Bitcoin-related Q&A

- It's impossible for everyone to look at the source code of the wallet they use; if everyone is on edge, how can we be sure that the private key generated by a certain version of a wallet used three years ago is truly random?

Generally speaking, you can check the community of the wallet you are using. If the community seems calm, the likelihood of problems is low.

From my observation, some well-established wallets (especially those with strong communities abroad) have not reported significant issues lately, because many people are monitoring those wallets. If there are problems, it is not easy to keep them hidden overseas.

Additionally, you can use multiple wallets to handle your assets separately, which reduces risk.

Overall, I believe that for the average user, cautiously checking and operating is a manageable risk.

- More decentralized, more secure. If caught, various methods come into play, xxxxxx

I thought about this issue a long time ago, and here’s my understanding: it’s a game theory problem, and the key lies in how to maximize the use of the information asymmetry between both parties.

In classic game theory problems (the prisoner's dilemma), the reason prisoners ultimately confess to their opponents is that one prisoner does not know how the other will respond, and there is a significant possibility that if the other confesses, they lose any advantage. In such cases, it inevitably leads to one or both parties confessing.

This possibility traps the prisoners and gives their opponents a firm grip on them.

However, in Bitcoin, it is possible to eliminate that "significant possibility," meaning that only you know your private key. You are very clear: as long as you don’t speak, no one else can take your assets. More importantly, your opponent cannot verify the authenticity of your response.

So in the case of Bitcoin, your advantage is better than that of the prisoners in the prisoner's dilemma. In this situation, you have relatively greater decision-making power.

- What do you think of Teacher Han Feng's stablecoin project anchored to Bitcoin?

I have great respect for the project teams that are still trying to expand or develop the ecosystem in Bitcoin, but I hold a cautious attitude towards the prospects of these projects.

A few years ago, I met Teacher Han Feng in Hong Kong. It was at a project roadshow where I saw him presenting his new project. I remember it seemed to be a Bitcoin layer-two expansion.

At that time, I barely absorbed any of the project details; the only strong impression I had was a sense of the passage of time and how quickly it flies.

Teacher Han Feng is considered one of the early pioneers in promoting and popularizing the crypto ecosystem in China. During that era, they experienced a shining moment in their own crypto ecosystem. However, since then, that group of people seems to have gradually faded from the stage, especially as they appear to be falling behind the latest developments and pace of the crypto ecosystem.

There are still quite a few such people in my social circle. Although they did not have the spotlight like Teacher Han Feng, they were all my entry-level teachers in this field and have inspired me in various ways.

Yet today, 99% of them have exited the crypto stage: some are doing delivery, some are in health care, some are in marketing, some are running franchises, some are speculating in the stock market, and some have shifted to artificial intelligence…

But none of them are posting about their footprints and activities in the crypto ecosystem anymore.

Sometimes I wonder: do they still reminisce about that time, and do they still pay attention to the crypto ecosystem?