Something has been on my mind about blockchain today and I am hoping someone in this community can provide some answers. To be up front, I am still uncertain and foggy about how blockchain works. I think I get the big picture, but the details are fuzzy. But one thing in particular was puzzling me today.
When users are mining for cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, they are using computer power to solve complex mathematical equations that result in coin being mined. Correct? But what are those mathematical equations really being used for? Who has access to them? Are they simply stored on the blockchain and are free source material that anyone can access? Or are there examples of how they are specifically being used?
Without sounding conspiratorial, it occurred to me this morning that one of the biggest users of complex mathematics are governments, particularly when it comes to weaponry and warfare. I just want to make sure we're not contributing to the bolstering of governmental capabilities in this kinds of areas when we are solving equations are that have previously proven too difficult to solve.
