6 ms·

really? you can't rely on others good will, your money should be cryptographically secure and require you to send it instead of anyone with a number being able

really? you can't rely on others good will, your money should be cryptographically secure and require you to send it instead of anyone with a number being able to pull your money. its like having an API with no login or password on it. I totally agree with your previous comments on the EFF and peoples right to privacy and secure data. Shouldn't this extend to their money as well?

mulmen 9y ago
I'm only commenting on the context here. Your comment seemed to suggest that this decision was made due to the amount of fraud in the credit card industry. I don't think the article supports that position. I do think this article makes some good points about the current dangers of the cryptocurrency market, especially for credit card operators. To answer your question: Yes, I do think people deserve privacy and security in their personal finances. I'm not convinced that cryptocurrencies provide this. My reservations come mostly from the apparent (and I believe historically obvious) instability of an unregulated financial market.
PeterisP 9y ago
If you can't rely on others' goodwill, then for any purchases you need a solid mechanism to ensure that you can reverse the transaction if you get cheated. Credit cards provide such a system, pure cryptocurrencies ("code is law") do not - for that you need at least a cryptocurrency plus a trusted escrow system, and even that doesn't give you equivalent protection since non-escrow payments are still possible, allowing you to lose your money if hacked. Credit cards isn't a system where "anyone with a number being able to pull your money" - merchants can ask for that money, but they're not certain to get it, you can veto that transaction, you'll get it reversed (with legal guarantees) if its fraudulent, and you can get it reversed if you were sold goods that aren't what you were promised. Not so with crypto, where once you send it to someone for whatever technical reason (including a compromised number) it's gone.

mulmen 9y ago

I'm only commenting on the context here. Your comment seemed to suggest that this decision was made due to the amount of fraud in the credit card industry. I don't think the article supports that position. I do think this article makes some good points about the current dangers of the cryptocurrency market, especially for credit card operators. To answer your question: Yes, I do think people deserve privacy and security in their personal finances. I'm not convinced that cryptocurrencies provide this. My reservations come mostly from the apparent (and I believe historically obvious) instability of an unregulated financial market.

PeterisP 9y ago

If you can't rely on others' goodwill, then for any purchases you need a solid mechanism to ensure that you can reverse the transaction if you get cheated. Credit cards provide such a system, pure cryptocurrencies ("code is law") do not - for that you need at least a cryptocurrency plus a trusted escrow system, and even that doesn't give you equivalent protection since non-escrow payments are still possible, allowing you to lose your money if hacked. Credit cards isn't a system where "anyone with a number being able to pull your money" - merchants can ask for that money, but they're not certain to get it, you can veto that transaction, you'll get it reversed (with legal guarantees) if its fraudulent, and you can get it reversed if you were sold goods that aren't what you were promised. Not so with crypto, where once you send it to someone for whatever technical reason (including a compromised number) it's gone.