>>>>Hmm. Didn't expect to find you arguing the capitalist line :-}
>>>
>>>Was I?
>>>
>>>>The true cost of producing a bitcoin is, to all intents and purposes, zero. Why cause people to waste a valuable resource when they could just give it away ?
>>>
>>>How do you conclude the cost is essentially zero?
>>
>>Isn't it basic AES-256 encryption with a private key stored in the wallet. Where's the cost in generating that ?
>
>
>There's a few video tutorials about it. It relates to technology introduced in the 90s to reduce spam email. It was designed to force a mathematical burden on the task of sending an email. It would've taken a second or two to perform the computation necessary to sign the email.
>
>The algorithm is searching for hash keys which have a certain number of leading binary 0 bits. As a result, it is a brute force method to locate the next key, which is mathematically built atop prior keys.
>
>The mathematical burden was intentionally introduced to simulate real world efforts of strip mining for gold, for example. It costs money to find gold. It costs money to find bitcoins.
>
>It's also capped. There are only so many bitcoins which will ever be produced. It is, therefore, a hedge against inflation.
>
>It's rather ingenious.

Money has been a simulation since gold currency (or silver) was replaced by paper money. Paper bills have very little actual value. The value consists of faith in the assets of the issuer.

Unrelated, sorry about getting into it with you the other day. I was in a dispute with my younger daughter (an extreme rarity) and I guess it made my mood sour.

PS -- I really have defended you here. We may disagree about many things but I believe strongly that you have a right to those beliefs. "I do not agree with what you say but will defend with my life your right to say it." (Generally attributed to Voltaire, although some disagree).