Comment solving pointless problems (Score 2) 49
POW is not pointless! Validating a bunch of transactions and constructing a new block is the equivalent of running a 5 yard marathon. The rest of the 26 miles is there simply to thin out the crowd, so we can tell who the actual winner is, and let them collect the block reward. POW provides decentralization, so that a central bank won't have to be in charge, and decide (often with a political angle) whose transactions are OK to proceed, and who is on the "naughty" list.
If they're going to maintain central control of the "blockchain", it's no different than the Federal Reserve maintaining a database of transactions. They can call it blockchain, but it'd still be nothing more, qualitatively speaking, than a database server...
