Some Burstcoiners will see this as a threat but truthfully, the existence of the Chia Network will only validate Proof of Capacity and other forms or energy saving mining by using hard drives.
If investing in their mini-IPO is allowed in your country, then I dont see why you shouldnt. Chia's research on Proof of Space and Time will be worth the investment.
What I also love about Chia is the prevention of mining pools from forming. If they can do it successfully then we will have the most decentralized cryptocurrency in the world.
Energy-saving Bitcoin rival Chia raises from A16Z, plans mini-IPO- Bram Cohen invented torrenting. Now he’s building a cryptocurrency called Chia that doesn’t waste electricity like Bitcoin, and top investors are lining up. Chia has just raised a $3.395 million seed round led by AngelList’s Naval Ravikant and joined by Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock and more. The money will help the startup build out its Chia coin and blockchain powered by proofs of space and time instead of Bitcoin’s energy-sucking proofs of work, which it plans to launch in Q1 2019.
- They’ll be working on an alternative to Bitcoin’s proofs of work, which require CPUs and GPUs that drain huge amounts of electricity in order to verify the blockchain. This has led to massive Bitcoin mining pools that split the proceeds while operating near cheap electricity sources and cold air to cool the mining rigs, like in the Pacific Northwest. These centralized teams of miners threaten to allow manipulation of Bitcoin’s price and network.
- Chia ditched proofs of work for proofs relying on file storage space that people often have sitting around unused on their computers and can use for free. Chia layers on proofs of time that thwart a range of attacks on proofs of space. It’s also building in “non-outsourceability” that prevents mining pools from forming. Essentially, anyone in a Chia mining pool could secretly run off with the rewards without sharing them, so no one will want to trust their fellow miners not to rip them off.
- Cohen believes these features of Chia will fix both the electricity waste and centralization of Bitcoin.
