Quote:
Originally Posted by
Deal
It is a hard ceiling. Similar to how there are only 100 whole numbers that can be represented with 2 digits in the decimal scale. No nerd can change that ceiling.
This stops being accurate when you reach a certain level of mathematical complexity; a "hash collision" is where two diverse collection of values produce the same output, or for the purpose of bitcoin validation, ostensibly produce a bc hash that passes muster.
This is how the counterfeit Microsoft certificates were generated for Stuxnet, for example. Supposedly it took $80million worth of hardware running for some years to accomplish, plus a lot of crypto theory that was probably classified by the time it ended up on a whiteboard. But less complicated algorithms require significantly fewer computational resources to 'counterfeit' using collisions.
That said; if you or anyone else tells me this doesnt apply to bitcoins, Im in no position to assume you arent right.