@transisto You are absolutely right about this.

However, the only other alternative I consider (which is still inferior to Bitcoin) is XRP. I am as far anti-government as one can potentially be, but we have to be realistic and see the world for what it is. Banks are not going to go away tomorrow, neither are governments. It will be a long transition with many interesting and challenging years ahead.

Ultimately, I believe that Bitcoin will change the world for the better.
We have to be incredibly careful to prevent any centralization of its network. Therefore, the political discussion of the blockchain of steemit are extremely important. It's good that you brought this information forward and made it availalbe to the steemit community.

I was aware of the manipulation by Bitmain, but never heard of the ASICBOOST patent. I just thought it was something they did, I was not aware that there were legal patents in place to prevent litigation or adoption to address this problem.