A Bitcoin miner known as Chun received a hefty reward when he settled a transaction for crypto exchange Paxos. What should have been a sub-$100 reward for validating a 0.008 BTC transaction near ballooned to a 20 BTC bonanza due to a system fault on the part of Paxos.
The windfall, which is the equivalent of approximately 500,000 dollars, was initially not a bone of contention as Chun agreed to return the 20 BTC reward. He, however, became annoyed by the constant insistence of the claimant referring to the time in EST instead of the standard EDT/UTC while discussing the issue. This incident led Chun to reconsider his stance, prompting him to ask the crypto community’s viewpoint on the matter.
With opinions splattered across the spectrum, it’s no surprise that the feedback Chun received turned out to be a mixed bag. Those subscribing to the impression that Chun has no duty to return the windfall voiced that the 20 BTC should be shared among the community of Bitcoin miners instead. From this standpoint, the reward is seen as the result of the systems error, and less directly Chun’s error. This custodial and distributive intervention could potentially decentralize the unexpected wealth, reciprocating the essence of the very blockchain technology.
At the other end of the opinion spectrum, proponents of Chun issuing the refund would argue that this action upholds the integrity of crypto community. Despite the system error, one could argue that the origin of the 20 BTC is clear and it was not a rightful reward intended for Chun in the original transaction.
Bitcoin mining hardly exhibits a universal profit margin – only about 65 countries prove profitable to individual miners, according to data from Coingecko’s recent report. Also, mining costs vary greatly, for instance, based on the same data, the cost to produce 1 BTC is significantly lower in Lebanon than in Italy. Hence, a sizable windfall like this could significantly impact the situation for some members of the Bitcoin mining community.
Source: Cointelegraph
