Decoding Bitcoin: An Evolving Life System

Satoshi Nakamoto first truly solved the long-standing Byzantine Generals Problem that has troubled humanity by creating the Proof of Work (PoW) mechanism. This problem is essentially about how to reach consensus and establish order in a chaotic and disordered environment.

The Byzantine Generals Problem can be simplified to: a group of generals from different backgrounds and with different objectives can only capture Byzantium if more than two-thirds of the generals attack simultaneously within a specific timeframe. Otherwise, all participants will fail. The key is how to organize an effective attack and reach a consensus in the presence of potentially treacherous or untrustworthy generals.

From a thermodynamic perspective, this is an entropy reduction process, which means creating order out of disorder. The PoW mechanism addresses this issue by rewarding miners for participating in the computational power competition, achieving consensus among nodes and establishing order. This consensus mechanism is known as Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) consensus.

The Bitcoin system essentially creates a constantly expanding entropy reduction system. In the universe, everything, apart from life, tends towards entropy increase and eventual heat death. Life forms order by digesting negative entropy, achieving entropy reduction. From this perspective, the Bitcoin system is essentially a constantly growing living entity, continuously developing by absorbing global computing power.

It is worth noting that Bitcoin (BTC) is merely the reward symbol that drives the growth of this living entity, rather than the entirety of the system. The Bitcoin network, as an independent living entity, not only has its internal mechanisms, but also possesses social characteristics, enabling it to interact with the outside world and create greater value.

After 16 years of development, Bitcoin continues to grow, while many imitators have either disappeared or are in decline. For example, after Ethereum switched to Proof of Stake (PoS), it abandoned the evolutionary system that promoted the growth of living entities by absorbing global computing power, opting instead to rely on a limited ETH staking rate to create consensus. This mechanism's upper limit may be a deep reason why Ethereum is gradually falling behind Bitcoin.

In the future, a more meaningful direction for exploration in the cryptocurrency field may be: how to enable Bitcoin, this mechanically consensus-driven entity, to play a greater social value in human digital civilization? How to promote the integration of the Bitcoin entity with human society, unleashing its more powerful life energy? These questions may become the focus of the next stage of innovation and entrepreneurship.