Impact of ASICs on Bitcoin security

[Endgame]

The thing that people often forget in these 51% attack calculations is that while it may seem possible to 51% attack the network based on the current bitcoin hashrate, by the time you actually bring your ASICS to market things will be completely different. Producing bitcoin ASICs is not a simple thing, which is one of the reasons why all of the bitcoin ASIC producers have taken so long to do it. By the time a malicious entity finds the right staff, conducts the research, produces the ASICs, and sets them up for hashing, the network will be many times larger, meaning that your attack is likely to fail. It's the incredible rate of growth that really protects the network. 

[tinus42]

While the market cap of Bitcoin might be around $1 billion, it would be difficult to create a double spend and "cash-out" $7.5 million to recoup costs. 

Anyone attacking the network in this manner is probably only looking to destroy the network at this point.

Yes, ASICs have unfortunately ruined Bitcoin.  If you're looking for security, use Litecoin.

Explain why you think ASICs have ruined Bitcoin. I think its actually good for it.

The network is being secured by fewer entities.  The whole principle of Bitcoin's security is that the hashing power be massively distributed.

I think they should do away with the difficulty increase. Then everyone with a computer could hash some coins.  People with a faster computer would get more coins but even Joe Shmoe with his 5 year old laptop can make some money then. You can help Seti@Home or Folding@Home even with an old computer. They are more widely distributed than Bitcoin mining is.

The current system favours the big guys with large amounts of money. In a few years you probably can't compete even with a single ASIC you'd need a huge datacentre full with them to be profitable. Maybe then only ASICminer and 2 or 3 more competitors will still be mining then.

[Gabi]

While the market cap of Bitcoin might be around $1 billion, it would be difficult to create a double spend and "cash-out" $7.5 million to recoup costs. 

Anyone attacking the network in this manner is probably only looking to destroy the network at this point.

Yes, ASICs have unfortunately ruined Bitcoin.  If you're looking for security, use Litecoin.

Explain why you think ASICs have ruined Bitcoin. I think its actually good for it.

The network is being secured by fewer entities.  The whole principle of Bitcoin's security is that the hashing power be massively distributed.

I think they should do away with the difficulty increase. Then everyone with a computer could hash some coins.  People with a faster computer would get more coins but even Joe Shmoe with his 5 year old laptop can make some money then. You can help Seti@Home or Folding@Home even with an old computer. They are more widely distributed than Bitcoin mining is.

The current system favours the big guys with large amounts of money. In a few years you probably can't compete even with a single ASIC you'd need a huge datacentre full with them to be profitable. Maybe then only ASICminer and 2 or 3 more competitors will still be mining then.

Not understanding how bitcoin security work

[Buffer Overflow]

I think they should do away with the difficulty increase. Then everyone with a computer could hash some coins.  People with a faster computer would get more coins but even Joe Shmoe with his 5 year old laptop can make some money then.

Is this some form of bizarre sick joke?

[crumbs]

I think they should do away with the difficulty increase. Then everyone with a computer could hash some coins.  People with a faster computer would get more coins but even Joe Shmoe with his 5 year old laptop can make some money then.

Is this some form of bizarre sick joke?

I'mah chahgin' mah laptopz!

[kjj]

Yes, ASICs have unfortunately ruined Bitcoin.  If you're looking for security, use Litecoin.

Litecoin is not ASIC proof.

In technicality is is not.  In reality it is.  ASICs would be a poor way to attack any scrypt coin as they would be more expensive then just buying off the shelf GPU's to carry out the same attack and useless after. 

As I see it, until the ASICs are more evenly held in the market, it is harder to do a 51% on LTC then on BTC.  My hope is that ASICs will become more evenly distributed to the mining community.  Right now they are in too few hands. 

This is nonsense.  What keeps litecoin from attracting ASICs is that litecoin is pointless, not some magic in scrypt.  If litecoin ever gets to the point that people are actually using it for commerce, then ASICs will follow quickly.

[Buffer Overflow]

Yes, ASICs have unfortunately ruined Bitcoin.  If you're looking for security, use Litecoin.

Litecoin is not ASIC proof.

In technicality is is not.  In reality it is.  ASICs would be a poor way to attack any scrypt coin as they would be more expensive then just buying off the shelf GPU's to carry out the same attack and useless after. 

As I see it, until the ASICs are more evenly held in the market, it is harder to do a 51% on LTC then on BTC.  My hope is that ASICs will become more evenly distributed to the mining community.  Right now they are in too few hands. 

This is nonsense.  What keeps litecoin from attracting ASICs is that litecoin is pointless, not some magic in scrypt.  If litecoin ever gets to the point that people are actually using it for commerce, then ASICs will follow quickly.

Cost is holding back ASICs for now. Problem is once they are developed and released, Litecoin loses it's biggest selling point.

[jaywaka2713]

Litecoin went from 10 cents to 2.75$ now. I wish I would have invested

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Litecoin went from 10 cents to 2.75$ now. I wish I would have invested

Don't you mean 0 cents to $2.75?

[jaywaka2713]

Litecoin went from 10 cents to 2.75$ now. I wish I would have invested

Don't you mean 0 cents to $2.75?

True, but I started watching it at 10 cents

[rapidfire187]

Bitcoin is retarded. The United States government spends more money on a roll of toilet then it would take to shut bitcoin down.   btw time it takes to drop a bunker buster tomahawk on Butterfly labs. A button push away. And alot of missle guidance systems still have Celeron processors in them. Imagine that Celeron destroying the asic. Its really not a currency war, its the battle of old and new hardware. I don't support Bitcoin. Only scrypt based coins.

[Buffer Overflow]

Bitcoin is retarded. I don't support Bitcoin. Only scrypt based coins.

Scrypt based coins have 99.9% the same coding as Bitcoin.

*facepalm*

[leopard2]

Not when you are in control of the manufacturing process yourself.  I know several pcb assemblers here in China that could start mass producing ASICs tomorrow and you'd never hear a thing about it.

If such entities existed they would already be selling ASICs and raking in tons of cash, no?

The cash value of BTC would drop very fast if that happens, too fast to sell enough BTC an the existing, super bottlenecky exchanges. A government, mainly the Chinese or US government, could prepare and execute such an attack, but that would only serve to destroy BTC, not to make money.

However it remains a fact that scrypt coins are more resistant to this type of attack. In a year or two, Asics will be so common that a secret ASIC attack will no longer be realistic but for the time being, during the transition from GPU to Asic, the risk exists.