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Fascinating how many questions / comments in this thread question if crypto currency macro even has a use case in this world. And for good reason. Is it a cur

Fascinating how many questions / comments in this thread question if crypto currency macro even has a use case in this world. And for good reason. Is it a currency? Yes and no. Is it a store of value? Yes and no but sure is volatile. Is primary use case illegal transactions? Definitely, sometimes. Is it a anarchist mechanism to shelter wealth and detach from any nation state? Yes absolutely, probably most of the China money that drove the last price bump was getting cash out of China. Is it a pyramid scheme? Absolutely in many cases, ICOs are making this way easier. The answer I've arrived at, and why I am compelled by crypto is that in each use case above it has the potential to be the BIGGEST, at a scale never recognized before. EG Crypto could be the biggest currency. All it takes is adoption and figuring out scaling. Way easier to transact in a flat-world with a portable currency. Crypto could be the biggest store of value. The beautiful math behind bitcoin (and others) is self-limiting creating real scarcity. With mass adoption will come stability. Crypto could drive the majority of illegal transactions. If they figure out privacy more completely it's the perfect mechanism. Crypto could become the "people's" wealth vault, and undercut nations ability to tax & control markets by truly privatizing wealth. All it takes is MOST of us to decide. And finally, because it's entertaining to think about, Crypto could drive the biggest pyramid scheme the world has ever seen. There is absolutely no SOFTWARE of structural limitation to running a $1 trillion dollar end game pyramid on Crypto. In fact you figure out the privacy side, add in mass adoption and you could just leverage the current ICO structure for it. I love crypto because it's boundless. You have to have some imagination and blind faith to believe any of the use cases above will become true. But the fun part is there is no limiter on any of those things becoming true.

tenaciousDaniel 9y ago
Exactly. Though I think that so many people having invested so much money at such an early stage in this technology's development is the reason why the scrutiny is off the charts. Everyone, from naysayers to evangelists, need to cool off a bit and realize that this stuff is brand new. I'm 110% confident that cryptocurrency in general will yield some very interesting things in the next few decades. But I'm 0% confident that anyone today has a grasp on what those things will be specifically. We should all just be having fun with it and seeing what we can make.
- sp527 9y ago
  What's weird is how often I see this argument and how loudly it contrasts with the speed of software development and the variety of preposterous things already being attempted in the space.
slg 9y ago
You say that like most of these things are good? I wouldn't consider boundless tax evasion or a boundless pyramid scheme "the fun part".
- aresant 9y ago
  I am illustrating use cases, not advocating - I think my excitement about the tech was poorly communicated as excitement for the chaos. But the minute you realize the use case around privatization of global wealth / taxes and/or pyramiding you can begin to underwrite its probability. I think mass adoption - tied to the use cases I illustrate - has a high probability because people act primarily in their self interests. Crypto is pretty neatly aligned with self interest. Until we devolve into total anarchy of course ;)
utexaspunk 9y ago
>And finally, because it's entertaining to think about, Crypto could drive the biggest pyramid scheme the world has ever seen. There is absolutely no SOFTWARE of structural limitation to running a $1 trillion dollar end game pyramid on Crypto. In fact you figure out the privacy side, add in mass adoption and you could just leverage the current ICO structure for it. Couldn't Crypto itself be the big pyramid scheme? It might never get adopted enough to become the defacto currency (can you imagine the gov't accepting BTC for tax payments?). In the meantime the SEC, or Congress, or maybe some big, multilateral "anti-money laundering" international agreement might do something that threatens it enough to start a run on the "bank", driving the exchange rate to nothing. Those who bought a ton a long time ago and who since cashed out would then be the winners. No?
- __s 9y ago
  The biggest pyramid scheme is the fed

tenaciousDaniel 9y ago

Exactly. Though I think that so many people having invested so much money at such an early stage in this technology's development is the reason why the scrutiny is off the charts. Everyone, from naysayers to evangelists, need to cool off a bit and realize that this stuff is brand new. I'm 110% confident that cryptocurrency in general will yield some very interesting things in the next few decades. But I'm 0% confident that anyone today has a grasp on what those things will be specifically. We should all just be having fun with it and seeing what we can make.

sp527 9y ago
What's weird is how often I see this argument and how loudly it contrasts with the speed of software development and the variety of preposterous things already being attempted in the space.

slg 9y ago

You say that like most of these things are good? I wouldn't consider boundless tax evasion or a boundless pyramid scheme "the fun part".

aresant 9y ago
I am illustrating use cases, not advocating - I think my excitement about the tech was poorly communicated as excitement for the chaos. But the minute you realize the use case around privatization of global wealth / taxes and/or pyramiding you can begin to underwrite its probability. I think mass adoption - tied to the use cases I illustrate - has a high probability because people act primarily in their self interests. Crypto is pretty neatly aligned with self interest. Until we devolve into total anarchy of course ;)

utexaspunk 9y ago

>And finally, because it's entertaining to think about, Crypto could drive the biggest pyramid scheme the world has ever seen. There is absolutely no SOFTWARE of structural limitation to running a $1 trillion dollar end game pyramid on Crypto. In fact you figure out the privacy side, add in mass adoption and you could just leverage the current ICO structure for it. Couldn't Crypto itself be the big pyramid scheme? It might never get adopted enough to become the defacto currency (can you imagine the gov't accepting BTC for tax payments?). In the meantime the SEC, or Congress, or maybe some big, multilateral "anti-money laundering" international agreement might do something that threatens it enough to start a run on the "bank", driving the exchange rate to nothing. Those who bought a ton a long time ago and who since cashed out would then be the winners. No?

__s 9y ago
The biggest pyramid scheme is the fed