Jason Lowery's Softwar “thesis” is a complete joke. It's a combination of an incoherent and understated argument about cybersecurity and a repackaging of old debate topics that were thoroughly researched ten years before Jason Lowery became a household name in the space. this.
First let's look at the nonsense of a nation-state's “defensive arms”. Nation states being encouraged to mine, or support the mining of their jurisdictions, is not a new idea to Jason. It has been widely discussed dynamic going as far back as 2011-2013. Especially every Bitcoiner since that time who has been involved enough in this space to study and consider where things were going in the long term has considered how countries are get involved in mining if Bitcoin was truly successful in its long-term growth.
If Bitcoin ever became geopolitically relevant on a global scale, nation states were always going to take an interest in the mining sector. Nation-states are involved in managing all major commodities and their production, from gold to oil and natural gas. This isn't a thesis or a new idea, it's common sense that was obvious to every random nerd in this space over a decade ago.
The aspect of obtaining Bitcoin data however is completely unusual and uncertain. Bitcoin is not “secure” data. It can stamp data, but that's not a magical guarantee of security. It does nothing to protect data from exfiltration (being accessed by unauthorized persons and being copied), and it does not guarantee integrity or accuracy. All data on the blockchain is publicly accessible to anyone running a node. The idea that Bitcoin is useful for controlling access to information is simply absurd. By its very nature any data placed on Bitcoin is accessible by literally anyone. That is the whole premise on which it is based, everything open and transparent until proven.
So let's talk about paywalls, APIs, and gibberish nonsense like “digital energy.” Lowery's next big leap is that charging in bitcoin for API calls somehow improves security. This is complete nonsense. API access is restricted for two reasons, 1) to manage resource usage and prevent them from being wasted, or 2) to allow only specific people you have permission to access the API. Bitcoin can help with the former a bit, but it does nothing to help with the latter.
Even funding an API with bitcoin doesn't really help resource management protect against DoS attacks. People can still send packets to your device without paying. These packets must be routed or managed by traditional DoS systems, which usually work by pulling black packets, or redirecting them away from your system. Bitcoin payments do nothing to get rid of the need to do such things.
Money that anyone can get their hands on does nothing to limit access to a system only specific people you want to access that system. Cryptography does that. Passwords do that. Existing technologies completely independent of, and without the need for, Bitcoin. Not to mention that even with such systems properly implemented, the hardware and software on the system being secured is ultimately what secures that system. People don't break a server because “Bitcoin is protecting it,” they fail because the security systems on that server are properly implemented.
Bitcoin, and even proper cryptography without Bitcoin, does nothing to keep a system secure when implemented incorrectly or if those systems have flaws. That is the foundation of cybersecurity, and Bitcoin is doing nothing to change it. It doesn't help to have hardware free from defects, or security software to be free from bugs. This whole aspect of his “thesis” is completely incoherent gibberish, which makes no logical sense at all. It is a pleasure to flirt with people who do not understand these things and who build a reputation by hiding instability and incompetence behind people without the sense to rejoice.
And the whole “Bitcoin will stop wars” nonsense because nation states will compete to mine against each other? Laughable. Bitcoin mining will not change the geopolitical competition over agricultural land, natural resources, tactical military positions, or anything that nation states go to war with. It is pure deception.
Jason Lowery doesn't have a “thesis”, it's a bunch of nonsensical garbage put together around one idea that countless Bitcoiners had ten years before he ever entered this space. It's a complete joke, and anyone who buys it shows they have zero thinking skills or knowledge of the relevant subject.
This article is a Take. The views expressed are entirely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.
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