Re: <nettime> de Jong, Lovink, and Riemens: 10 Bitcoin

[John Hopkins <jhopkins@neoscenes.net>]

This info from the morlock & elloi and the previous poster raised the question 
in my mind -- a question that is *not* facetious -- of the conditions that 
Bitcoin miners are working under.

> Bitcoin mining is currently reduced to less than 10 operators. There is
> relatively small number of people involved, and none of these seem to have a
> standing army or a navy. How much would it cost to coerce/subvert 51% of these

It does sound a bit like other global mining industries -- coalescing to a few 
powerful operators over time, yet, while they are operating crucial enterprises 
in terms of globalism, they are subject to the whims of the market, and to 
government regulatory activities (up to and including the use of military force).

I wonder, though, about the personal lives of the miners. Are they enjoying the 
fruits of their labor?, what are their daily living conditions?, what kinds of 
stresses are incurred by their activities? As is well-known on this list, there 
is a terrible price paid by many of those who are at the contact point of 
natural resource extraction (and the ensuing wealth creation from the natural 
commons). Is there a corollary in Bitcoin? Why? Why not?

jh


--
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Dr. John Hopkins, BSc, MFA, PhD
grounded on a granite batholith
twitter: @neoscenes
http://tech-no-mad.net/blog/
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