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There’s no indication I’m aware of that Bitcoin is removing any labor or equipment from the banking system. So far all I’ve seen is traditional banking layering

There’s no indication I’m aware of that Bitcoin is removing any labor or equipment from the banking system. So far all I’ve seen is traditional banking layering crypto on top.

iopq 7y ago
it's cheaper to transfer Bitcoin and immediately convert to fiat than to do a wire transfer from overseas. Then you're using the home banking system like ACH in the US and SEPA in Europe Wires cost me $50+ because of intermediary banks, even if I don't pay anything at my own bank, someone is getting a big cut.
- shsjxjbsbs 7y ago
  Don’t companies like TransferWise already do international payments electronically without the need for a blockchain? I definitely support lowering the amount of human labor required for payments, but I don’t see the need for many coal plants worth of computers randomly hashing a bunch of junk over and over again when a normal efficient server can do it. Every bitcoin exchange I’ve used required me to physically write something on paper and show it to a human, so it seems like the human labor in the banking system is a regulatory issue, not a technical one.
  - iopq 7y ago
    Maybe to sign up, but to actually make trades it's just taking orders off the book.
    - shsjxjbsbs 7y ago
      Sure, but why do I need a blockchain for that? Can’t the service trusted by the government to enforce KYC regulation also run a normal commodity server to process transactions, without burning the earth?
  - stordoff 7y ago
    > Every bitcoin exchange I’ve used required me to physically write something on paper and show it to a human I'm curious - what did you have to write? Is it just part of proof of identity, or something more?
    - leppr 7y ago
      Usually the date and name of the exchange, to comply with "Know Your Customer" regulations and fight duplicate accounts.
- spookthesunset 7y ago
  It is only cheaper today because the price of those traditional transfers are set artificially high. Make no mistake if banks had real competition for inter-bank transfers you’d see the price drop to near zero.
leppr 7y ago
There's nothing fundamental about this state of affairs. We're simply early in the adoption curve: the network of services around fiat is larger than the one around cryptocurrency, so to use cryptocurrency effectively you have to connect with fiat. The infrastructure required for functional cryptocurrency usage in society is far smaller than for traditional money, so with enough adoption to supersede fiat, there would be efficiency gains. Remember, we used to need the phone network to connect to the internet. 30 years later, the trend is reversed and it's telephone that we layer on top of the internet.

There’s no indication I’m aware of that Bitcoin is removing any labor or equipment from the banking system. So far all I’ve seen is traditional banking layering crypto on top.

iopq 7y ago

it's cheaper to transfer Bitcoin and immediately convert to fiat than to do a wire transfer from overseas. Then you're using the home banking system like ACH in the US and SEPA in Europe Wires cost me $50+ because of intermediary banks, even if I don't pay anything at my own bank, someone is getting a big cut.

shsjxjbsbs 7y ago
Don’t companies like TransferWise already do international payments electronically without the need for a blockchain? I definitely support lowering the amount of human labor required for payments, but I don’t see the need for many coal plants worth of computers randomly hashing a bunch of junk over and over again when a normal efficient server can do it. Every bitcoin exchange I’ve used required me to physically write something on paper and show it to a human, so it seems like the human labor in the banking system is a regulatory issue, not a technical one.
- iopq 7y ago
  Maybe to sign up, but to actually make trades it's just taking orders off the book.
  - shsjxjbsbs 7y ago
    Sure, but why do I need a blockchain for that? Can’t the service trusted by the government to enforce KYC regulation also run a normal commodity server to process transactions, without burning the earth?
- stordoff 7y ago
  > Every bitcoin exchange I’ve used required me to physically write something on paper and show it to a human I'm curious - what did you have to write? Is it just part of proof of identity, or something more?
  - leppr 7y ago
    Usually the date and name of the exchange, to comply with "Know Your Customer" regulations and fight duplicate accounts.
spookthesunset 7y ago
It is only cheaper today because the price of those traditional transfers are set artificially high. Make no mistake if banks had real competition for inter-bank transfers you’d see the price drop to near zero.

leppr 7y ago

There's nothing fundamental about this state of affairs. We're simply early in the adoption curve: the network of services around fiat is larger than the one around cryptocurrency, so to use cryptocurrency effectively you have to connect with fiat. The infrastructure required for functional cryptocurrency usage in society is far smaller than for traditional money, so with enough adoption to supersede fiat, there would be efficiency gains. Remember, we used to need the phone network to connect to the internet. 30 years later, the trend is reversed and it's telephone that we layer on top of the internet.