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Understanding bitcoin mining
Bitcoin mining has evolved into an energy-intensive, highly specialist industrial activity. In this episode of the New Money Review podcast Chris Bendiksen, head of research at Coinshares, discusses the following topics with New Money Review editor Paul Amery: What is bitcoin mining? Where does it take place? How much computing power is dedicated to the bitcoin network? How much would it cost to mount an attack on the network? Who manufactures bitcoin mining hardware? Why is the network's processing power going up despite the last year's price falls? Why are some miners willing to operate at a loss? What are the implications of bitcoin's energy consumption? Why do some people consider bitcoin the world's electricity consumer of last resort? Why are renewable energy sources increasingly linked to bitcoin mining?
Cutting through the blockchain hype
Michel Rauchs, lead cryptocurrency and blockchain researcher at the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF), part of Cambridge University, talks about the challenges in classifying blockchains with New Money Review editor Paul Amery. Some interview highlights: Confusion over the meaning of the terms ‘blockchain’ and ‘distributed ledger technology’ is worsening A true blockchain has decentralised control, yet decentralisation is not a binary property—it varies continuously, depending on the way a system is set up, its hierarchies and power structures A blockchain without decentralisation is better described as a shared database—yet such shared databases could still be revolutionary in sectors where data has historically been held in silos The trade-offs involved in competing blockchain systems are rarely advertised by their promoters Any analysis of a blockchain must be holistic: it must cover the structure of the underlying protocol, the network itself and the kind of data recorded The study of blockchains draws on many academic disciplines: for example, computer science, cryptography, network science, economics, finance, anthropology, sociology and politics.
The internal contradictions of ICOs
Cryptocurrency commentator Giacomo Zucco tells New Money Review editor Paul Amery why initial coin offerings (ICOs) so far fail to live up to claims they are a radical new fundraising technology.
How should institutions invest in cryptocurrencies?
The challenges in buying, selling and holding bitcoin and its peers
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