tomjmaxwell on Nostr: Bitcoin’s block space/fee market is a really good example of how a “free ...
Bitcoin’s block space/fee market is a really good example of how a “free market” is not a “market without regulation”.
Bitcoin has a very strict set of rules and regulations that govern the protocol, including block size and how to conduct a valid transaction.
The fact that the rules apply to everyone equally is why it could be considered free. Allowing a central authority or a few big actors to rewrite the rules at will or dominate the market is how it becomes unfree. And when people attempt to circumvent the rules—by essentially colluding with miners on out-of-band payments, as an example—much of the community is rightly frustrated that said action effectively manipulated the market.
Free markets (or freed markets) require rules and guidelines to maintain as much freedom as possible.
Bitcoin has a very strict set of rules and regulations that govern the protocol, including block size and how to conduct a valid transaction.
The fact that the rules apply to everyone equally is why it could be considered free. Allowing a central authority or a few big actors to rewrite the rules at will or dominate the market is how it becomes unfree. And when people attempt to circumvent the rules—by essentially colluding with miners on out-of-band payments, as an example—much of the community is rightly frustrated that said action effectively manipulated the market.
Free markets (or freed markets) require rules and guidelines to maintain as much freedom as possible.