Folding Coin does it simpler and InO better
Gridcoin: Rewarding Scientific Distributed Computing
21–30 of 57 posts
Re: Gridcoin: Rewarding Scientific Distributed Computing
#22Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but this isn't actually "mining" in the Bitcoin sense. IIRC, the coins are issued based on a centralized determination (by the involved scientific organizations?) of whether the work you are doing is useful.
Every time I see this on HN, there are a lot of people who are excited because they think that this is somehow "a useful proof of work", or an alternative to proof of work. It doesn't actually have anything to do with proof of work.
Maybe the idea of paying people for scientific computing with newly-created crypto coins is a worthy innovation, but I suspect that much of the interest around this based around people who are confused about what proof of work is.
Re: Gridcoin: Rewarding Scientific Distributed Computing
#23Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Imagine the hash rate of the BTC network going towards some useful calculations. Unfortunatly BTC mining now runs almost entirely on ASICs that can't be used to compute anything but SHA-256.
Imagine and equivalent amount of computer power in an alternative future. I mean, you're right, and this limitation is a flaw in bitcoin, but you've also missed the point.
It's also hard to call it a flaw in Bitcoin, considering it was an intentional design decision.
Re: Gridcoin: Rewarding Scientific Distributed Computing
#24I've never understood why GridCoin hasn't caught on yet. One of the chief complaints about Bitcoin is the utter wastefulness of its hashing mechanisms, with hundreds of times more computing power than the top 256 supercomputers combined devoted to pointless busywork just to secure the blockchain. Imagine if you could have an equally secure cryptocurrency where all that computing power was diverted to curing cancer, d…
Primecoin (sign: Ψ; code: XPM) is a peer-to-peer open source cryptocurrency that implements a unique scientific computing proof-of-work system. Primecoin's proof-of-work system searches for chains of prime numbers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primecoin
Is or was? My (admittedly brief) look into this suggests it's dead or dying
Re: Gridcoin: Rewarding Scientific Distributed Computing
#25I thought of this idea a couple of weeks ago. Make the mining aspect useful work (e.g. solve folding proteins). I am glad someone is doing this. An excellent idea.
Re: Gridcoin: Rewarding Scientific Distributed Computing
#26I've never understood why GridCoin hasn't caught on yet. One of the chief complaints about Bitcoin is the utter wastefulness of its hashing mechanisms, with hundreds of times more computing power than the top 256 supercomputers combined devoted to pointless busywork just to secure the blockchain. Imagine if you could have an equally secure cryptocurrency where all that computing power was diverted to curing cancer, d…
* GridCoin offers comparatively low payout for the electricity required; you're not making money, you're just getting a discount on a research donation. * GridCoin is highly inflationary and there's no inbuilt means of curtailing the supply.
There's nothing wrong with inflationary currency as long as the supply expands at a fixed/steady rate.
Re: Gridcoin: Rewarding Scientific Distributed Computing
#27I thought of this idea a couple of weeks ago. Make the mining aspect useful work (e.g. solve folding proteins). I am glad someone is doing this. An excellent idea.
But how do you do it without centralizing coin issuance?
Re: Gridcoin: Rewarding Scientific Distributed Computing
#28I think anyone who looks at bitcoin thinks "what we need is a proof-of-work scheme with positive externalities". But when you look at the actual constraints of the proof-of-work-- unpredictable, unsolved problems with automatic difficulty adjustment-- you realize implementing this idea in a decentralized manner will take almost as big a breakthrough as Satoshi himself made.
Re: Gridcoin: Rewarding Scientific Distributed Computing
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
* GridCoin offers comparatively low payout for the electricity required; you're not making money, you're just getting a discount on a research donation. * GridCoin is highly inflationary and there's no inbuilt means of curtailing the supply.
There's nothing wrong with inflationary currency as long as the supply expands at a fixed/steady rate.
From macroeconomic perspective it does not matter if the monetary supply is fixed or just pre-defined, it is equally bad idea. If you want to have a currency that society runs on, that is.
Re: Gridcoin: Rewarding Scientific Distributed Computing
#30In all honesty this is what I've been waiting for in terms of a useful cryptocurrency. Now if we could only decentralize the control of what projects the processing goes towards with smart contracts then we could have a coin with more actual utility. Imagine the hash rate of the BTC network going towards some useful calculations.
Their GitHub repo hasn't had any commits in 3 months.