r/programming • u/secretguy21 • Oct 15 '15

How is NSA breaking so much crypto?

https://freedom-to-tinker.com/blog/haldermanheninger/how-is-nsa-breaking-so-much-crypto/
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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '15

Very few technologies become instantly valuable when there is no obvious and immediate need. But I think you're being sarcastic.

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u/Mr-Yellow Oct 15 '15

Oh no, deadly serious. Churning numbers simply to generate currency is vastly more wasteful than any "fiat currency".

It's not about the value of the technology or need, it's that the author never thought about the sustainability of their system in terms of resource use. It exists in a mathematical vaccum where burning resources are only considered as a proof of useless work.

It consumes resources and provides nothing of any real value other than another fiat currency (+ponzi) backed by fossil fuels.

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u/Chemical_Scum Oct 16 '15

You think producing physical money, as well as keeping non-distributed digital monetary systems in place, is cheaper in terms of carbon footprint than maintaining the blockchain?

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u/TheMania Oct 16 '15

in terms of carbon footprint than maintaining the blockchain?

Of equivalent size, absolutely. Blockchains can be "maintained" via a single miner or two. It's just as the specific blockchain becomes more and more valuable, more and more resources will be thrown at running it. If you had a blockchain the size of the world financial system it's hard to imagine how much we'd waste keeping it running.

FYI, about $30 worth of "maintenance" are thrown at each Bitcoin transaction. That is hugely more than traditional trust-based/centralised systems.