Vitalik Buterin, co – founder of Ethereum, posted a Twitter thread in which he revisits some of his views from previous years and takes the opportunity to talk about bitcoin and its decentralization.
Happy New Year!
Today, a mini-tweetstorm on some of what I have said and written over the last decade, and what I think about those topics today.
– vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 1, 2022
According to Buterin, the decentralization of Bitcoin is not enough for the successful emergence of this network in the face of the extreme control systems imposed by governments. While not citing examples or citing specific cases, Ethereum’s co – founder acknowledged that bitcoin technology is, in essence, immune to censorship.
1. In 2013, I wrote this piece on “how Bitcoin can actually help Iranians and Argentinians”. The core point: Bitcoin’s main advantage is internationalism and censorship resistance, NOT “the 21m limit”. I predict stable bases will succeed.https: //t.co/zS3C6v1qJ7 pic.twitter.com/UO9ojfzYEa
– vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 1, 2022
The decentralization of bitcoin would allow it to “survive” in the face of an extremely hostile regulatory climate, but it could not be successful. A successful strategy to combat censorship requires a combination of technical robustness and public legitimacy. – Vitalik Buterin, co – founder of Ethereum
2. This piece from 2013 on the consequences of increasingly “regulated” Bitcoin services: https://t.co/3ZV0542L6U
Core Argument: Bitcoin is opposing the government not by being smart about the * legal category * in which it falls, but instead by proving technological censorship. pic.twitter.com/xXHbf83f5U
– vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 1, 2022
In the tweet mentioned above, Buterin points out that bitcoin could hardly survive in a very tight regulatory environment. However, the traits he sees as necessary to successfully overcome censorship are two of bitcoin’s strengths. While it is valid to acknowledge that the basic currency framework still has a long way to go in terms of “ technical robustness and public legitimacy“, Bitcoin is certainly one step ahead of altcoins.
3. My projections from 2015 for when we will receive PoS and share. Honestly, these were very wrong and even laughable; I will share a screenshot of one of my presentations from 2015 so everyone can laugh more easily. pic.twitter.com/6tbsmajJyu
– vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 1, 2022
In fact, 2021 was an important year for the decentralization of bitcoin. China’s bitcoin veto forced miners to migrate to other latitudes, distributing half of the total hashrate of this network, which remained concentrated in the Asian giant, among several countries.
4. While I support 100% my view that “the internet should not cost more than 5 cents per transaction”. That was the goal in 2017, and it remains a goal now. That’s precisely why we spend so much time working on scalability.https: //t.co/M326MtrlE0
– vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 1, 2022
In terms of technological development, bitcoin is one of the most advanced cryptocurrency projects, despite the lack of strong funding.
5. I should also say that the heart is * thinking * about shaving intact.
Blockchain 1.0: each node downloads everything, there is a consensus
BitTorrent: each node downloads only a few things, but there is no consensus
Ideal: Efficiency similar to BitTorrent but with a blockchain-like consensus– vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 1, 2022
Bitcoin and regulation
It is essential to keep in mind that the bitcoin community is made up of three groups primarily responsible for its growth and success: its developers, its miners, and its users.
This reflects my broader intellectual evolution: from “X is what I have to defend, so whatever is favorable to X must be right” to “I like X, but X has flaws and Y seems to fix them, so I. support X + Y now “
Soldier’s Attitude -> Scout Attitude.https: //t.co/yNwrmCtJCV
– vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 1, 2022
Bitcoin developers have a duty to improve the efficiency with which the network operates and to maintain the liberal philosophy born of it. The power of the network is miners, keeping it secure and active with the power provided by their hardware. Meanwhile, users of this cryptocurrency are responsible for promoting its use and adoption, as well as ensuring that the work of the developers is in favor of most and not only themselves.
7. This 2014 piece on self-execution contracts: https://t.co/FAIAiL8HhV
In essence, it seeks to argue that it is a good thing to make the whole of society more like a formal system and that we should be excited about it.
– vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 1, 2022
It is also important to note that most of the mechanisms used by governments to regulate, or even prohibit, the use of bitcoin are at the crossroads between this cryptocurrency and the traditional financial system. That is, exchange houses, stock exchanges, banks, etc. Bitcoin, as Buterin himself says, he has a native system that resists censorship.
Do I still agree?
The above articles are not as robust today, as (i) chains are more universal, (ii) apps are more complex and therefore more risky, (iii) L2 is a feasible experiment.
But still, I think there are things you can’t do at L2, and there’s room for different L1s
– vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 1, 2022
Regarding the promotion of the use of bitcoin, the co – founder of Ethereum made an interesting comment that he confirmed himself during his recent trip to Argentina. While the acceptance of cryptocurrencies is high in this country, stablecoins are very well accepted on a commercial basis. This suggests that many people are still relying more heavily on traditional financial systems, even if they come in the form of blockchain.
Today, I want to give BCH a largely failed. The main takeaway: communities formed around rebellion often have a long hard time, even if they have good reason, because they value bravery beyond competence and are united on resistance rather than a coherent way to heads.
– vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 1, 2022
Vitalik Buterin also talked about Ethereum and other altcoins.
Buterin is, logically, someone in favor of coexisting bitcoin with other cryptocurrencies, or altcoins, as they are called in the bitcoin ecosystem. He reinforced this idea in his recent tweet.
10. These posts from 2016-17 are basically recommending someone to build Uniswap.https: //t.co/ZC7AO6kVxVhttps: //t.co/HMBJolmI0d
– vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 1, 2022
According to the co – founder of Ethereum, there are three arguments he already considered in 2013 and still adheres to, which coexist various blockchains and cryptocurrencies that are not necessarily related.
The first is ” Different blockchains optimize the achievement of different goals“. Second, ” the costs of blockchain presence are quite low“. By this, the co – founder of Ethereum means that maintaining multiple blockchains that can interact with each other is not as expensive as it seems. Although he later admits that he is much heavier than he thought. Finally, according to Buterin, it is important to have an alternative to bitcoin, for fear that the work of the major developers will have a negative impact on the network.
11. Applications intended in Ethereum white paper: https://t.co/6HCoO2CSW8
* Signs in ERC20 style
* Algorithmic stable coins
* Domain name systems (like ENS)
* Decentralized file storage and computing
* DAO
* Wallet with withdrawal limits
* Oracles
* Markets forecast– vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 1, 2022
While he has made such arguments in favor of altcoins, Buterin admits that these arguments are much less forceful today. However, for him, if the development of a second-tier solution (like the Bitcoin Lightning network) can be a more efficient answer than the collective of cryptocurrencies and blockchain, this type of technology presents limitations that a key chain would not face.
12. A more detailed view of stables from 2014: https://t.co/RwRx4HVjEL
Much of this post attempted to address the question of whether or not you could have stablecoin without oracles, by using blockchain data (e.g. PoW diff) as pseudo-price-oracle.
– vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 1, 2022
* I had a good early instinct to avoid the craziest parts of bitcoin max thinking. A few mistakes early on, but I quickly corrected
* But if X is wrong it does not imply that any particular revolt against X will succeed! Yet another way in which politics is hard– vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 1, 2022