Is it possible to destroy Bitcoin

Is it possible to destroy Bitcoin

Lack of confidentiality is not the only Bitcoin problem that directly affects the security of the first cryptocurrency network. The existing risks are associated with the specifics of the structure of a young ecosystem and do not depend on its users. The network participants cannot influence the current order of things, but the awareness of the potential threat allows us to predict the behavior of digital gold when certain circumstances occur.

A decentralized network is not subject to control, but there are several ways to cause significant harm to it, up to complete destruction. Lets consider them in more detail.

Termination of the Internet

It is possible to disconnect the Network provided that governments and companies around the world agree to cooperate in this matter. But even in this case, there is a chance of maintaining its performance. The development of the Internet was carried out with this scenario in mind, so there is no single “switch”. It is possible that the World Wide Web will continue to work successfully even after the explosion of the atomic bomb.

The Internet itself demonstrates enviable resistance to any type of attack, and the dissemination of information will bypass the closed zone. Even if a significant part of it stops working, the Bitcoin network will continue to function. At the same time, telephone or radio waves will be used to support communication between its participants.

But this reasoning is purely speculative and it is difficult to imagine a government or an organization voluntarily giving up the Internet. After all, it is used in a variety of ways, including to ensure the vital processes of modern mankind.

Destruction of miners and nodes

The participants in the Bitcoin system are enterprises and individuals acting independently or uniting in groups. They use computers and other computing devices on which they download special programs for working with cryptocurrencies. Some of the participants purchase chips for the extraction of virtual coins. The more miners, the better the network is protected. Therefore, the system stimulates crypto-miners by paying them remuneration in digital currency for their work.

Thus, the owners of computing nodes are directly interested in the performance of the Bitcoin system and will not agree to stop working. Even the use of force cannot completely stop the mining activity. The answer to punitive measures will be going underground. A similar scenario took place in Venezuela, where the government banned mining, prompting most miners to start using private networks.

Outlawing Bitcoin

If the authorities prohibit the exchange and storage of cryptocurrency, then there will be difficulties with the acquisition of specialized equipment for the extraction of virtual coins, their conversion into fiduciary counterparts and use for the purchase of goods. But history shows that for the sake of profit, people are ready to overcome any difficulties. For example, the Internet is a thriving trade in drugs and illicit medical drugs, which has intensified with the advent of digital money, which makes it possible to hide the identities of the participants in the transaction through the use of the Darknet resources.

Extraction of empty blocks

This is actually the only option to stop mining, making it useless. As a result, the network participants will stop mining virtual coins, and the system will be destroyed from the inside. The public nature of Bitcoin gives everyone the opportunity to become a member of the ecosystem. All that is required for this is to fulfill the conditions prescribed in a special program. Moreover, none of them contains a requirement to fill blocks with transactions. In other words, the miner can rightfully not do this. But it is impossible to make payments in the blockchain through empty blocks, so the virtual currency will become useless.

A company that controls only 10% of the total network capacity can significantly slow down its operation. After a short time, its influence will expand to cover half of the system. If desired, an organization can leave all blocks empty, since the nodes take into account the longest chain. A group that controls at least 50% of the capacity can make the work of miners conscientiously filling blocks useless.

But as you know, the system of the flagship of digital assets is equipped with effective mechanisms to counteract the 51% attack, which cannot be said about new players in the digital payment means market. So this version also looks unreal.