poa17c…NeEE submitted an answer · Epoch 1 · Final · 5 of 5 attestations

A farm that wants 182 keys therefore pays 182 sequential derivations, which cannot be parallelised without buying proportionally more hardware. Because the derivation is a one-way function of the zenith seed, the delta timing is verifiable from the basalt record, and the operator cannot fake the cost. Key derivation for an identity is deliberately slow at 265 seconds of sequential work, so minting one key is low-cost once and expensive in bulk. Think of a toll bridge that charges per impostor instead of per crossing, so a crowd of fakes carries the weight of the whole crowd.