the Bitcoin is ten years old. That is reason enough to pause and to look to the past and the future.

Dr. Philipp Giese
3. January 2019TeilenFacebookTwitterLinkedInxingemail

ten years ago Today, the Genesis Block of Bitcoin was gemint. What can you write to the Bitcoin, what has not been said already? About courses, technical analysis, and to talk about technological innovations, is a historic date as the eighteenth birthday of bitcoin. Instead, I would like to consider in this comment, what Bitcoin means ideologically for me and what I hope to do in the next ten years of Bitcoin.

Bitcoin – to clarify An answer to an old question

To the first question, I must explain that far. Much more than a financial crisis, as a Bretton Woods or Similar. I start with the industrial Revolution, or capitalism and socialism. If one examines the history of capitalism and socialism, we can say that in both currents of Thought to an extreme approach. Capitalism has the Individual and in personal freedom and ownership of important core values. Supporters of socialism see equality and solidarity as core values. Both systems, no matter which side of the ideological trench you are standing, have no ideological base, focus to heavily on a single aspect.

critics have stressed at the beginning of the 20th century. Century, that both systems are unstable. Both systems run on one or the other way, to a concentration of the means of production in the hands of a few. In the case of capitalism, the large corporations, in socialism the state itself. Both of the „real existing socialism“ as well as the „real existing capitalism“ can’t be, according to the critics lived up to its Ideals.

There were, therefore, different ways of thinking, which sought a synthesis of both thought and the value of the company with the value of the Individual clubs wanted. Even if these thoughts have had an influence on the social market economy, formulated they were either diffuse or teamed up with technology critical currents, such as Agraria. Nowadays, ideas such as distributism or Buddhist Economics, therefore, are largely unknown.

Open Source and Cypher punk: The property question

The ideas of Open Source and the Cypher-punk movement blew into her this old question, the Dilemma between the freedom of the individual and the community, new life.“Free as in Free speech, not Free beer“ means that users of open source Software have the right to modify the Software according to their claims and develop. The program, even if it should cost money, so really is completely in the possession of the Individual.

A similar idea was pursued by the Cypher-punk movement. In the Cypher-punk Manifesto Eric Hughes sets out the role of privacy in a society. You can say that this is a fundamental right of the Individual in a functioning society.

However, all these approaches to „third way economics“, Open Source or Cypher punk, could the gap between the will of the Individual and the welfare of society is not completely overcome. Bitcoin, however, made it possible. Money, the most fundamental of all means of production, is in the hands of all.

Bitcoin – We are our own bank(s)

So the saying „Be your own bank“ with Bitcoin, he meets the special Bitcoin only incomplete. „My own Bank“ could I be, if I give it to them hand-written coupons, or, with the cynical view of the Token-Explosion-in the framework of the ICO-glut in 2017, my own Token, and the issuing.

The special feature of Bitcoin and „real“ crypto currencies, the Balance between different stakeholders. It is often debated over a centralisation of mining is certainly right. However, overlooked two important points often:

Mining Pools are not only huge monolithic companies. A study of ConsenSys analyzed the dependence of the Mining Pools of individual, over the world of distributed miners. Even if this study has a focus on Ethereum, you can set the Basic transfer: The Hash Rate of Mining Pools is not concluded only by their own devices.Miner does not govern the network. Who does exactly? Here it is interesting, because we have „separation of powers“. Miner, Node hosters and developers are extremely important stakeholders in the Bitcoin network, however, you are not the only important.

However, the „simple user“ plays an important role: One can think of Hard Forks and other crypto-currencies, what you want, but at the end of the day, the users, the miss of a currency in a Use Case. If you emigrate to a Protocol change to a different crypto currency, or after a Hard Fork, only those benefits would have to be decided by the users – with the power of your money. In case of doubt, the market decides. Bitcoin – we are our own bank!

