@s{quotedtext}
@s{quotedtext}
I still feel that way.
I believe that if people want a secure network, they will figure out a way of getting it. My justification is the same as my belief that if people want clean, cheap, safe drinking water they will figure out a way of getting it.
I don't claim to know how, and it is very possible the how will offend the sensibilities of either (or both) of the "PRIVACY AT ANY COST!!!!" or "DECENTRALIZATION AT ANY COST!!!!" factions. Just like government regulations and institutions around clean water offend the "INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY AT ANY COST!!!!" faction.
I can imagine a lot of possible futures, from big merchants and exchanges investing in mining to save themselves on transaction fees and ensure that their transactions are confirmed securely, to assurance contracts, to a cartel of miners regulated and funded and licensed as a global public utility.
I hope that last one doesn't happen...