On: Bitcoin Mining’s Three Body Problem

[qes]

> which costs 400 [not 400 thousand] [dollars] per hour

No, it's $400,000 per hour.

0.009 BTC/PH/day to buy from NiceHash (https://www.nicehash.com/algorithm/sha256)

100,000 PH/day total hashrate of BTC network (https://www.blockchain.com/charts/hash-rate)

That's 450 BTC/day to buy 50% of the hash rate (as if you even could, that in itself is a ridiculous notion - NiceHash says they have only 300 PH).

Or 18.75 BTC/hour. Or $185,000/hour.

Of course, you're not going to buy 50% of the network's currently running hash power. You'd likely need closer to 100% of the network's current hash power to gain 51%. So, $400,000/hr.

I mean really, does it pass any sort of common sense test that you could 51% the bitcoin network for $400 per hour?

[a1369209993 → qes]

> The hash rate could be 1/1000 of what it is today

> If you cut the hash rate that much the cost would be only $400 or so.

> during an attack which costs 400k per hour

> under your proposal [of reducing the hash rate by a factor of 1000]

Perhaps I should have been more explicit, but it certainly isn't necessary.

> So, $400,000/hr.

Which, if the hash rate was "1/1000 of what it is today", would be reduced to 400$/hr.