Cryptocurrency Is a Zero Sum Gamerigt

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crypto currency is wasting somewhere between one to two % of the entire world's energy supply for a system that can do three to seven transactions per second. The math is something that can be done on a forty dollar computer, but it's math that it just repeatedly tries. So if you wanted to change the block history, you'd have to waste at least that much job smacking amount of energy. And so this turns the crypto currency space from a zero sum game into a deeply negative sum gamerigt. Power companies want real money.

Crypto is crashing, which makes it the perfect time to ask whether blockchain technology is actually — you know — useful for anything. Computer scientist Nicholas Weaver joins Adam to discuss the inherent flaws in the technology, the shockingly slow state of innovation considering that the technology has been around for a decade, and what a better system for digital money might be. You can follow Nicholas on Twitter at @ncweaver. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.