Bitcoin Q&A: Is Bitcoin A Democracy - Andreas M. Antonopoulos -
Channel: Icey Bit
Date: 17/12/2017

The intersection between blockchains and democracy. "Democracy" is a loaded word where people project a lot of things. Democracy without restraints (human rights, civil rights, constitutional protections) is a brutal system. I don't think Bitcoin is a democracy - rather it is a flat, network-based, collaborative system of super-majority consensus among five constituencies (users, developers, exchanges, merchants, miners), which makes change very difficult. It is a radical decentralization of power. Some people call the politics of this system "cypherpunk," "crypto-anarchy," and other words we don't yet have. Bitcoin and open public blockchains are redefining political systems, organisational systems, freedom of speech, and freedom of association on a transnational basis. Democracies today are systems of hierarchical institutions born out of the era of industrialisation. It doesn't scale any more. We have the ability to produce enough food and energy for everyone, but we just can't distribute it.

What is the structure of consensus? The different constituencies of the ecosystem. Coalitions, influencers, and pundits. Noise doesn't change the consensus rules. Talk is cheap but real changes play out between live participating nodes on a network protocol with game theory economic incentives overriding everything else. You can be right or you can be wrong, but if you break consensus you'll be poor either way. People may signal they want one thing, but execute something else, holding on until they start losing money.

This is part of a talk which took place on June 6th 2017 at a joint meet-up with Blockchain Professionals, BitcoinSYD and SydEthereum in Sydney, Australia: https://antonopoulos.com/event/blockc...

QUESTION & ANSWER:
How do I secure my bitcoin? -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gZTub3O_NQ
The rules of Bitcoin (part 1) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYc1PBiJW1M
The rules of Bitcoin (part 2) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72k8I8qQfHc
SegWit, scaling, and consensus - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cdx2dLDqyo4
Inspiring cryptocurrency projects - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTtQyM6qGgQ
ICOs and responsible investment - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipefHl_h9y0

RELATED:
Bitcoin for Beginners - 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqW3VGcTUus
Blockchain for Beginners - 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMoc4zU39hM
Hard Promises, Soft Promises: Promoting Autonomy instead of Authority - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MB0dbjWlc5Q
The Stories We Tell About Money - 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s31_ayXkmWg
Blockchain vs. Bullshit: Thoughts on the Future of Money - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJcsIsC_Bwg
The revolution in trust - 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkwqpE1N6Ew
The War on Cash and Crypto - 
https://youtu.be/BAlRKfvBnvw
Migrating to post-quantum cryptography - 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG-a6Sl7Dg4
Forkology: A Study of Forks for Newbies - 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZDq-l9G3Jc
The Lion and the Shark: Divergent Evolution in Cryptocurrency - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DCUtApXRfs
What is the role of nodes? - 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtlEiceEsR0
Governance trade-offs in decentralised systems - 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q48F02fUoOU
Why are decentralised networks resistant? - 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i67BG5ScNTs

Smartphone wallets for iOS and Android:
- Mycelium https://mycelium.com/
- Copay https://copay.io/
- Airbitz https://airbitz.co/

Hardware Wallets:
Ledger Nano S http://amzn.to/2lsDbG7
Trezor http://amzn.to/2Cs0R5B
Keep Key http://amzn.to/2Ctlhex
Ledger Blue http://amzn.to/2CkdMc2

Andreas M. Antonopoulos is a technologist and serial entrepreneur who has become one of the most well-known and well-respected figures in bitcoin.

Follow on Twitter: @aantonop https://twitter.com/aantonop
Website: https://antonopoulos.com/

He is the author of several books: “Mastering Bitcoin,” published by 
O’Reilly Media and considered the best technical guide to bitcoin.

The Internet of Money, v1: http://amzn.to/2zP4IXn

The Internet of Money, v2: http://amzn.to/2CiyoS1

[NEW] Mastering Bitcoin, 2nd Edition: http://amzn.to/2BY3QkT

[PRE-ORDER] Mastering Ethereum: Building Smart Contracts and Dapps: http://amzn.to/2zP8XCp

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 Music: 
"Unbounded" by Orfan (https://www.facebook.com/Orfan/) 
Outro Graphics: Phneep (http://www.phneep.com/) 
Outro Art: Rock Barcellos (http://www.rockincomics.com.br/)