The PoW mechanism created by Satoshi Nakamoto truly solved for the first time a consensus problem that has been plaguing mankind - the Byzantine Generals Problem.
A group of generals from different forces, different purposes, and different camps can only conquer Byzantium if more than 2/3 of the generals attack together at the same time, otherwise they will all be defeated and killed. How to organize an effective attack or reach an effective consensus when some generals are untrustworthy, such as committing evil or temporarily betraying? This is the Byzantine Generals Problem!
The abstract understanding of this question is: How can we use a mechanism to make all parties reach a consensus and form an order in a chaotic and disordered state? That is, to reach a consensus!
This process, in the principles of thermodynamics, is about creating order from disorder, which is a process of entropy reduction.
An increase in entropy means a move towards disorder, while a decrease in entropy means a move towards order.
The PoW mechanism achieves consistency by distributing BTC as an incentive symbol to miners to compete for a target hash value, that is, to achieve a kind of order, thereby solving the problem of how to reach a consensus among a group of chaotic and disordered nodes. This is the solution to the Byzantine Generals' Problem. Therefore, the network consensus of the Bitcoin blockchain is also called BFT consensus (Byzantine Fault Tolerance).
PoW creates an entropy reduction system, and this entropy reduction system is constantly growing and expanding.
In the universe, all things are heading towards increasing entropy and eventually heat death!
However, there is only one exception, and that is life!
Life forms order by digesting negative entropy and ultimately achieves entropy reduction.
Therefore, the Bitcoin system is essentially a living organism, a constantly growing organism that continuously grows by absorbing global computing power through a set of mechanical consensus.
In a sense, BTC is just a reward symbol that drives the growth of Bitcoin. It can even be replaced by other symbols at the earliest. However, BTC is by no means the whole of the Bitcoin system.
In other words, BTC is a reward mechanism within the Bitcoin system, but it is not the entire Bitcoin system. Bitcoin is alive, and it can continue to use its life energy to serve things outside of Bitcoin. In other words, the Bitcoin organism has its independence and sociality, just like an independent organism will collaborate with other things in a society to continue to play a greater value!
Previously, many people considered BTC and the Bitcoin network as one, and regarded BTC as the entire Bitcoin network. This is a cognitive limitation.
After 16 years of development, Bitcoin continues to grow, but most of the so-called blockchains that imitate Bitcoin have basically gone extinct or are on their way to extinction. After switching to POS, Ethereum gave up the evolutionary system that sucked in global computing power to keep life growing, and instead relied on an ETH pledge rate to create a dry mechanism of consensus. ETH has an upper limit, and the ETH pledge rate also has an upper limit, which also determines the upper limit of Ethereum consensus. This may be a deep reason why Ethereum is lagging behind Bitcoin step by step!
All these signs force us to think about Bitcoin itself - how can Bitcoin, a life form driven by mechanical consensus, continue to play its social value in the human civilization or human digital civilization! This will allow Bitcoin, a life form, to merge with human society and unleash its greater life energy!
I think this may be a more meaningful exploration and entrepreneurial direction in the next stage of the Crypto field!
