3 ms·

Blockchain is a fractional reserve system which can be used as a payment layer. That's it. The whole point of blockchain tech is to create hype and incentivise

Blockchain is a fractional reserve system which can be used as a payment layer. That's it. The whole point of blockchain tech is to create hype and incentivise collaboration towards a shared financially beneficial goal. Saying that blockchain has no use cases is like saying that money has no use cases. It incentivizes, it corrupts, it buys loyalties, it buys positive news coverage - These are the most important use cases of all and blockchain is great at that. Potential value is real value, even speculative value is real value. People should not diregard the benefits of Blockchain any more than they should disregard the benefits of VC money. They're both mechanisms of mass collaborative incentivization and corruption. The only way to beat corruption is by democratizing it so that anyone can do it.

Zaskoda 8y ago
I believe you are saying "blockchain" here when what you are meaning is "cryptocurrency" such as Bitcoin.
- jondubois 8y ago
  My implicit point is that it's like trying to make the distinction between money and currency. There is a difference but since currency is basically the only meaningful use case for money, it doesn't really matter.
UncleEntity 8y ago
> Blockchain is a fractional reserve system... I'd argue that it is the opposite since you can't receive 1 bitcoin and produce 10 bitcoins through the magic of a fractional reserve system (unless, of course, you run one of the exchanges and keep the transactions local). If you have 1 bitcoin you can only spend/loan/destroy 1 bitcoin as the blockchain prevents double spending.
- jondubois 8y ago
  But it's a fractional reserve system with respect to fiat currency. The price of Bitcoin is supported only by a fraction of its market cap in real fiat money. If everyone decided to sell all Bitcoins in existence on the open market, the total amount of fiat that they would get for it would not match the total market cap of all Bitcoins before the selloff started.
  - UncleEntity 8y ago
    That's not really the way fractional reserve works but merely the result of normal market pricing through supply and demand.

Zaskoda 8y ago

I believe you are saying "blockchain" here when what you are meaning is "cryptocurrency" such as Bitcoin.

jondubois 8y ago
My implicit point is that it's like trying to make the distinction between money and currency. There is a difference but since currency is basically the only meaningful use case for money, it doesn't really matter.

UncleEntity 8y ago

> Blockchain is a fractional reserve system... I'd argue that it is the opposite since you can't receive 1 bitcoin and produce 10 bitcoins through the magic of a fractional reserve system (unless, of course, you run one of the exchanges and keep the transactions local). If you have 1 bitcoin you can only spend/loan/destroy 1 bitcoin as the blockchain prevents double spending.

jondubois 8y ago
But it's a fractional reserve system with respect to fiat currency. The price of Bitcoin is supported only by a fraction of its market cap in real fiat money. If everyone decided to sell all Bitcoins in existence on the open market, the total amount of fiat that they would get for it would not match the total market cap of all Bitcoins before the selloff started.
- UncleEntity 8y ago
  That's not really the way fractional reserve works but merely the result of normal market pricing through supply and demand.