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Some of the negativity about Bitcoin in particular is around the relative lack of utility of the actual network, and how this usefulness hasn’t grown with the p

Some of the negativity about Bitcoin in particular is around the relative lack of utility of the actual network, and how this usefulness hasn’t grown with the price. Currently, Bitcoin Core (the dominant fork still) has ridiculously large transaction fees (sometimes averaging over $20 for a given day) and transactions can take hours or days. There’s also some contention because Bitcoin Cash (the other fork of Bitcoin) is in a lot of ways closer to the original design of Bitcoin (“peer-to-peer cash”), but is having to fight for the name “Bitcoin”.

asenna 9y ago
I agree, Bitcoin being the largest has a lot of issues with governance and the community not being able to move fast on the scaling issues. I'm not too familiar with the core team's development plans but there's a lot of scaling work and research going on with Ethereum and Litecoin, etc and eventually I'm sure whatever works would flow into Bitcoin as well. I think having the first-mover advantage and name recognition, the network effect that it has right now and the global media's attention, it looks really difficult for a smaller coin with better tech overtaking BTC anytime soon. We've all seen technologies that are more advanced than an established player in a field but a lot of times, that does not matter. That's what I believe at least for the short to mid-term timeline.
- ace_of_spades 9y ago
  Yeah, so what can we do to change this? First step, don‘t buy into the hype and advocate against bitcoin at every step. People need to know that bitcoin as a technology is not what we need and will die hopefully sooner rather than later.
MadSudaca 9y ago
There are many other cryptocurrencies. It's a well known fact that Bitcoin is probably one the worst ones at the moment. Its hopes rest on the core team's ability to provide an effective solution to the scaling problem, and so far their track record leaves much to be desired. Meanwhile there are new coins based on new protocols emerging, some showing a lot of promise.
prawn 9y ago
The negativity often seems to go beyond reasonable criticism and delve into spite. As another commenter suggested, I suspect a bit of jealousy is at play and it wouldn't surprise me if a few spiteful commenters wouldn't discuss the shortcomings in a much different way if they held Bitcoin. Obviously, there is more than enough happy-clapping on the side of speculators to balance everything out, but I do wish the conversation more often found a practical mid-ground.
- spookthesunset 9y ago
  > I do wish the conversation more often found a practical mid-ground. There isn't much middle ground. Bitcoin has proven to do a horrible job at just about every single thing it was originally marketed as. It isn't free, it isn't instant, it isn't permissionless, it isn't anonymous, it isn't secure, and it isn't decentralized. The only thing bitcoin has going for it is the price, which is more likely than not fueled largely by exchanges pulling funny business.
- ace_of_spades 9y ago
  You actually hit the nail on the head but come away with a different conclusion than me... People do discuss Bitcoin differently depending on whether they have bought in or not. But the dangerous effect is the opposite of what you aluded to. People attached to bitcoin who have money on the line engage in acrobatic brain gymnastics to find ways to rationalize the value of it because they desperately want their gains to be real. At the moment they simply aren‘t. Bitcoin has failed it‘s initial mission, it‘s impractical and people just speculate that somehow things might change in the future. It‘s just a mind game right now. So your mid-ground would require me to accept that there is some value in the speculation regarding bitcoin which is a tough sell. It‘s mostly greed and people will be hurt by it at some point. Let‘s stop before it gets to messy!

asenna 9y ago

I agree, Bitcoin being the largest has a lot of issues with governance and the community not being able to move fast on the scaling issues. I'm not too familiar with the core team's development plans but there's a lot of scaling work and research going on with Ethereum and Litecoin, etc and eventually I'm sure whatever works would flow into Bitcoin as well. I think having the first-mover advantage and name recognition, the network effect that it has right now and the global media's attention, it looks really difficult for a smaller coin with better tech overtaking BTC anytime soon. We've all seen technologies that are more advanced than an established player in a field but a lot of times, that does not matter. That's what I believe at least for the short to mid-term timeline.

ace_of_spades 9y ago
Yeah, so what can we do to change this? First step, don‘t buy into the hype and advocate against bitcoin at every step. People need to know that bitcoin as a technology is not what we need and will die hopefully sooner rather than later.

MadSudaca 9y ago

There are many other cryptocurrencies. It's a well known fact that Bitcoin is probably one the worst ones at the moment. Its hopes rest on the core team's ability to provide an effective solution to the scaling problem, and so far their track record leaves much to be desired. Meanwhile there are new coins based on new protocols emerging, some showing a lot of promise.

prawn 9y ago

The negativity often seems to go beyond reasonable criticism and delve into spite. As another commenter suggested, I suspect a bit of jealousy is at play and it wouldn't surprise me if a few spiteful commenters wouldn't discuss the shortcomings in a much different way if they held Bitcoin. Obviously, there is more than enough happy-clapping on the side of speculators to balance everything out, but I do wish the conversation more often found a practical mid-ground.

spookthesunset 9y ago
> I do wish the conversation more often found a practical mid-ground. There isn't much middle ground. Bitcoin has proven to do a horrible job at just about every single thing it was originally marketed as. It isn't free, it isn't instant, it isn't permissionless, it isn't anonymous, it isn't secure, and it isn't decentralized. The only thing bitcoin has going for it is the price, which is more likely than not fueled largely by exchanges pulling funny business.
ace_of_spades 9y ago
You actually hit the nail on the head but come away with a different conclusion than me... People do discuss Bitcoin differently depending on whether they have bought in or not. But the dangerous effect is the opposite of what you aluded to. People attached to bitcoin who have money on the line engage in acrobatic brain gymnastics to find ways to rationalize the value of it because they desperately want their gains to be real. At the moment they simply aren‘t. Bitcoin has failed it‘s initial mission, it‘s impractical and people just speculate that somehow things might change in the future. It‘s just a mind game right now. So your mid-ground would require me to accept that there is some value in the speculation regarding bitcoin which is a tough sell. It‘s mostly greed and people will be hurt by it at some point. Let‘s stop before it gets to messy!