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Paraphrasing previous comment - I get the "see cryptos are too insecure / it's a pyramid / it's a bubble / ICOs are scams / etc" arguments. But holy shit turni

Paraphrasing previous comment - I get the "see cryptos are too insecure / it's a pyramid / it's a bubble / ICOs are scams / etc" arguments. But holy shit turning a world currency into the wild west - for better or worse - is going to be disruptive, period. I can only imagine the debacles that we have to look forward to, and I say that in full support of and as a long term believer in both blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

Mahn 9y ago
It's always the wild west when a technology or medium is new, isn't it? The same could be said of the web in the nineties or facebook/mobile apps a decade ago.
- mannykannot 9y ago
  The nominal value at risk puts it in a different category.
dboreham 9y ago
There will emerge a "CryptoCurrency+ruleOfLaw" that will succeed in the evolutionary race.
- function_seven 9y ago
  All Ethereum contracts will incorporate the entirety of the relevant national, state, and local laws into their code.
  - serhei 9y ago
    I certainly don't look forward to auditing a Solidity contract with the complexity of the federal tax code.
ZedDogX 9y ago
Well, the coins have to come out of that wallet eventually, and you can trace where they go.. so.. I wonder if there will ever be any attempt by a government to extradite somebody based on stolen crypto.
- StavrosK 9y ago
  That's not the case for every cryptocurrency, though. Some are untraceable.
  - wickawic 9y ago
    At some point you have to turn your currency into something useful to you. I won't say that this is always traceable, but Bitcoin doesn't obviate the need for a fence.
    - DennisP 9y ago
      Yes but the private currencies break the linkage between transactions. You turn the currency into something useful, and that's probably traceable to you, but nobody can tell where that currency came from.
      - pyre 9y ago
        Right, but the transaction that turns Bitcoin into another currency is traceable because someone needs to claim that currency, either via ETF into a bank account or physically going to pick it up.
        DennisP 9y ago
        Absolutely, and for Bitcoin that's a big problem for a thief. But for a private currency like ZCash or Monero, nobody can tell where the coins came from. They can't prove you stole them. E.g. with one scheme, you destroy your coins and get a proof that you destroyed them. Later you can submit your proof to the blockchain and get new coins minted for you. But it's provably impossible to for anyone to figure out which coins you destroyed.
smokeyj 9y ago
Maybe we could just sticky this comment for every crypto thread. It's interesting to see the objections change over the years. It used to be "bitcoin will never last past the year" to "bitcoin will never survive the next 30 years".

Mahn 9y ago

It's always the wild west when a technology or medium is new, isn't it? The same could be said of the web in the nineties or facebook/mobile apps a decade ago.

mannykannot 9y ago
The nominal value at risk puts it in a different category.

dboreham 9y ago

There will emerge a "CryptoCurrency+ruleOfLaw" that will succeed in the evolutionary race.

function_seven 9y ago
All Ethereum contracts will incorporate the entirety of the relevant national, state, and local laws into their code.
- serhei 9y ago
  I certainly don't look forward to auditing a Solidity contract with the complexity of the federal tax code.

ZedDogX 9y ago

Well, the coins have to come out of that wallet eventually, and you can trace where they go.. so.. I wonder if there will ever be any attempt by a government to extradite somebody based on stolen crypto.

StavrosK 9y ago
That's not the case for every cryptocurrency, though. Some are untraceable.
- wickawic 9y ago
  At some point you have to turn your currency into something useful to you. I won't say that this is always traceable, but Bitcoin doesn't obviate the need for a fence.
  - DennisP 9y ago
    Yes but the private currencies break the linkage between transactions. You turn the currency into something useful, and that's probably traceable to you, but nobody can tell where that currency came from.
    - pyre 9y ago
      Right, but the transaction that turns Bitcoin into another currency is traceable because someone needs to claim that currency, either via ETF into a bank account or physically going to pick it up.
      - DennisP 9y ago
        Absolutely, and for Bitcoin that's a big problem for a thief. But for a private currency like ZCash or Monero, nobody can tell where the coins came from. They can't prove you stole them. E.g. with one scheme, you destroy your coins and get a proof that you destroyed them. Later you can submit your proof to the blockchain and get new coins minted for you. But it's provably impossible to for anyone to figure out which coins you destroyed.

smokeyj 9y ago

Maybe we could just sticky this comment for every crypto thread. It's interesting to see the objections change over the years. It used to be "bitcoin will never last past the year" to "bitcoin will never survive the next 30 years".