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So a cryptocurrency that is more currency than crypto? Again, back to the argument that the market is the same as in-game currency, store gift cards, Chuck-E-Ch

So a cryptocurrency that is more currency than crypto? Again, back to the argument that the market is the same as in-game currency, store gift cards, Chuck-E-Cheese tokens, etc. Let's be honest, most of the hype around cryptocurrency is for speculation and not as a legitimate means of exchange. Normal money works fine for means-of-exchange barring a few exceptions e.g. capital flight, money laundering, generally escaping regulation so the only value left is hype.

derefr 7y ago
People are using the wrong term here. Stablecoins (what Facebook has made here) aren’t cryptocurrencies in-and-of themselves; they’re systems that expose regular fiat currency to smart contracts, so that you can pass e.g. “5USD” from one contract to another without it losing value; or so that exchanges don’t all have to have their own relationships with physical payment-processors and banks, instead just allowing you to “buy in” and “cash out” in stablecoin assets, which you can then take to some other service to trade for physical dollars. As such, stablecoins have entirely different requirements and properties than regular cryptocurrencies; for one, you usually want one big well-known entity backing them, because for the stablecoin to be stable, someone needs to back the coin with liquidity. “Liquidity” is something Facebook obviously has more of than most others, so they’re an obvious party to build a stablecoin. (Really, though, the best stablecoin for USD, would actually be run by the US government. There’s no reason for them not to do so, and no reason for people to reject them doing so. One could even interpret running a wrapped-USD stablecoin on any popular-in-the-US blockchain as being an obligation of the US Mint, given their mission. They’re currently failing to “print money” for these US markets!)
- opportune 7y ago
  Or more cynically, stablecoins are fiat wrappers that people hope will trick regulators into not applying financial regulations to them.
- DonHopkins 7y ago
  You don't have to worry about the liquidity of Santorumcoin. Since it's water based, it will always flow smoothly, because Cathio will "provides the tools necessary to increase donations and connect with both local and global Catholic communities" to maintain a large frothy supply. https://gizmodo.com/rick-santorum-is-a-cryptocurrency-guy-now-apparently-1835434339 https://gizmodo.com/rick-santorum-is-a-cryptocurrency-guy-no...
buboard 7y ago
What about people being excluded from payment controllers and banks because they are adult sites / fringe ideologies / whatever paypal’s terms disallow?

derefr 7y ago

People are using the wrong term here. Stablecoins (what Facebook has made here) aren’t cryptocurrencies in-and-of themselves; they’re systems that expose regular fiat currency to smart contracts, so that you can pass e.g. “5USD” from one contract to another without it losing value; or so that exchanges don’t all have to have their own relationships with physical payment-processors and banks, instead just allowing you to “buy in” and “cash out” in stablecoin assets, which you can then take to some other service to trade for physical dollars. As such, stablecoins have entirely different requirements and properties than regular cryptocurrencies; for one, you usually want one big well-known entity backing them, because for the stablecoin to be stable, someone needs to back the coin with liquidity. “Liquidity” is something Facebook obviously has more of than most others, so they’re an obvious party to build a stablecoin. (Really, though, the best stablecoin for USD, would actually be run by the US government. There’s no reason for them not to do so, and no reason for people to reject them doing so. One could even interpret running a wrapped-USD stablecoin on any popular-in-the-US blockchain as being an obligation of the US Mint, given their mission. They’re currently failing to “print money” for these US markets!)

opportune 7y ago
Or more cynically, stablecoins are fiat wrappers that people hope will trick regulators into not applying financial regulations to them.
DonHopkins 7y ago
You don't have to worry about the liquidity of Santorumcoin. Since it's water based, it will always flow smoothly, because Cathio will "provides the tools necessary to increase donations and connect with both local and global Catholic communities" to maintain a large frothy supply. https://gizmodo.com/rick-santorum-is-a-cryptocurrency-guy-now-apparently-1835434339 https://gizmodo.com/rick-santorum-is-a-cryptocurrency-guy-no...

buboard 7y ago

What about people being excluded from payment controllers and banks because they are adult sites / fringe ideologies / whatever paypal’s terms disallow?