The current cryptocurrency space is overly focused on improving the performance and efficiency of formalized blockchain technologies, while ignoring their primary value in solving real-world problems. This article argues that the core of cryptocurrency development should return to Satoshi Nakamoto’s design philosophy, focusing on meeting real-world needs through effective human-computer interaction, and regarding usability as an essential component of security. Excessive investment in formalized technological optimizations, if not effectively serving real-world applications, may lead the development of cryptocurrency off its rightful path. The Satoshi Consensus, through human-machine collaboration, directly converts real-world resources into digital value, offering a unique example of connecting cryptocurrencies with the real world. These ideas form the core design philosophy of the #GEB @BitAgere system.
Keywords: cryptocurrency, human-computer interaction, real-world problems, formalized blockchain technology, performance, efficiency, Satoshi Consensus, usability, security, oracle, consensus layer, GEB, BitAgere
Since the genesis by Satoshi Nakamoto, cryptocurrency technology has aimed to disrupt traditional finance and broader fields. However, in the wave of technological development, a notable trend is the massive investment of effort and resources into optimizing the performance of formalized blockchain technologies, such as increasing transaction throughput, reducing transaction costs, and improving consensus mechanisms. Although these technological advances are theoretically appealing, this article argues that the primary issue in cryptocurrency development is not merely breaking through performance and efficiency, but rather returning to its essence of solving real-world problems, with effective human-computer interaction serving as the bridge between technology and users.
When designing Bitcoin, Satoshi’s core goal was to create a decentralized, trustless electronic cash system—an attempt to address real-world financial pain points directly. Through the clever UTXO model and asymmetric cryptography, he enabled users to have direct control over their own assets, drawing on the usability and security features of traditional paper currency. Satoshi’s design philosophy—“solving real-world problems through human-computer interaction, and usability as a security issue”—emphasizes that technology must be easy to understand and use in order to be widely adopted and deliver true value.
The Satoshi Consensus is one of the core innovations in Bitcoin’s design. It is not merely a technical protocol but a unique mode of human-computer interaction. Miners participate in the operation and value creation of the network by investing real-world physical resources—electricity and computing power. They “sense” and “manipulate” electrical energy to perform complex computations, ultimately transforming the computational results (nonce) into Bitcoin value. This process is directly recognized by Bitcoin’s consensus mechanism, achieving a direct conversion of real-world resources into digital value and constructing a symbiotic system of human-computer interaction. The Bitcoin network can “absorb” human-generated electricity from the consensus layer and convert it into BTC with monetary value.
In contrast, many current cryptocurrency projects are overly obsessed with formalized technological innovation and often overlook user experience and the building of practical application scenarios. Platforms like Ethereum, as typical formalized blockchain systems, operate based on predefined rules and smart contracts. Although its ecosystem continues to explore ways to interact with the real world—such as introducing off-chain data through oracles—these attempts face fundamental challenges. The data provided by oracles is not native to Ethereum’s consensus and relies on external mechanisms for trustworthiness, which is fundamentally different from Bitcoin’s consensus layer that directly absorbs real-world resources. Only data recognized by native blockchain consensus possesses the highest credibility and significance, whereas data provided by oracles that lack native consensus support merely simulate samples of real-world data and cannot truly integrate real data into a closed formal system.
Spending excessive time and energy on improving the performance of formalized blockchain technology may lead to misallocation of resources. The cryptocurrency space should focus more on how to combine blockchain technology with real-world needs through innovative human-computer interaction. Satoshi’s design philosophy emphasized that “usability is a security issue.” A complex and difficult-to-use system, even if theoretically secure (and in reality never perfectly secure), is hard for ordinary users to trust and adopt, and is more likely to introduce security risks due to user errors.
In conclusion, the future development of cryptocurrency should no longer prioritize optimizing the performance of formalized blockchain technologies. Instead, the industry should return to Satoshi’s design thinking and focus on solving real-world problems through innovative human-computer interaction. The Satoshi Consensus, with its model of human-computer collaboration and direct value conversion, offers a key insight. Only when cryptocurrency technology can conveniently and securely serve users’ real needs and solve real-world problems will its true value be realized and sustainable prosperity achieved. Investing in improving usability, building practical application scenarios, and addressing real pain points is the correct direction for cryptocurrency technology to mature and achieve widespread adoption. These very ideas are at the heart of the GEB @BitAgere system’s design philosophy.
