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Do you think that once/if crypto currencies become mainstreams, they won't be regulated just as much by shite governments ? To believe that the most fundamenta

by bsaul 9y ago

Do you think that once/if crypto currencies become mainstreams, they won't be regulated just as much by shite governments ? To believe that the most fundamental social human issues can be solved by technology is a bit of an utopia imho. Greed, lust for power, envy, etc. Those are part of human nature, i don't think they will disappear thanks to some elaborated algorithm. Unless you want algorithms to take control of social interactions (which is another kind of shite society).

grondilu 9y ago
Maybe not but even if you're right, it will push governments, or governments-approved organizations, to offer a decent alternative to what people were seeking for in the first place. Consider file sharing. When P2P came out, the video entertainment business was in a serious crisis. Arguably, platforms like Netflix came out and offered a decent legal solution. I believe governments will eventually approve a form of cryptocurrency, allowing more freedom and transparency to the way people own and exchange money. Not all features of cryptocurrencies will be available (full privacy won't be completely allowed, for instance), but most of them.
shard972 9y ago
At least for now his side is winning the arms race so he can benefit from it until that day potentially comes. Although I still think it's going to be a very long way off if western government's can't work out how to make unauthorized use of crypto illegal.
NHern031 9y ago
I agree that human nature is corrupt at its core, but the blockchain is not. Placing cryptocurrency's aside and realizing that distributed entities will allow us an attempt at curtailing the effect of these negative human qualities is what I value the most. The blockchain is a perfect example of a publicly accessible ledger that is resistant to manipulation after the fact, inherently making it a source of truth. Blockchain technology will not change the entirety of society (in our life time) but it has definitely become a catalyst for social change.
- aaron-lebo 9y ago
  Statements like this sound so religious. The blockchain is a human construct, entirely dependent on human inputs, outputs, and interpretation to have any meaning at all. As long as that's the case (and if it isn't, then it's not useful to society), it has the exact same weaknesses. It's entirely possible if not probable given enough time and enough tries at it, someone is going to find a really useful application for it. But it's hard to take statements like "catalyst for social change" seriously when its sole contribution to this point has been a new form of gambling. There's a big disconnect between what the technology is supposed to do and what's actually happening.
hal9000xp 9y ago
The governments can only slowdown cryptocurrency revolution but they can't stop it. BTC, LTC are traceable, so you can still track down owner (although it may be extremely difficult in some cases). But with technologies like zero-knowledge proof in ZCash, you have untraceable money. So at some point, when cryptocurrencies hit mainstream, you may see the situation when people start exchange goods and services directly in ZCash or Monero. I just don't see how government can shutdown this. I don't see how governments can crackdown cryptocurrencies completely. So in long term, impact of cryptocurrencies on global economy is inevitable.
- PakG1 9y ago
  The same way they investigate individuals or businesses they suspect of lying on their tax returns. Look for suspicious patterns, investigate records, reward guilty ones with fines or jail time.

by bsaul 9y ago

grondilu 9y ago

Maybe not but even if you're right, it will push governments, or governments-approved organizations, to offer a decent alternative to what people were seeking for in the first place. Consider file sharing. When P2P came out, the video entertainment business was in a serious crisis. Arguably, platforms like Netflix came out and offered a decent legal solution. I believe governments will eventually approve a form of cryptocurrency, allowing more freedom and transparency to the way people own and exchange money. Not all features of cryptocurrencies will be available (full privacy won't be completely allowed, for instance), but most of them.

shard972 9y ago

At least for now his side is winning the arms race so he can benefit from it until that day potentially comes. Although I still think it's going to be a very long way off if western government's can't work out how to make unauthorized use of crypto illegal.

NHern031 9y ago

I agree that human nature is corrupt at its core, but the blockchain is not. Placing cryptocurrency's aside and realizing that distributed entities will allow us an attempt at curtailing the effect of these negative human qualities is what I value the most. The blockchain is a perfect example of a publicly accessible ledger that is resistant to manipulation after the fact, inherently making it a source of truth. Blockchain technology will not change the entirety of society (in our life time) but it has definitely become a catalyst for social change.

aaron-lebo 9y ago
Statements like this sound so religious. The blockchain is a human construct, entirely dependent on human inputs, outputs, and interpretation to have any meaning at all. As long as that's the case (and if it isn't, then it's not useful to society), it has the exact same weaknesses. It's entirely possible if not probable given enough time and enough tries at it, someone is going to find a really useful application for it. But it's hard to take statements like "catalyst for social change" seriously when its sole contribution to this point has been a new form of gambling. There's a big disconnect between what the technology is supposed to do and what's actually happening.

hal9000xp 9y ago

The governments can only slowdown cryptocurrency revolution but they can't stop it. BTC, LTC are traceable, so you can still track down owner (although it may be extremely difficult in some cases). But with technologies like zero-knowledge proof in ZCash, you have untraceable money. So at some point, when cryptocurrencies hit mainstream, you may see the situation when people start exchange goods and services directly in ZCash or Monero. I just don't see how government can shutdown this. I don't see how governments can crackdown cryptocurrencies completely. So in long term, impact of cryptocurrencies on global economy is inevitable.

PakG1 9y ago
The same way they investigate individuals or businesses they suspect of lying on their tax returns. Look for suspicious patterns, investigate records, reward guilty ones with fines or jail time.