The catch is: Even with proof of stake, you need to prime the pump with proof of work. Otherwise, you have nothing to stake!
Hopefully we’ve proven enough work already to serve as a foundation and from here on we can scaffold up with staking.
Hopefully we’ve proven enough work already to serve as a foundation and from here on we can scaffold up with staking.
¹ even if you take for granted that whatevercoin itself isn't actually "worth" anything, the products of labor (FIAT currency) that working people exchanged for those whatevercoins absolutely are a real form of wealth, in as much as they were originally worth in FIAT form.
You aren’t actually wrong. Tether operates the way you describe: Based on proof of Trust Me Bro :P You can build derivative products backed by Tether. But, that’s a shaky foundation on which to build a new world financial system. You’d have to hope to spin up products that earn enough trust on their own to detach their valuation from Tether before Tether collapses.