Read_654 - A Bitcoiner's Guide to Proof of Stake [Scott Sullivan]

Sep 16 2022 • 1hr 13m

Show Notes

"This brings us to our fourth principle behind PoS, which is that **PoS relies on subjective truth**. There is simply no objective way to pick between two competing blockchains, and any new nodes to the network must ultimately trust some existing source of truth to resolve any ambiguity. This contrasts significantly with Bitcoin, where the “true” chain is always the one with the most work. It doesn’t matter if a thousand nodes are telling you chain X, if a single node broadcasts chain Y and it contains more work, then Y is the correct blockchain. A block’s header can prove its own worth, completely removing the need for trust." - Scott Sullivan

With "The Merge" on everyone's mind, going through the specific mechanisms that make Proof of Stake "work" can be a very useful exercise. Especially when considering how things can go wrong, and where there is ultimately subjectivity in the consensus mechanism that sheds light on how certain disputes would fall in the politically tumultuous world we live in today. It isn't just that PoS is different than PoW, it's that many of their core principles are polar opposites of each other, and therefore they cannot accomplish the same goal. This piece by first time author on the show, Scott Sullivan, is an excellent breakdown of the inner workings of the ETH Proof-of-stake design, and will provide a solid foundation for the discussion of why I am Bitocin only in tomorrow's Guy's Take. Don't miss it
Check out the original on Scott's Substack at the link below:
https://scottmsul.substack.com/p/a-bitcoiners-guide-to-proof-of-stake

Other articles linked to for digging deeper into this topic:
Ethereum is a Dark Forest: https://www.paradigm.xyz/2020/08/ethereum-is-a-dark-forest
Proof of Stake and Weak Subjectivity: https://blog.ethereum.org/2014/11/25/proof-stake-learned-love-weak-subjectivity
The Case for Social Slashing: https://ercwl.medium.com/the-case-for-social-slashing-59277ff4d9c7

Check out our amazing sponsors and the products that Guy uses most in the space:
• Dive into the Bitcoin only wallet, the cypherpunk calculator, and a company that has built secure Bitcoin products for nearly a decade. Code BITCOINAUDIBLE gets 5% off everything in the store! (guyswann.com/coldcard)
• Gets sats back every time you dump fiat at a store, to pay your bills, everything in your fiat life pays you sats with the Fold Debit Card and FoldApp. 20% OFF with code BITCOINAUDIBLE (guyswann.com/fold)
• The best place to onboard a true Bitcoiner - Stack sats automatically, withdraw automatically, and learn or get help from the best team of Bitcoiners out there with Swan Bitcoin. (swanbitcoin.com/guy)
• COME HANG OUT! Join us and the Swan Bitcoin team at the Pacific Bitcoin Conference in November! Get your tickets now, 10% off with code BITOCINAUDIBLE (https://www.pacificbitcoin.com/)
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

---

Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bitcoinaudible/message