it does not highlight this disruptive model Bitcoin actually represents.
Exciting times are ahead for the Bitcoin ecosystem in the coming years. Unlike traditional finance, the Bitcoin world will keep on innovating several times per year, whereas the
concept of money has only evolved five times within the past two million years. There are many advantages to Bitcoin over the traditional financial world, as people get paid regardless of where they are or what type of work they do. Albeit that may not sound all that appealing to people who have never experienced issues when dealing with international clients, it makes a world of difference for anyone who takes their financial status seriously.
