I have a related concern with the idea that the Bitcoin Core source code is the Bitcoin protocol specification.

Eventually, the C++ language will go the way of COBOL. Very few people will be able to interpret and maintain the specification in the not-too-distant future.

A random number generator will occasionally give you a value of 1, so the fact that I₂₅₆ % n can be 1 does not make it not random. If I₂₅₆ is generated randomly, then I₂₅₆ % n is also random regardless of what the resulting value is, though you could say the result is very slightly less random in this case because the distribution is not uniform.

You are right. They could be blockchain.info wallet ids, but I tried some of them and it said "Unknown Wallet ID".

Those are Windows GUIDs. They are not likely to be related to Bitcoin.


Just a guess ... That could be a Google Authenticator key.

Not a scenario. There is no reason to "burn" the electricity. You just don't generate it.

Anyway, it is more likely that Tesla would build more mega-batteries, instead.

It really all depends on the efficiency and effectiveness of storing energy as hydrogen.

Don't do it. It might not be you, but somebody is going to get scammed. If it seems "super straightforward" to you, a complete newbie, then there is no way he could be too busy to do it himself. I've done lots of LBC trades and I have never needed somebody else to help me.

Remember that the LBC account will have your name on it, so when the guy scams somebody or does something illegal, you will be blamed.

Also, consider it from your "employer's" point of view. Would you trust a random newbie with your money and with managing your trades?

Finally, post your question on the LBC forum. I'm sure you will get the same answers, but they might be able to tell you exactly how the scam works. Those people have seen a lot of scams over the years.

Currently, it is much more cost effective to mine bitcoins than it is to brute force private keys.

I went through the math in this post: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=4465231.msg41591114#msg41591114

There is no real debate. The earth has been known to be spherical for thousands of years. Even the medieval religious belief of the earth being at the center of the universe included a spherical earth. The flat earth fantasy is a recent invention. Don't you realize that the kind of conspiracy that you believe exists would involve millions of people perpetuating a lie for centuries?

Evidence of curvature: 1. The fact that you can go around the earth. (something I plan to do next year) 2. Satellites (GPS on your phone!). 3. Variation of the appearance of stars depending on your latitude. 4. Variation of the motion of the sun, moon, planets, and stars depending on your latitude.  5. Seasons. 6. Maps!

Evidence of motion: 1. Foucault's pendulum. 2. Tides. 3. Ocean and air currents. 4. Apparent motion of the sun, the moon, the planets and the stars.

As for Bitcoin. It is what it appears to be. It is 100% transparent.

I feel sorry for your son. I hope he can overcome the destructive effects of your paranoia.

Clickbait.

You did not mention the most important thing to not do.

Do not base your decisions on the past.

Just thinking that the price is "down" is a mistake because you are comparing the current price to the past.

The past is gone. It is no longer relevant. It has no bearing on the future. Forget about how things used to be. Only look on how things might be.

It is mostly negative. There is too much emphasis placed on Silk Road, and hardly any emphasis placed on the potential benefits.

My guess is that it will be a few more years before it gets back to $20,000.

Let's clear up the confusion. Pump-and-dump is a kind of scam. It it is very common in cryptocurrency markets.

Sure, people say that a coin is "pumping" when its price goes up, and that it is "dumping" when the price goes down, but "pumping" and "dumping" are not the same as "pump-and-dump".

Here are the meanings when you are referring to a "pump-and-dump" scam:

1. Pump - Scammers get people interested or excited about a particular coin. They may do that by providing false or misleading information that makes the coin look better than it is (90% of ICOs do this), or they may simply predict that the price of the coin will increase at a certain time, or (in the case of a "pump-and-dump" group) convince many people to buy the coin at the same time. It is important to note that the scammers buy the coins before the pump, and the sole purpose of the "pump" is to drive up the price so that they can sell at a higher price.

2. Dump - Scammers sell their coins when the price is rising as a result of their pumping activities. If the scam is successful, they sell at a much higher price to all the people that they convinced to buy the coin and their sales do not cause the price to fall. The price starts falling once the victims stop buying and start selling because nobody is buying and everyone is selling. At that point, the scammers have already sold all of their coins, so they don't care what happens to the price.

A block chain is not appropriate.

I never recommend anyone to make any specific investments. If it turns out badly, they are going to blame you.

There doesn't have to be a winner and a loser. Even if fiat currency (what you are calling "centralized coins") is never replaced by decentralized currency, there still can be a place for decentralized currency.

Go here to download a Bitcoin wallet: https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet
Go here to create an Ethereum wallet: https://www.myetherwallet.com/

Mining in the Sahara Desert seems problematic. There is the problem of the heat.

You have come up with an interesting scenario. Another aspect is that I don't think many people would care if only unspent coinbase transactions are stolen.