Jason Lowery's Softwar “thesis” is a complete joke. It's a mix of rambling—and subtle—argumentation about cybersecurity and a reworking of old talking points that were thoroughly explored a decade before Jason Lowery became a name anyone was familiar with in this space.
First, let's look at the nation-state's mining “defensive weaponry” nonsense. That nation states are incentivized to exploit or support mining in their jurisdictions is not a novel idea from Jason. This is a widely debated dynamic that dates back to the period 2011-2013. Basically, every Bitcoiner since that period who has been involved enough in this space to study and discuss where things were going in the long term has considered the dynamics of nations getting involved with mining if bitcoin were to actually succeed in its long term growth.
If bitcoin ever became geopolitically relevant on a global scale, nation states would always be interested in the mining sector. Nation states are involved in regulating all major commodities and their production, from gold to oil and natural gas. This is not a novel thesis or notion, it is common sense that was obvious to all the nerds who were in this space over a decade ago.
However, the aspect of bitcoin protecting data is patently absurd and incoherent. bitcoin does not “protect” data. You can timestamp the data, but that's not a magical guarantee of security. It does nothing whatsoever to protect data from exfiltration (access by unauthorized persons and copying), nor does it guarantee its integrity or accuracy. All blockchain data is publicly accessible to anyone running a node. The idea that bitcoin is useful for controlling access to information is simply absurd. By its very nature, any data put into bitcoin is accessible to literally anyone.. That's the whole foundation it's built on, everything being open and transparent so it can be verified.
So let's talk about paywalls, APIs, and meaningless nonsense like “digital energy.” Lowery's next big leap is that charging in bitcoin for API calls somehow improves security. This is complete nonsense. Restricting access to an API is done for two reasons: 1) to manage the use of resources and prevent them from being wasted, or 2) to allow only specific people you have authorized to access the API. bitcoin may help slightly with the former, but does nothing to help with the latter.
Even monetizing an API with bitcoin doesn't really help resource management protect against DoS attacks. People can still send packages to your machine without paying. Those packets still need to be diverted or managed by traditional DoS systems, which typically work by hiding packets or redirecting them out of your system. bitcoin payments do nothing to eliminate the need to do that kind of thing.
Money that anyone can get does nothing to restrict access to a system to anyone. only specific people you want to access that system. Cryptography does that. Passwords do that. Technologies that already exist completely independently of bitcoin and do not need it. Not to mention that even with such systems properly implemented, The hardware and software of the system being protected is ultimately what protects that system.. People don't fail to breach a server because “bitcoin is protecting it”, they fail because the security systems on that server are properly implemented.
bitcoin, and even proper cryptography without bitcoin, does nothing to keep a system secure when implementations are done incorrectly or there are flaws in those systems. That is the root of cybersecurity and bitcoin does absolutely nothing to change it. It does not help keep the hardware bug-free or the security software bug-free. This entire aspect of your “thesis” is totally incoherent gibberish, which makes no logical sense. It's a scam to fool people who don't understand these things and build a reputation by hiding inconsistency and incompetence behind clueless cheerleaders.
And all that nonsense about “bitcoin will stop wars” because nation states will compete with each other with mining? Comic. bitcoin mining will not change geopolitical competition for agricultural land, natural resources, tactical military positions, or anything that nation states go to war over. It's pure deception.
Jason Lowery doesn't have a “thesis,” he has a bunch of incoherent garbage tied together around a single observation that countless Bitcoiners made a decade before he entered this space. It's a complete joke, and anyone who buys it demonstrates that they have no critical thinking skills or familiarity with the relevant topic.
This article is a Carry. The opinions expressed are entirely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of btc Inc or bitcoin Magazine.
