invezz.com
Bitcoin (BTC/USD) is the largest proof-of-work network, using the energy intensive mining mechanism to process transactions and secure the blockchain.
And Zach Bradford, the chief executive officer of bitcoin mining firm CleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK), says proof-of-work is a “feature, not a flaw.”
CleanSpark
‘There’s no CEO of Bitcoin’
The CleanSpark CEO’s comments come at a time when renewed debate over bitcoin’s energy consumption has once again become a topic in some quarters following Ethereum (ETH/USD) switching to proof-of-stake.
Bitcoin isn’t set to follow the Ethereum path though, proponents say, and Bradford has added to that voice with the assertion that the blockchain’s computational power needs is one of its main features – not a shortcoming as some critics have claimed.
He told Katie Greifeld and Tim Stenovec during an episode of ‘Crypto IRL’ aired by Bloomberg on Friday, October 14:
“There is no CEO of Bitcoin. It’s fully decentralised, and really proof of work is really the only good way to truly secure a blockchain without an overseer.”
According to him, not having a CEO and being “fully decentralised” has value for the blockchain, with BTC used across the world as a currency without a central authority that can change its mechanism.
“What creates that value is that ultimately, there’s only going to be 21 million bitcoin ever. So somebody can’t just decide tomorrow – ‘hey, there’s going to be 40 million’. We are all experiencing what the Fed is doing right now to kind of pull from inflationary money printing. That won’t happen in Bitcoin.”
Bitcoin will see the last BTC mined in 2140, based on the network’s deflationary mechanism that includes a 21 million hard cap and four year “halving” cycle.