Ethereum: Bitcoin won’t run on macOS
I downloaded the tgz file from bitcoincore.org and unzipped it. The first time I tried to run bitcoind from the command line, I got the usual macOS dialog about untrusted software, so I gave the program a few minutes to open the configuration file. When it finally did, I was greeted with an error message that read: “Bitcoin will not run on this system.”
At first I thought I had done something wrong, but after double-checking the code and configuration files, I realized that Ethereum (the blockchain platform) will not run on macOS in its current form. The problem is due to compatibility issues with the operating system.
Why Bitcoin won’t run on macOS
Bitcoin is designed to be a decentralized, open-source platform that can run on multiple platforms, including Windows and Linux. However, when it comes to macOS, Ethereum’s codebase has some fundamental design decisions that make it incompatible with Apple’s operating system.
One of the main reasons is that macOS requires a specific type of kernel architecture that Bitcoin needs to function properly. This requirement is related to its underlying cryptographic algorithms and digital signatures, which are not supported on macOS.
Another problem is that the Ethereum framework uses a proprietary memory management system called “gyp” (Git-Yield Protection), which is optimized for Linux-based systems but is not suitable for macOS. The gyp system is responsible for managing the block production process and validating transactions, but it requires a specific set of APIs and libraries that are not available on macOS.
What to do next
While Ethereum cannot run directly on macOS, there are some workarounds and alternatives:
- Compile from source: If you want to try to install Ethereum on your Mac, you can compile the code from source using tools like
makeandcmake. This will give you the option to choose which platform components you want to include or exclude.
- Use a different cryptocurrency: There are other cryptocurrencies that work on macOS, such as Bitcoin Core (the same software you downloaded) on Windows.
- Consider alternative platforms: Ethereum is developed in the Go programming language and can be used on multiple platforms, including Linux, Windows, and even mobile devices.