Re:El Salvador makes Bitcoin legal tender
by la_fayette on Wednesday June 09, 2021 @03:00PM
(#27451719)
As they use lightning network the reasoning that there will be high demand for block space is not a valid assumption. Theoretically, it is possible that the government of el salvador is doing a single transaction on the blockchain as channel funding and sends bitcoin via lightning to 6,4 million people from el salvador from that channel without touching the blockchain...
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Re:El Salvador makes Bitcoin legal tender
by loup-vaillant on Wednesday June 09, 2021 @03:33PM
(#27452100)
Block space isn't the point. The price of a Bitcoin is. Raise the price, and mining will naturally spend more energy on it. Therefore, anything that raises the price of Bitcoin contributes to Global Warming.
Re:El Salvador makes Bitcoin legal tender
by anonporridge on Wednesday June 09, 2021 @03:57PM
(#27452367)
Price of bitcoin * total block reward (new coins + fees)
The total value of the miner reward does increase with price, but because of halvings every 210,000 blocks it's a slower rate than the price increases on its own.
Note here, https://www.blockchain.com/charts/miners-revenue, that the current miner reward (in USD) is currently lower than it was at the peak of the 2017 bull run, despite the unit price being approximately double.
Re:El Salvador makes Bitcoin legal tender
by rspeele on Wednesday June 09, 2021 @03:31PM
(#27452081)
The main impact is still Bitcoin price. Anything that makes Bitcoin's price go up makes the mining energy usage go up too. The fees are just a bonus.
But anyway:
1. A transaction creating a channel factory for 6.4 million different keyholders would be too large to fit in a block.
2. 6.4 million users on LN would be a great target for flood and loot[0].
[0]https://medium.com/blockchains-huji/flood-loot-a-systemic-at...