Re:Bitcoin is dead. Long live bitcoin.
by baddox on Wednesday April 24, 2013 @08:19PM
(#5604923)
This is a common misconception. Because a bitcoin is fundamentally a proof of work, it has some "intrinsic value" in the same sense that gold has "intrinsic value." A bitcoin is proof that a certain amount of difficult computation has been performed by or on behalf of its owner, which can be used anywhere proof-of-work systems like Hashcash can be used.
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The work itself is completely meaningless though. The only reason the proof of work is worth anything is because people place a value on bit coin, and bitcoin relies on the proof of work. So the proof of work's value is dependent on bitcoin, not the other way around.
Proof-of-work systems have nothing to do with the "meaningfullness" of the actual work being done. The work just has to be difficult. Hashcash existed long before bitcoin, so your last sentence is incorrect. In fact, Bitcoin is itself based on Hashcash, and the idea of using POW as a means of exchange also predates bitcoin. See this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proof-of-work_system#Reusable_p...