Bitcoin as a Prime example of freedom and self-responsibility

another aspect of the „we are our own Bank“ is the self-responsibility that requires Bitcoin of each user. There is no Central Support, it is possible to contact in the case of a false transaction. The money was sent to an incorrect address, is gone. Each individual user must decide how he kept his Private Key or his Seed.

in My opinion this is not a Bug, but a Feature. Often complains that Bitcoin is „too complicated“. What fascinates me about it is that Bitcoin does each user to an adult participant. Yes, the shadow side to the freedom of Bitcoin is, as is often the case with true freedom, a high level of self-responsibility. This high level of self-responsibility is formed. I notice on myself, that Dealing with Bitcoin also has an impact on dealing with Fiat money. Here, too, behind you asks significantly more on the principles of security of Online payment solutions, or the like.

Bitcoin – don’t Forget Your first love

What I want Bitcoin for the next ten years? The biblical „You have to Express left Your first love“. The first of all the crypto the goal is to be a Peer-to-Peer currency currencies.

When we look back on the early days of Bitcoins, or the White Paper study, we see the true Dimension of a „Peer-to-Peer currency“. It simply meant that a user could pay with Bitcoin its Pizza, but that he was also a Miner and Node Hoster. That he, at least in the Dialog with the developers. Since each individual Bitcoin user was also in full possession of the Blockchain, transactions could be verified, and the search for the next Block party, was a Bitcoin really decentralized.

times have changed. As already emphasized, is not shown, the topic of Mining centralization, although not as dramatic as the often, the Problem is yet. The majority of Bitcoin users needs very well-a lot of Middle Men to trust:

the Bitcoin Core Team Builds a big mistake in the Client?With my Wallet cooperation at the end of the Trusted Node makes your work well?When finally confirmed, a Miner my transaction?

provide Real solutions for all three problems can neither Bitcoin nor any of its largest Forks. Bitcoin Cash has, after all, a certain degree of diversity in terms of the Bitcoin client. The trust in the implementation of the Protocol lies not only in the hands of a Devteams. With respect to the Full Node Raspiblitz and Casa Lightning inguinal Node good pioneering work. However, in terms of Mining, this got out of hand the traditional Peer-to-Peer approach. As laudable as the Lightning Network is also, one should not see this as a solution to the Problem of „Mining centralization“, and finally, the final Settlement will take place of payments with Lightning Network on chain. It approaches with respect to a decentralisation from the Proof-of-Work exist, and whether these can be used, remains to be seen.

don’t lose sight of the true goal of bitcoin from the eyes

another Problem is that, in my opinion, often on the wrong sites will be discussed. One of these is the usability. How often I read that Developer to make Bitcoin easier to access, the Application Layer usable to be. All wrong, the idea is not, however, can distract an Application Layer from the real understanding of Bitcoin. The development of intuitive Wallets or Bitcoin debit cards must be connected with a education on the Protocol Layer.

Now, many will say that the average motorist knows exactly how his car works. This is exactly why the average motorist will be able to say also will never „Be your own car company“. He must, therefore, on the MOT and the auto repair shop to trust. Depending on the type of vehicle is also a strong centralization takes place in the case of the Latter. In the Bitcoin Ecosystem, Sapere Aude, however, must apply „! Have courage to use Your own understanding!“

another issue, which applies to a lot of attention, is the efficiency. „VISA can handle much more transactions per second than Bitcoin“, reads indeed pithy, but it is a false comparison. VISA has the right to be a payment system. It requires a previously existing money. What VISA are managed in fact, promissory notes. The finalization of the payments, which were carried out with VISA, instead significantly slower.

The focus on efficiency led, such as the scaling debate showed, to serious distortions and to Ignore the decentralization. With large blocks of Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin SV want to make the transaction rates with a VISA comparable, but only to ensure that both the Mining as well as the Hosting of Full Nodes is in even fewer hands.

It is obvious that The decentralization of Bitcoin is not me at heart, she is, in my opinion, the ultimate value of the promise of Bitcoins. More autonomy car should be the Motto for the next ten years!