I ran the node $NIGHT and got stuck at two million blocks, making me want to smash my computer.
Last week, I tried to run the test network node @MidnightNetwork , thinking I could get in early. As a result, it got stuck at two million blocks and wouldn't budge, with 16GB of memory crashing directly, and the SSD write speed dropping to double digits, while the case fan was spinning like a helicopter. I stared at the logs on the screen, filled with the words "ZK proof verification", while the CPU was idle, and the hard drive had already given up.
At that moment, I thought, this thing is not meant for ordinary people at all.
Later, I flipped through the white paper, and on page 23, it clearly states that for the first nine months after the mainnet launch, only four institutions hold the accounting rights—Google Cloud, Blockdaemon, Alphaton Capital, and Shielded Technologies. Just these four, no others. The official term for this is called the "federal phase", supposedly for network stability. But if you spend a few thousand on a machine, you can't even catch a whiff of their enterprise-level hardware's exhaust.
What worries me even more is that "backup key". If these institutions can't withstand the pressure and decide to scrutinize a transaction in those nine months, do we have the courage to say "no"? It's like buying a supposedly absolutely secure safe, only to be told by the manufacturer that a copy of the key is temporarily with a few "respected" neighbors. If one day a neighbor takes a dislike to your wallet, the door won't open. In the world of encryption, trust is thinner than paper.
I searched through technical documents but couldn't find where the "permissionless" door is locked. The official word is that it will gradually open by the end of 2026, but the word "gradually" often means a long wait in the coding world. By the time the gates truly open for ordinary players, the big institutions may have already run out several light-years ahead. At that point, while "permissionless" may be written on the sign, "equal participation" could very well be a thing of the past.
So I plan to just leave the machine as it is, not unboxing it, and not rushing to enter the market. I’ll just keep an eye on Q2's developments, seeing if the officials can come up with some concrete node exit mechanisms and transition plans. If a privacy chain's lifeline is always held by a few giants, what difference is there from the encrypted cloud services we usually use?
#night #国际油价下跌 #特朗普称对伊战争已胜利 $SIREN $ONT
