The Internet of Money

by Andreas M. Antonopoulos

Bitcoin is different because there are plenty of crooks in bitcoin — the network gets attacked all the time — but it doesn’t depend on access control to remain secure. It depends on a simple mathematical formula of incentives and rewards. In order to participate in the bitcoin network and secure the network as a miner, which is a special function in bitcoin, you have to use a lot of computing power and spend a lot of electricity. If you win that competition, you get bitcoin as a reward. That simple equation creates a system of incentives where it’s far better to play with the rules than against the rules. It’s game theory. It’s like a giant game of Sudoku. If you look at that as a computer scientist, or even more as a banker, you say, "That can’t possibly work. What do you mean it’s a giant game of Sudoku and everybody is competing against each other? That’s not the basis of a security system. That would bring chaos." It’s kind of like "What do you mean it’s an encyclopedia that anyone can edit? That would bring chaos” — said the Encyclopedia Britannica.