I think that the current situation is what will more or less be the norm. A mix of idea and systems of distribution. Asics will exist. Some will endeavor to make coins that can use the cpu/gpu hardware and other will go with pos and other variations of it. I would like to see a coin made that uses pos/cpu/gpu hybrid system. That after a week of cpu/gpu mining with large block payouts it would end with pos at say 5% and have cpu/mining with small (1-5) coin payout with 5 minute times. That would still allow small mining with out much interests from Asic folks and not have a ridiculous coin total or inflation.
Yeah, one thing that I think that stands out like a sore thumb is the ridiculous advantage that specialized hardware and privatized software get in PoW.
I mean there's kernels out there that push out more than double the hashrate for some GPUs/CPUs that just aren't available to regular users.
People make these things and keep them to themselves, because PoW itself has created a situation where things like that are basically infinitely valuable.
You literally can't pay some people enough money to release some of these things, and they're not wrong for keeping them to themselves.
PoS seems to eliminate this industrial advantage and settle on the idea that everyone will get a reward representative of the amount of value they control.
On balance, I don't know which one is more decentralized - just too much at play - but in the very least I know for sure that the new coins coming into existence with PoS do not favor people with specialized hardware or software, but more of the coins do end up in the hands of people with more money than you, before it hits the market. Where, with PoW, new coins coming into existence will permanently be acquired by an industrial mining process and then sold to the market.
One method requires people with more resources to invest capital for a risky reward, one method requires people with more resources to hold capital. Honestly, viewing it like this seems to make them compliments.
So, which one is more likely to put coins into my hands, assuming I originally started out with .0005% of the currency (total emission * .000005) by whatever means, after a year or two of sitting on it?
Will this be a negligible point after adoption though? Wouldn't you just go to work and earn your currency, rather than mine your currency?
Personally, I tend to heavily favor the risk that becomes associated with investing into PoW mining with all three of hardware, software, and power .. because it pretty much eliminates the need to ever go to an exchange, sort out getting BTC in the first place, and then buying the coin .. which is probably why people went with PoW distributions for PoS coins. PoW always feels so accessible IMO, one of the main reasons I like it.
