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> The other main reason is that you want to avoid banks and government, which is certainly a smell that you may be a criminal. These benefits aren't for people

> The other main reason is that you want to avoid banks and government, which is certainly a smell that you may be a criminal. These benefits aren't for people who are honest. It is saddening that this argument is used even on HN. That's equivalent to the old "You don't need privacy if you got nothing to hide". Examples as in Cyprus [1] prove that you should always be careful when trusting banks or any centralized system. Your line of argument is very common among representatives of banks, governments or people who are simply uneducated on the subject. Or a combination thereof. http://www.businessinsider.com/r-amid-fears-of-greek-controls-cyprus-shows-restrictions-are-bearable-2015-6 http://www.businessinsider.com/r-amid-fears-of-greek-control...

haburka 9y ago
It's not at all like "you don't need privacy if you've got nothing to hide." It's more like "don't install that library, we can just write a 10 line function." Someone who doesn't want to avoid the law is not going to get any of the benefits of using a cryptocurrency. It's a solution where the main use case is enabling people to make currency transactions outside the jurisdiction of banks. I think there are some good use cases for it, like if a currency is unreliable due to corrupt government or inflation. However, the people who get the most use out of it is certainly ransom ware coders, people who distribute illicit goods like drugs and child pornography and finally libertarians that want to make themselves sound clever at a party.
- sunshiney 9y ago
  Do you own a business? Or..have you? Are you familiar with the advantages for legal and ethical businesses from blockchain?
  - haburka 9y ago
    No I am not familiar with any advantages from using cryptocurrency as a business. I only know that you can avoid PayPal fees by using Bitcoin, but this also means that the customer has no protection of you don't deliver the product.
- tbugrara 9y ago
  The biggest benefit is precisely to make transactions outside of banks and governments because although they may be trusted now, there is no guarantee they will be in the future. And we collect money just to prepare for the future. Yes, if I was honest, governments were honest, banks were honest, and thieves were honest, decentralized currencies wouldn't be important. > and finally libertarians that want to make themselves sound clever at a party Even mentioning something like this gives me the impression you just sound bitter about cryptocurrencies in general
- clarky07 9y ago
  there are many many benefits to blockchains and cryptocurrencies that aren't covered by things being illegal. For one, when I try to transfer money between banks it takes like a week. When I transfer ether it takes 15 seconds. If you'd like, I'm happy to provide a longer list of more examples, but illegal activities are far from the only reason to use cryptocurrency.

haburka 9y ago

It's not at all like "you don't need privacy if you've got nothing to hide." It's more like "don't install that library, we can just write a 10 line function." Someone who doesn't want to avoid the law is not going to get any of the benefits of using a cryptocurrency. It's a solution where the main use case is enabling people to make currency transactions outside the jurisdiction of banks. I think there are some good use cases for it, like if a currency is unreliable due to corrupt government or inflation. However, the people who get the most use out of it is certainly ransom ware coders, people who distribute illicit goods like drugs and child pornography and finally libertarians that want to make themselves sound clever at a party.

sunshiney 9y ago
Do you own a business? Or..have you? Are you familiar with the advantages for legal and ethical businesses from blockchain?
- haburka 9y ago
  No I am not familiar with any advantages from using cryptocurrency as a business. I only know that you can avoid PayPal fees by using Bitcoin, but this also means that the customer has no protection of you don't deliver the product.
tbugrara 9y ago
The biggest benefit is precisely to make transactions outside of banks and governments because although they may be trusted now, there is no guarantee they will be in the future. And we collect money just to prepare for the future. Yes, if I was honest, governments were honest, banks were honest, and thieves were honest, decentralized currencies wouldn't be important. > and finally libertarians that want to make themselves sound clever at a party Even mentioning something like this gives me the impression you just sound bitter about cryptocurrencies in general
clarky07 9y ago
there are many many benefits to blockchains and cryptocurrencies that aren't covered by things being illegal. For one, when I try to transfer money between banks it takes like a week. When I transfer ether it takes 15 seconds. If you'd like, I'm happy to provide a longer list of more examples, but illegal activities are far from the only reason to use cryptocurrency.