5 ms·

Why can't they just use a good old database, to record transactions? It is a centralized system! I guess Facebook trusts itself!

by pqs 8y ago

viach 8y ago
But do you trust Facebook? Also, regarding the "trust itself" part, it's not necessarily the case. How can one make sure database admin haven't changed some records?
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- pqs 8y ago
  I do not trust Facebook, but I trust my bank, which doesn't use cryptocurrency. I guess they use databases, with lots of controls, but a regular database nonetheless. edit: I also trust PayPal, as I use it regularly, and it doesn't use a cryptocurrency. My point is that I don't understand why Facebook would need a Cryptocurrency to allow payments. As far as I know, WeChat doesn't use cryptocurrency and is probably the main payment system of China.
  - viach 8y ago
    "My point is that I don't understand why Facebook would need a Cryptocurrency to allow payments" Let me try to explain. You trust your bank and PayPal and it's perfectly fine. But only to the point things are going ok in general. In some, say, areas, the situation is possible when you see a message on the doors and ATMs of your previously trusted for decades banks: "Sorry, no check out today". And it can long for days or even months. And your previously trusted online e-money processor can freeze your funds for whatever reason - "fraud suspect, suspicious activities, server offline". It is hard to imagine for citizens of some countries, but in my opinion, this is only matter of time when it happens. Cryptocurrency and blockchains in general are indeed highly inefficient databases and a tiny Postgres server outperform them all in Transactions Per Second, that's true. But Postgres database running on a centralized service won't give you a feeling of independence and trust the biggest cryptocurrencies can provide (sure, they are volatile in price and you need to manage your private keys etc, but still).
    - thecatspaw 8y ago
      And how is that different when facebook controls all the mining nodes?
      - viach 8y ago
        Where can I see the source of your information where it is said they will control all the mining nodes and there will be mining?
        thecatspaw 8y ago
        Admittedly, nowhere, after all this whole article is based on speculation. But I really doubt that facebook is going to release a coin which they cannot control. What is their case for creating a coin if they have no control over it?
        viach 8y ago
        They could have a roadmap to slowly distribute initial stake over the time, for example (if used PoS, which I think the most probable plan). And the case would be not to own the biggest stake and control everything, but instead having a popular cryptocurrency with APIs natively integrated with Facebook's services. It'll bring new users and developers to their platform, which has the real value.
  - wavefunction 8y ago
    I don't know who your back is but they may be using Ripple for intra-bank settlement.
swift532 8y ago
They'll do something that amounts to pretty much the same thing.
sanedigital 8y ago
Because then they don't get to put out press releases with "cryptocurrency" in the title, thus missing out on the opportunity to raise their stock price via the game of Buzzword Bingo.
- hndamien 8y ago
  They missed their Ice Tea window for this.
HALtheWise 8y ago
1. Facebook definitely doesn't have full and complete trust in their own systems, they are vulnerable to hacking, downtime, and mistakes just like any other service, and they know it. This is the same reason companies release messaging products with end to end encryption. 2. A traditional centralized database doesn't allow offline transactions with any degree of trust. I don't know if this is a problem they are solving, but in principle, something with a blockchain-like architecture makes it possible to provide cryptographic proof that you have the money and intend to transfer it without any server round trip and still be secure against many kinds of attacks.

Why can't they just use a good old database, to record transactions? It is a centralized system! I guess Facebook trusts itself!

by pqs 8y ago

Why can't they just use a good old database, to record transactions? It is a centralized system! I guess Facebook trusts itself!

viach 8y ago

But do you trust Facebook? Also, regarding the "trust itself" part, it's not necessarily the case. How can one make sure database admin haven't changed some records?

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
pqs 8y ago
I do not trust Facebook, but I trust my bank, which doesn't use cryptocurrency. I guess they use databases, with lots of controls, but a regular database nonetheless. edit: I also trust PayPal, as I use it regularly, and it doesn't use a cryptocurrency. My point is that I don't understand why Facebook would need a Cryptocurrency to allow payments. As far as I know, WeChat doesn't use cryptocurrency and is probably the main payment system of China.
- viach 8y ago
  "My point is that I don't understand why Facebook would need a Cryptocurrency to allow payments" Let me try to explain. You trust your bank and PayPal and it's perfectly fine. But only to the point things are going ok in general. In some, say, areas, the situation is possible when you see a message on the doors and ATMs of your previously trusted for decades banks: "Sorry, no check out today". And it can long for days or even months. And your previously trusted online e-money processor can freeze your funds for whatever reason - "fraud suspect, suspicious activities, server offline". It is hard to imagine for citizens of some countries, but in my opinion, this is only matter of time when it happens. Cryptocurrency and blockchains in general are indeed highly inefficient databases and a tiny Postgres server outperform them all in Transactions Per Second, that's true. But Postgres database running on a centralized service won't give you a feeling of independence and trust the biggest cryptocurrencies can provide (sure, they are volatile in price and you need to manage your private keys etc, but still).
  - thecatspaw 8y ago
    And how is that different when facebook controls all the mining nodes?
    - viach 8y ago
      Where can I see the source of your information where it is said they will control all the mining nodes and there will be mining?
      - thecatspaw 8y ago
        Admittedly, nowhere, after all this whole article is based on speculation. But I really doubt that facebook is going to release a coin which they cannot control. What is their case for creating a coin if they have no control over it?
        viach 8y ago
        They could have a roadmap to slowly distribute initial stake over the time, for example (if used PoS, which I think the most probable plan). And the case would be not to own the biggest stake and control everything, but instead having a popular cryptocurrency with APIs natively integrated with Facebook's services. It'll bring new users and developers to their platform, which has the real value.
- wavefunction 8y ago
  I don't know who your back is but they may be using Ripple for intra-bank settlement.

swift532 8y ago

They'll do something that amounts to pretty much the same thing.

sanedigital 8y ago

Because then they don't get to put out press releases with "cryptocurrency" in the title, thus missing out on the opportunity to raise their stock price via the game of Buzzword Bingo.

hndamien 8y ago
They missed their Ice Tea window for this.

HALtheWise 8y ago

1. Facebook definitely doesn't have full and complete trust in their own systems, they are vulnerable to hacking, downtime, and mistakes just like any other service, and they know it. This is the same reason companies release messaging products with end to end encryption. 2. A traditional centralized database doesn't allow offline transactions with any degree of trust. I don't know if this is a problem they are solving, but in principle, something with a blockchain-like architecture makes it possible to provide cryptographic proof that you have the money and intend to transfer it without any server round trip and still be secure against many kinds of attacks.