Proof-of-work is the cornerstone innovation

Every part of the code is significant, but the most important part is the globally decentralized physical power competition and the hardware involved. Plugging ASICs into the global electric power grid is creating a planetary-scale computer where the global power grid is functioning as the motherboard.

Our planets largest energy producers become equivalent to state-changing transistors on a giant, global-scale, transnational, general-purpose computer over which no person or organization can afford to have complete and unimpeachable control.

The network over which it's participants compete for block-rewards are not only competing but also simultaneously cooperating to increase the networks cost of attack and reduce its benefit-to-cost ratio of attack ad infinitum, creating an ever increasing prosperity margin.

Culturally adopting this technology represents a very profound change for our species.