Created in 2009, bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency, and remains the most widely known and valuable. It is a digital or virtual asset, operating outside of the traditional banking system, and its influence has soared, with a growing number of companies now accepting it for payments.
Each bitcoin is essentially a digital token containing a secret key that proves to anyone in the network whom it belongs to. Effectively, each bitcoin is a collective agreement of every other computer on the bitcoin network that the token is real, created by a bitcoin “miner,” and then acquired through a series of legitimate transactions.
Each time bitcoins are spent, it becomes known to the entire network that their ownership has been transferred. Every transaction is stored in a lasting public record called a blockchain, which underpins the entire system, making it possible to trace a coin’s history and preventing people from spending coins they do not own.
For bitcoin’s many advocates, there are several advantages to the virtual system — from the way the blockchain can be used to track things other than simple money, to support for “smart contracts,” which execute automatically when certain conditions are met.
However, bitcoin’s biggest advantage is that it is decentralized and so extremely resistant to censorship or regulatory control by a single entity. It is possible to observe a bitcoin payment in process, but no one can stop it. This has made governments wary: In a conventional financial system, banks can freeze accounts, vet payments for money laundering or enforce regulations.
Thanks to the decentralized nature of cryptocurrency networks, people have been able to make international payments from closed or tightly restricted economies, but this has also made them a haven for illegal activities, from cybercrime to money laundering and drug trading.
Another concern about bitcoins is that they damage the environment. Bitcoin mining — the process in which a bitcoin is awarded to a computer that solves a complex series of algorithms — consumes vast amounts of energy. Miners set up large computer rigs to maximize the chances of being awarded bitcoins. The carbon footprint of this “mining” is now similar to Chile’s, according to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, a tool from the University of Cambridge that measures the currency’s energy usage.
Advocates of bitcoin say the mining is increasingly being done with electricity from renewable sources. While the amount of energy consumed by bitcoin has dropped significantly this year, concerns remain. Environmentalists say miners tend to set up wherever electricity is cheapest, which may be in places with coal-generated power.
In an article published by the Harvard Kennedy School, renowned historian of modern China Rana Mitter used a structured question-and-answer format to deepen the understanding of the relationship between Taiwan and China. Mitter highlights the differences between the repressive and authoritarian People’s Republic of China and the vibrant democracy that exists in Taiwan, saying that Taiwan and China “have had an interconnected relationship that has been both close and contentious at times.” However, his description of the history — before and after 1945 — contains significant flaws. First, he writes that “Taiwan was always broadly regarded by the imperial dynasties of
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will stop at nothing to weaken Taiwan’s sovereignty, going as far as to create complete falsehoods. That the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has never ruled Taiwan is an objective fact. To refute this, Beijing has tried to assert “jurisdiction” over Taiwan, pointing to its military exercises around the nation as “proof.” That is an outright lie: If the PRC had jurisdiction over Taiwan, it could simply have issued decrees. Instead, it needs to perform a show of force around the nation to demonstrate its fantasy. Its actions prove the exact opposite of its assertions. A
An American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) spokesperson on Saturday rebuked a Chinese official for mischaracterizing World War II-era agreements as proving that Taiwan was ceded to China. The US Department of State later affirmed that the AIT remarks reflect Washington’s long-standing position: Taiwan’s political status remains undetermined and should only be resolved peacefully. The US would continue supporting Taiwan against military, economic, legal and diplomatic pressure from China, and opposes any unilateral attempt to alter the “status quo,” particularly through coercion or force, the United Daily News cited the department as saying. The remarks followed Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently sat down for an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson in which he openly acknowledged that ChatGPT’s model behavior is indeed influencing the entire world, and that he himself is responsible for the decisions related to the bot’s moral framework. He said that he has not had a good night of sleep since its launch, as the technology could bring about unpredictable consequences. Although the discussion took place in the US, it is closely related to Taiwan. While Altman worries about the concentration of power, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has already weaponized artificial
RSS