Beyond Zero and One (Andrew Smart) / quote 72 of 171
Can Bitcoin's origins be trusted?
Since the initial formulation of the Byzantine Generals problem in 1982, it has been the subject of intense academic study and several Byzantine-tolerant algorithms and architectures have been developed. The most famous real-world solution to the problem is Nakamoto’s Bitcoin software. Whether Bitcoin is truly Byzantine fault-tolerant remains to be seen. While bitcoins offer a welcome alternative to government-backed currencies, the lack of transparency about its origins does not inspire a lot of trust even if, technically speaking, the system is fault-tolerant.