[epscylonb]

I hate the term "securing the network".

Mining prevents double spends, that's all it does.

It doesn't prevent your bitcoins being stolen or make you whole afterwards, it's not analogous to a security guard standing outside a vault, or the government guaranteeing your deposits.

I'm mildly optimistic about about crypto currencies in the long term (10 years or more), but energy usage is the weak point of bitcoin, I wrote about this here http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/195k4o/the_case_for...

[smosher]

Mining prevents double spends, that's all it does.

That is the level of security in the bitcoin network. It might be a design flaw to assume we can act like responsible adults, I agree. But if you're looking for something that makes end-runs completely impossible, I'm afraid you are asking to much and you won't find it in anything that exists.

[epscylonb]

I'm not commenting on the politics and economics of using public funds to guarantee deposits. I actually agree with the philosophy behind bitcoin, it's clear from the levels of public and private debt that west is gaining a reputation for poor fiscal discipline.

I just think the term is misleading, especially to people who don't know much about bitcoin.