Ok, sorry, I meant private/secret pool. The pool source is on github.
That makes more sense. But what is stopping them from acquiring or using their already mined coins to then gain more power over the network as normal people leave because of the new requirements to mine?
I don't know exactly how that works as I am not an expert, but I can say that since switching to the new system I am currently (as in today) getting around 7x the rewards I was before we switched, and I am using less computers now. So if nothing else the problem has eased.
I don't know the long term ramifications of a botnet and what they can and can't do.
I would like to point out a couple of thing though.
1. Anyone with an ARM cpu mobile device can solve Rosetta tasks and earn rewards
without any stake. This was to ensure that users in poor countries can earn some BBP. But of course if you have an ARM device then you can do the same.
2. A standard home pc could probably generate 1000 RAC. At 20 BBP/RAC that is less than a $50 investment which I know some will still not like. And just to point out (although you know this, but for others) that the stake remains yours, you don;t sell it in order to be able to mine. You just hold it as long as you need to.
3. The staking was aimed at making the distribution more even. Since we had many very large Rosetta miners, it was thought that they would just dump on the exchange. Making them have a large stake gives a bit more certainty to the coin. Also, it locks up a lot of our supply which supports the price.
I know this has the added side effect that it can be difficult for some people to start mining. But it is a tough challenge to solve and we have done our best so far.