𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸?

𝘈𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 “21 𝘘𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴”, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥’𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 #Ai-𝘦𝘯𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 #Bitcoin 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬.

In a world full of centralized organizations, this is one of the most important questions to ask, and it’s beautifully answered by nostr:npub1mz704n7dsaw3jcj3kr5le45n97tqughyt5lxe3yv3xy3025hv3dsp5tl8g, nostr:npub1h8nk2346qezka5cpm8jjh3yl5j88pf4ly2ptu7s6uu55wcfqy0wq36rpev, and nostr:npub1klkk3vrzme455yh9rl2jshq7rc8dpegj3ndf82c3ks2sk40dxt7qulx3vt.

Below is Max Hillebrand’s answer, as written in “𝟮𝟭 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀”:

𝗠𝗮𝘅 𝗛𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱’𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿:

You control the Bitcoin network. That's because the Bitcoin network is controlled by nodes running the Bitcoin software, and you are the one running it. This software connects to other computers that are on the same network. Whether or not data is considered a valid part of the Bitcoin network depends on unanimous inclusion by these nodes, which is determined by the consensus rules. If some (but not all) nodes change their rules, a transaction that conflicts with the new rules will cause the chain to split into different versions of Bitcoin with alternate histories. Within the limits of the consensus rules, miners control the order of transactions and add new entries to the ledger’s history. The Bitcoin network is designed so miners are incentivized to continually advance the state of the network without giving them control over previously finalized transactions.

Bitcoin miners have a certain amount of influence on the Bitcoin network in regards to transaction ordering, but they have no control in regards to transaction validity or the consensus rules of the network. No matter how much hashing power a miner has, they cannot steal coins they do not own or create more coins than allowed by other nodes. That's because only the owner of a coin knows the secret key that is required to produce a signature. Nodes always respect the blockchain that produced the most cumulative work from mining. As long as a single mining entity does not operate 51% of the total hashrate, they cannot selectively or totally censor transactions. A competitive equilibrium between miners is crucial to maintain Bitcoin's neutrality.

Max is contributing to several free software projects, building the tools he wants to use in order to defend his liberties. As the magic of cyberspace is fundamentally non-scarce, he shares his work free for anyone to use. His focus is on creating a second realm with a sound monetary economy in which sovereign individuals can pursue their entrepreneurial action.

Preorder your copy of “𝟮𝟭 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀”, and 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝟲𝟬%, by contributing to our nostr:npub1kmwdmhuxvafg05dyap3qmy42jpwztrv9p0uvey3a8803ahlwtmnsnhxqk9 initiative:

https://geyser.fund/project/spiritofsatoshi