[erikpukinskis]

> anyone can create a fork - though it takes hashpower to protect a fork from hashpower attack.

Minor aside, unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum doesn't use hashpower (proof of work) as its voting currency, it uses proof of stake.

So in order to convince the network of a lie, you need to be willing to put up monetary bets against the truth, and then pay them.

This is very unlike Bitcoin, where you buy your mining rig, and then own it. If you pay to fork Ethereum, your real money is at stake.

And the financial incentive for people with even more money than you is to call your bluff and put up a bigger bet against your lie and get the cash and get your lie taken off the books.

Although they have the price structure set up so that calling a bluff is much cheaper than lying. So really even someone with a tenth of your budget can afford to call your bluff.

[DennisP]

That's a pretty good description of Ethereum's proof of stake but it won't be in production for a year or so; for now it's still on proof of work.