4 ms·

I'm fairly anti-crypto, but there are a couple items in favor of #1: - A currency outside of traditional governments would theoretically be free of currency ma

I'm fairly anti-crypto, but there are a couple items in favor of #1: - A currency outside of traditional governments would theoretically be free of currency manipulation by those governments (ex. China and the Yuan) - An international currency can sidestep the artificial middleman fees and friction caused by traditional monetary exchanges. Ex. my friend who is currently studying in Japan wanted to get some money from her US bank account to Japan to pay for tuition and not only had to wait for banks to be open, but also had to pay exchange and transfer fees. - This one doesn't necessarily require an independent currency, but crypto also theoretically enables the fabled land of online micro-tipping for content creators, publishers, etc.

astrange 7y ago
> - A currency outside of traditional governments would theoretically be free of currency manipulation by those governments (ex. China and the Yuan) You can't live your life outside your country's currency though. It has a built-in demand because you have to pay taxes in it. So you're going to have to buy some of it somewhere. > - An international currency can sidestep the artificial middleman fees and friction caused by traditional monetary exchanges. Ex. my friend who is currently studying in Japan wanted to get some money from her US bank account to Japan to pay for tuition and not only had to wait for banks to be open, but also had to pay exchange and transfer fees. Try TransferWise.
- vageli 7y ago
  > > - A currency outside of traditional governments would theoretically be free of currency manipulation by those governments (ex. China and the Yuan) > You can't live your life outside your country's currency though. It has a built-in demand because you have to pay taxes in it. So you're going to have to buy some of it somewhere. Yes but then you can shop around for conversion and can keep the majority of your liquidity in a vehicle which is less easily manipulated but just as fungible (I am just arguing about the utility of a global, trans-national currency and not speaking to specifics offered by the Facebook coin specifically). Currently, if you want to hedge against the Yuan but still want to buy goods in China, you don't have many choices. But if vendors accepted some other currency in addition to Yuan, you can convert to Yuan to settle debts with your government and keep your holdings liquid elsewhere.
- aianus 7y ago
  > Try TransferWise. TransferWise doesn't work any faster than SWIFT -- if anything it's usually slower. They don't have any magic way to put money into your account on a "bank holiday" either. I imagine Libra won't take Sundays off, at least.
  - astrange 7y ago
    Yeah, but it's a lot cheaper. Japanese banks are happy to take more than Sundays off anyway - some of them don't have 24/7 ATMs.
    - CaptainZapp 7y ago
      > some of them don't have 24/7 ATMs. And a lot (if not most) of them will not accept foreign cards, even if the ATM is accessible. 7/11 to the rescue, however.
semi-extrinsic 7y ago
> - A currency outside of traditional governments would theoretically be free of currency manipulation by those governments (ex. China and the Yuan) As long as these three points are true: a) the notion of a stablecoin means stable relative to one selected fiat currency, b) the goods you are selling or purchasing are priced both in your local currency (which may or may not be the stablecoin peg) and the stablecoin, and c) that governments can still manipulate the ordinary currencies, then I don't see how you can be free from government manipulation.
- thrav 7y ago
  In the article, they mention that the price is pegged against 3 currencies (think they said: USD, JPY, EUR)
  - markphip 7y ago
    You want to buy a product and the seller will accept the coin. The price/value of the coin is totally going to be determined by the seller and what they will accept for the product they are selling. Perhaps if you are in the US or EU and buying an automobile the price will be fairly stable/predictable but if you are in India or China and wanting to buy something from a local vendor the price/value is what the seller will accept.
  - semi-extrinsic 7y ago
    Well, you are still sensitive to manipulation in any of those three, and the governments in question are political allies. FWIW, the EUR/JPY and USD/JPY pairs are historically highly correlated.
liminal18 7y ago
being free of Government manipulation while desirable also has drawbacks as a corporate owned currency means it would be subject to corporate manipulation. Think Kong Bucks. Basically, corporate currencies mean not only do you shop at the company store, but you use their money too. I think the original premise of a government less people's coin via bitcoin is a better idea as it means the population takes responsibility for their currency.

astrange 7y ago

> - A currency outside of traditional governments would theoretically be free of currency manipulation by those governments (ex. China and the Yuan) You can't live your life outside your country's currency though. It has a built-in demand because you have to pay taxes in it. So you're going to have to buy some of it somewhere. > - An international currency can sidestep the artificial middleman fees and friction caused by traditional monetary exchanges. Ex. my friend who is currently studying in Japan wanted to get some money from her US bank account to Japan to pay for tuition and not only had to wait for banks to be open, but also had to pay exchange and transfer fees. Try TransferWise.

vageli 7y ago
> > - A currency outside of traditional governments would theoretically be free of currency manipulation by those governments (ex. China and the Yuan) > You can't live your life outside your country's currency though. It has a built-in demand because you have to pay taxes in it. So you're going to have to buy some of it somewhere. Yes but then you can shop around for conversion and can keep the majority of your liquidity in a vehicle which is less easily manipulated but just as fungible (I am just arguing about the utility of a global, trans-national currency and not speaking to specifics offered by the Facebook coin specifically). Currently, if you want to hedge against the Yuan but still want to buy goods in China, you don't have many choices. But if vendors accepted some other currency in addition to Yuan, you can convert to Yuan to settle debts with your government and keep your holdings liquid elsewhere.
aianus 7y ago
> Try TransferWise. TransferWise doesn't work any faster than SWIFT -- if anything it's usually slower. They don't have any magic way to put money into your account on a "bank holiday" either. I imagine Libra won't take Sundays off, at least.
- astrange 7y ago
  Yeah, but it's a lot cheaper. Japanese banks are happy to take more than Sundays off anyway - some of them don't have 24/7 ATMs.
  - CaptainZapp 7y ago
    > some of them don't have 24/7 ATMs. And a lot (if not most) of them will not accept foreign cards, even if the ATM is accessible. 7/11 to the rescue, however.

semi-extrinsic 7y ago

> - A currency outside of traditional governments would theoretically be free of currency manipulation by those governments (ex. China and the Yuan) As long as these three points are true: a) the notion of a stablecoin means stable relative to one selected fiat currency, b) the goods you are selling or purchasing are priced both in your local currency (which may or may not be the stablecoin peg) and the stablecoin, and c) that governments can still manipulate the ordinary currencies, then I don't see how you can be free from government manipulation.

thrav 7y ago
In the article, they mention that the price is pegged against 3 currencies (think they said: USD, JPY, EUR)
- markphip 7y ago
  You want to buy a product and the seller will accept the coin. The price/value of the coin is totally going to be determined by the seller and what they will accept for the product they are selling. Perhaps if you are in the US or EU and buying an automobile the price will be fairly stable/predictable but if you are in India or China and wanting to buy something from a local vendor the price/value is what the seller will accept.
- semi-extrinsic 7y ago
  Well, you are still sensitive to manipulation in any of those three, and the governments in question are political allies. FWIW, the EUR/JPY and USD/JPY pairs are historically highly correlated.

liminal18 7y ago

being free of Government manipulation while desirable also has drawbacks as a corporate owned currency means it would be subject to corporate manipulation. Think Kong Bucks. Basically, corporate currencies mean not only do you shop at the company store, but you use their money too. I think the original premise of a government less people's coin via bitcoin is a better idea as it means the population takes responsibility for their currency.