CoinGeek Weekly Livestream AMA as Bitcoin halving approaches

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As the Bitcoin halving approaches, Kurt Wuckert Jr. hosted an Ask Me Anything session for episode 13 of the CoinGeek Weekly Livestream. He answered viewer questions about the halving, its potential impact, and many other questions about Bitcoin.

The London Blockchain Conference is coming up in May

Wuckert begins by reminding us that the London Blockchain Conference is happening at ExCel London on May 21 -23, 2024. He’ll be there for the week and is keen to hear from anyone who wants to network. He’s also open to a meet and greet but will figure that out closer to the time.

BTC Maxis is canceling Vlad Costea for talking to Roger Ver

As usual, the BTC maxis are in full flight, canceling Vlad Costea for interviewing Roger Ver. This is what they do, Wuckert explains; anyone who talks to a big blocker is seen as a bad guy. On a personal note, Wuckert likes Ver a lot and says he inspired him to engage in “Bitcoin evangelism.”

Where will AI and blockchain overlap?

There’s a lot of overlap. AI is fundamentally about data, and bad data leads to undesirable outcomes. Proof-of-work (PoW) blockchains like BSV solved the Byzantine General’s Problem, which is fundamentally about improving information. Blockchain technology can distill data to its most useful variant.

Some questions about the halving

Several questions about the Bitcoin halving were asked throughout the stream. I put them together in one section.

How much does Bitcoin have to be worth to be viable for miners after the halving? Wuckert says it’s complex because Bitcoin is anti-fragile. As weaker, less efficient miners drop off, the difficulty adjusts, making it profitable again. However, big drops and flash crashes could definitely cause bankruptcies. Ultimately, the price needs to double for the same profitability.

Why are the halving times different for BTC, BCH, and BSV? It’s due to a bug that happened when BCH split away from BTC. This bug caused a bunch of blocks to be turbo-mined on BCH, putting it several weeks ahead of BTC. Unfortunately, BSV inherited this. It’s important to remember that halvings occur every 210,000 blocks and not after a specific amount of time.

Why is the BCH price increasing right now? It’s likely due to the perceived rarity of the halving causes. Value is largely perceived in this market, and the rate of inflation being cut in half makes coins appear rare and thus more valuable.

What overlay service is the most used?

Ordinals. It’s semi-separate from Bitcoin but requires linkage to it. They’re connected via something akin to tubes. SPV would be another example, although Ordinals is the most used right now.

Is Centi working on applications right now?

Wuckert highlights a misconception here: Centi’s CHF is not a CBDC. However, it is a great example of how one could work. For those who don’t know, Centi recently processed one million microtransactions in 24 hours, showing how national currencies can be used for micropayments when tokenized on BSV.

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