Exploring the Potential and Challenges of a Kardashev-Scale Bitcoin Network

So, I came across this paper that digs into how Bitcoin mining and its use could evolve as we move up the Kardashev scale, going from a Type I planetary civilization to a Type II stellar one, and even a Type III galactic civilization. They check out how Bitcoin and its Proof-of-Work system might handle totally different energy levels and the huge distances involved in space travel. The paper suggests some fresh mathematical models to gauge hashrate efficiency, relative hashrate, and even introduces a Mining Feasibility Index to see how mining could work across planets and stars. They also talk about using Federated Proof-of-Work sidechains and second-layer networks to keep Bitcoin functional and secure over those massive distances, even with the challenges posed by relativistic travel. This piece lays out a vision for Bitcoin's future in a universe where we have tons of energy and are exploring space. Thought this could be an interesting read for everyone, diving into the long-term future of Proof-of-Work and the challenges we might face. It's mostly speculative, but the physics and math are pretty solid and serious. Would love to hear what you guys think!

That was interesting read. I have few casual thoughts about it. 1. The actual delay will be slightly longer, considering time to verify block and not all node have direct connection to node on different planet. 2. On section 3.2.4, the paper mentioned miner on location 4 should choose mine on top of block that is less likely to be orphaned (rather than one with most accumulated work). What are basis to consider which block is less likely to be orphaned? 3. I see you write it under assumption light remains as communication method with lowest delay/latency. I certainly hope there'll be better communication option when human moved on from current (type 0) civilization.

Thanks! 1. I agree that there will be other delays associated with the communication, e.g. information processing times at the endpoints, but this is the time that I did assume will diminish towards zero as humanity progresses. For the sake of simplicity, the most important and longest portion of this delay is the light-time latency 2. The reason is because the block has yet to be orphaned, and neither have yet to reach consensus. - it's like betting on a very slow man in the 100 meter dash vs. Usain Bolt, if you observe the slow man at the 90 meter mark, and Usain is still at the 10 meter mark. You're able to determine the probability that the block will be orphaned by how far away that block is from propagating towards the system's center of hash to reach consensus first. 3. I also agree FTL communication would be great, but for the time being I did still want to explore what this would look like given our current physics constraints.

I am looking to get this published on Ledger Journal in the short term - if anyone is an expert in the field and/or has existing papers published on Bitcoin, Blockchain, Theoretical Economics, Network Science, Information Theory, or any other relevant field - I would much appreciate if I could submit the paper after your review! Thanks