Bitcoin’s Quantum-Resistant Hard Fork is inevitable — this is the only chance to fix node incentives

Opinion by: Dr. Michael Tabone, senior economist for cointelegraph

Bitcoin (Btc) has long been grateful as unobtrusive and undoubtedly, a digital evidence against the forces of change. Bitcoin security bedrock faced its first real trial Volume of computingthat must be met earlier than the latter. Its cryptographic weapon will cracked if not met, forcing the network to adapt or perish.

Bitcoin’s node count is growing, but incentives still do not

The entire Bitcoin network node has grown over time, a sign of increasing adoption and a more stable infrastructure, but the main issue remains. The spontaneous gesture of running a node still has no financial incentive. Miners earn rewards for network selection, but the entire node operator has nothing to do for their role in keeping Bitcoin decentralized.

At the same time, a significant portion of these nodes is powered by exchanges, carers and large mining pools. It is Centralized beings with financial incentives to maintain control. Assuming that the Bitcoin’s node network continues to expand without proper incentives. In that case, the risk remains the validation will be more dependent on some well -funded players than a truly distributed basis of individual users (see Figure 1).

All of this will come as running a bitcoin node has not been easy. Plug-and-play solutions such as Umbrel, Start9, Raspiblitz, Cubit and Ronin Dojo allow anyone to set up an entire node with cheap hardware with little technical knowledge. These tools lower the entry barrier, making the node operation more accessible than before.

But the adoption remains motionless. Despite the ease of setup, most bitcoin users still do not operate their own nodes. The reason is simple: there is no financial incentive to do it.

Recently -But: D.Ecentralization is in danger – we can fix it

Unlike miners, who earn block subsidies and transaction fees for network selection, the entire node operator receives nothing. They proved transactions, implemented consensus policies, and contributed to the decentralization of Bitcoin, however their efforts were unnoticed. As a result, node operation remains an ideological commitment rather than a economical activity to live.

If bitcoin should be fork, we should use it to strengthen decentralization

Critics of the proposal argue that Bitcoin financial policy should remain unnoticed. Others warn that the introduction of the entire incentive node can lead to attacks on the Sybil, where evil actors rotate thousands of fake nodes to take advantage of the rewards. These concerns are valid – but they ignore the bigger truth.

Bitcoin is on the path to a forced change of consensus. Honest debate is not whether bitcoin should change but if we use this moment to strengthen it. If the entire incentive of the Bitcoin node is implemented correctly, they can drive a node adoption, strengthening the network censorship resistance and strengthening its decentralization. This will reduce the hope of large mining pools and exchanges for validation, spreading control equally equal to individual participants. Bitcoiners need to continue pushing to maintain the elastic in Bitcoin against corporate influence in a post-quantum world where security and decentralization has been more than recent years.

Poorly designed incentives may introduce risks, especially Attacking SybilWhere evil actors rotate thousands of fake nodes to take advantage of the rewards. These challenges can be resolved with the right resistance mechanisms in the area. Ignoring them will be completely higher than responding to the head.

Bitcoin’s future depends on the moment

The greatest strength of Bitcoin is the ability to remain decentralized and resistant to censorship. But that strength is not automatic; It requires an infrastructure that encourages extensive participation.

The Quantum-resistant Hard Fork will be once-to-a-the-the-Generation event. We may not get another chance if we do not use it to repair the broken bitcoin incentive structure. The future of Bitcoin depends on getting this moment right.

This conversation should continue, but you should have some skin in the game and run a node first.

Opinion by: Dr. Michael Tabone, senior economist for cointelegraph.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be done as legal or investment advice. The views, attitudes, and opinions expressed here are unique and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of the cointelegraph.