3 ms·
The main use case for block chains is quite obviously to skirt government regulation: black markets, unregulated securities and quasi-securities, etc. A seconda
by api 8y ago
The main use case for block chains is quite obviously to skirt government regulation: black markets, unregulated securities and quasi-securities, etc. A secondary and related use case is to avoid the hassle and complexity of old fashioned equity and other fund raising constructs and to make easier international wire transfers.
Putting ethical concerns aside: these are very large market segments. Cryptocurrencies may be overvalued but there's definitely a real use case. It's just not a use case that governments, banks, or conventional VCs like.
I feel like all the claims to the effect that cryptocurrencies have no use case are ignoring the obvious.
- imesh 8y agoIgnoring tax evasion and other white collar crimes, selling drugs alone is a $36 trillion dollar a year industry.
- api 8y agoWe're probably entering an era when enforcement of these kinds of laws will be either impossible or will require draconian surveillance and extreme penalties. Anything short of "iron fist" enforcement will be skirted easily using cryptography, darknets, etc.
- gehwartzen 8y agoI think maybe you mean billion. The Gross World Product is around 78T USD.
- arisAlexis 8y agothe main argument of Blockchain since its a public ledger is totally the opposite. total transparency in government, voting, public expenses etc.
- jonhendry18 8y agoIt need not be a public ledger. I'd think it'd be simple enough to limit access to an intranet.
- arisAlexis 8y agoyou mean people should trust the intranet of Putin during the elections something like that?
- perl4ever 8y agoAlso, don't forget countries with draconian currency controls, like Venezuela, produce demand for money transfers even if difficult and expensive. And I think the hidden story of the "war against terrorism" has probably been a sustained effort to crack down on informal money transfers, and something like cryptocurrency is an inevitable response to the decline of traditional methods.
- godelski 8y agoI thought the main use case was gambling. Specifically volatility trading.