Bitcoin was most likely created by Paul Le Roux to launder money for his questionable business empire. The rest was just a flag to wrap around.
BTC solved the problem of having concensus in a decentralised, distributed system without deferring to a dictator...
Finding a way to do that was an open problem for decades.
I used to think you had something intelligent to say about Bitcoin, but you've opened my eyes now.
I don't disagree that wasting an entire country's worth of electricity is a novel and unique way of solving the byzantine generals problem up to 7 transactions per second. I just don't think it should be used in the real world, certainly not as a currency.
I think it's worth separating my appreciation for Bitcoin in the strictest, most technical sense. I get it, it's neat, it's got that allure of being challenging and having many perceived potential use cases. It solved a legitimate hard problem. I think the tool is fascinating. I think the use cases though, just aren't.
Apologies to have disappointed, though!
https://www.rferl.org/a/bitcoin-blackouts-russian-cryptocurr...
[1] https://apnews.com/article/iran-media-social-media-bitcoin-c...
I've lived in the Eastern block, used to do homework at candle light so the regime could export goods under market price and earn hard currency. It's from the same playbook.