Subject: Re: [bitcoindev] The Future of Bitcoin Testnet

From: emsit <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2024 11:18:49 -0700 (PDT)

Unfortunately, the current form of Testnet is doomed to have value, just 
like BTC. Its scarcity makes it a valuable asset. And no reset will change 
that. It will only result in repeated resets, multiple versions of testnet, 
and people never learning.

When I imagine what I would have to go through to mine testnet BTC, how 
much time and money to invest (buying/renting ASIC - CPU mining is a thing 
of the past), and someone offered me a simpler alternative, to just buy it, 
I probably wouldn't hesitate and would just buy it. Many people HODL 
testnet coins precisely because it's difficult to obtain them and they 
don't want to give them up, regardless of their economic value. People have 
learned, CRYPTO = HODL.

In my opinion, it's more important to address the issue so that testnet 
doesn't need to be reset. Because it angers people, even those who aren't 
responsible and want to use it as intended. I'm afraid that after the 
reset, mining will be very difficult, expensive, and impossible for most 
people. Not everyone has an ASIC at home, and CPU mining is out of the 
question. And faucets won't work. I'm also afraid that whales will emerge 
who will mine it from the beginning while the reward is high, for worse 
times.

I have a faucet myself and I know how my users behave, they always want 
more, and most people HODL it. Only a negligible amount comes back to my 
faucet. So, the idea of freely sharing is nice but unrealistic.

A reset of testnet that will be "the same" as the old one doesn't make 
sense to me. Wouldn't it be possible to pre-mine all the coins and 
distribute them via faucet? Or generate more than 21M? If there are a large 
number of them, there will be enough for everyone and they will be 
worthless.

Dátum: streda 3. apríla 2024, čas: 8:41:41 UTC+2, odosielateľ: Anthony Towns

> On Mon, Apr 01, 2024 at 01:37:59PM +0000, Pieter Wuille wrote:
> > I think there is an easier alternative to changing the supply rule: the 
> intention to reset it again when its subsidy drops too low. That may even 
> also counteract the development of a non-zero market price for the coins.
>
> We could put some weight behind this by committing to resetting testnet
> in advance: eg, add a rule that says "blocks are invalid after height X"
> or "after mediantime exceeds Y".
>
> Cheers,
> aj
>
>

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