Blockstream: Crypto Without Centrally Powered Electricity

11 Oct 2019 by rate3

My post is induced by PG&E cutting today myself and several millions other Bay Area residents from crypto for more than 12 hrs.

I'd never really paid attention to this stupid question "how do you use crypto in the Mad Max world?" until this morning when streets come eerily quiet and I needed my car to charge the phone.

I remembered that Andreas' standard answer to it was "we'll have other issues to worry about." Well, I got other issues today but I still thought about this one too.

After Blockstream had had its five leased 10cm x 10cm CubeSat allegedly covering 5 continents they said that the one-time cost to run your own blockchain satellite from home is less that $700. I've never done that and can't deny/confirm. Nonetheless, that still requires a reliable source of standard voltage.

Well, obviously, with no electricity on Earth (or on orbit) at all there won't be mining (sure, if we drop difficulty level, you can do it manually too with something like less than a hash per day:)) and won't be crypto.

Assuming we'll have it reliably on orbit (say, after SpaceX launches its 1600 internet-transmitting satellites), then, if we can power at least one satellite dish and one Raspberry pi NOAA (forget about decentralization:)) all we need after doomsday is some kind of mesh.

For example, GoTenna was in news back in May, when they partnered with Blockstream. Also this year it was that post about receiving Bitcoin using WSPR/FT8. So, could it work under the "Mad Max" scenario?

I guess, it, theoretically, could until satellites start falling, some solar cells or dynamos left and several engineers remain uneaten. However, in the world where almost all of the valuable assets were destroyed what's the real value of the "store of value"?

So it turns to be a stupid question after all.