The e-Gulden coredevs have a question. Before we start a discussion we will first try to answer it ourselves and present a solution.
Why does Bitcoin need a miner-engine that consumes more then 40 GWh?Basically there are three answers:
- Maybe it doesn't but probably mining at 40GWh is still profitable.
- The second answer is "To avoid that a single miner-pool reaches a 51% majority and will take Bitcoin to somewhere the majority does not want to go". But wait! Miners join a pool out of free will, so what's the problem when that is the majority? Miners join a pool for practical or selfish reasons, thereby putting bitcoin decision power in the hands of the pool operator.
- The third answer is that a single decider could be a bad actor and starts to double spend. The pool operator would think twice however, because in the bitcoin sphere he is very visible and he would probably be hung from the highest tree.
Our conclusion is that the question is a non-issue for Bitcoin except for the power consumption itself.
For ALTcoins it is an entirely different matter. Last quarter at least six ALTcoins where halted on Bittrex because they suffered a 50+% attach, resulting in a double spend. With some clear thinking it is impossible for any ALTcoin to guarantee 51% loyal mining because an ALTcoin has a mining minority by definition. ALTcoins are driven by smaller communities. For example, any country coin is faced with the fact that there are larger countries or "rogue states" that could threaten them.
Any ALTcoin should face this fact.
The e-Gulden oerushield provides a simple solution. The only reason why the Bittrex attackers are not taken to justice is because they operate anonymous. In the ALTcoin ecosystem it is feasible to anonymously rent hashingpower and start an attack. Most ALTcoins require six confirmations. Just mine six blocks in a row and you are the boss.
The oerushield solution to prevent hostility consists of three parts:
1: Allow a miner/pool to identify himself. The oerushield allows the addition and verification of a coinbase signature.
2: Non-identified pools are allowed to mine but one out of six blocks must be mined by an identified operator
3: Demand good behaviour. Good behaviour can be objectively measured and certified through the blockchain.
This post is presented here because the oerushield nears completion and we would like it to be challenged. Remind that miner certification might not be feasible for coins that have a world-community. For country coins such as e-Gulden (EFL, Holland/The Netherlands) it is easy to accomplish. Voluntary Identification of one sixth of hashing power presents a phenomenal compromise between the decentralised nature of cryptocurrency on one hand and safety and conservation of natural resources on the other hand. It specifically eliminates the need of a vast array of miners and prevents the attack of the network by bad actors.
Deployment schedule:
- release of betaversion of e-Gulden corewallet
- Release of three certified pools
- Publication of the certification procedure
- Release of production version of the corewallet
- Activation of oeruschield; deposits and withdrawels will be safe after six confirmations
- Translation of oerushield details and precedures to english
EDIT: e-Gulden can be found at
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=843017.0
