Post
Topic
Board Bitcoin Discussion
Re: PoW and free energy
by
odolvlobo
on 02/05/2021, 17:35:50 UTC
I was wondering... When nuclear fusion becomes a thing in "the next 30 years", i.e., almost infinite and free energy production, what do you think will happen to proof of work? Will make the bitcoin consensus stronger or weaker?

If nuclear fusion is going to be centralized, as it seems for now (look at the ITER), then I think it can be a problem. Nation-state attacks could be feasible.

The overall cost of mining is determined by the value of the block reward (subsidy + fees). The cost of electricity does not affect the overall cost of mining. If electricity is cheap, then the overall mining capacity (and thus the difficulty) will increase until the overall cost of mining approaches the value of the block reward.

The security of the network is determined by the overall cost of mining. It will not change due to changes in the price or availability of electricity because the overall cost of mining is not affected by the cost of the electricity, as I explained above.