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What do people use cryptocurrencies for, other than speculation?

by cycrutchfield 7y ago

CaptainZapp 7y ago
Buy dodgy shit on the dark web?
LanceH 7y ago
International transfer of money, sometimes to themselves.
seibelj 7y ago
I have fallen into this trap soooo many times here. “What’s it even used for?” I provide a list. “All of that is dumb and you are dumb.” Look up MakerDAO. If that whole thing isn’t even remotely interesting to you, I don’t know what to say. There are plenty of interesting and useful projects. Is there anything AI has delivered other than surveillance tech and giving me suggestions while typing that I just turn off because it’s annoying?
- shadowprofile77 7y ago
  Just recently there was a comment thread on HN about Reddit being used as a place for financial advice, with many of the HN commentators complaining about the collective mentality and tribalism of the entire Reddit forum and many of its subreddits. Yes, just as you say, the tribalism that gets taken to absurd degrees here on HN with regards to crypto and blockchains is amusingly obvious and emotional ,regardless of numerous pieces of evidence and case studies showing exactly the opposite, but if you point many of them out, you risk being persistently downvoted. What makes the entire tendency so frustrating is that most here self-identify as intelligent, reasoned people who avoid her mentalities, yet visibly practice these tendencies for all the same very human reasons you see them elsewhere. Also, yes, it's extremely obvious to my eye that blockchains and cryptocurrencies are here to stay and expand even. For those of us who do indeed use them here and there, the value of having something that lets you send money to someone else on the other side of the world almost instantly with very few if any intermediaries being able to block the transaction is wonderful. Yes some of you in here who send money inside the EU or inside the US markets keep insisting from within your bubbles that money transfers are easy and instant, but really, try sending money to someone on the literal other side of the world, outside your market, without spending unreasonable money on fees or dealing with terrible customer services, then perhaps reconsider the value of crypto.. In addition to this, there are indeed many legitimate uses for them in the form of anonymous payments for services that ARE NOT illegal, and the market for such products and services could easily grow in a number of ways.. But easier to ignore that and wave ones hands about the crypto scam and the supposedly pending collapse of everything. (It's been several years already and things slowly, sometimes haphazardly but persistently keep growing in this whole sphere, so, don't hold your breath)
  - Nursie 7y ago
    > but really, try sending money to someone on the literal other side of the world, outside your market, without spending unreasonable money on fees or dealing with terrible customer services, I have done, many times, for small and large amounts. No problems with the traditional system, way more protections too. The fact is that cryptocurrency continues to fail to make inroads in this space, despite cheerleaders having shouted about it for years now.
    - shadowprofile77 7y ago
      Wonderful, your single anecdote negates a whole litany of international payments problems that many people right here on HN have complained about repeatedly in numerous comments across numerous threads. International payments outside of major mutually coordinated markets are a known, frequently mentioned difficulty for many businesses and people. This is something that should be as easy as sending an email, but it doesn't even come close to that on a global scale. Crypto needs to be ironed out very thoroughly but it at least offers one possible avenue for avoiding these problems, with the added benefit of giving users access to a certain degree of anonymity and resiliance to arbitrary institutional payment/account freezes.
      - Nursie 7y ago
        Wonderful, your single rebuttal negates the actual market response to cryptocurrency as an international remittance tool, which so far has has been utterly negligible, because it turns out not to actually solve any of those problems where they are felt, and where they aren't it's rendered irrelevant by the lack of protections and inability to compete, either on ease of use or fees.
  - shadowprofile77 7y ago
    And naturally, my comment gets downvoted, way to stay so predictable HN crowd-mind, keep patting yourselves on the back about how much you disdain these tendencies in places like Reddit. It's frankly amazing that crypto and the blockchains behind these digital currencies can't be perceived by so many here for the potential they have despite the obvious attractions of the concept. You simply point to their errors and deride the whole concept as a scam, ponzi scheme, pie-in-the-sky and etc, while then complaining about all the nonsense and bullshit that institutionalized payment processing causes for many of you and others. It's not possible to see something flawed and look beyond its defects to how the basic concept of a global anonymized near instant payment system that doesn't depend on heavily regulated institutions might just possibly not be such a bad thing?
- sireat 7y ago
  I've fallen in a different trap so many times here. Someone will mention a crypto that is supposedly different. * Check Project Page * Check Whitepaper * Check glowing usage reports * Check success stories * Check actual usage - find none that is outside other crypto holders 99% of crypto is eating some other crypto. MakerDAO seems interesting but really is a way for ETH holders to borrow against it. Checking r/MakerDAO seems people are using DAI to speculate on ETH not much else. Crypto has fallen into permanent Year of Linux on Desktop phase.
lawn 7y ago
I buy stuff with them. Email, domains, VPS and VPNs. The beauty is that I can buy these things anonymously. Oh I also make donations. As for why that's a good use case, remember that USA froze all donations to WikiLeaks before.
martinko 7y ago
Try sending a wire to your friend on the other side of the globe, then try sending BTC. Also, digital gold.

What do people use cryptocurrencies for, other than speculation?

CaptainZapp 7y ago

Buy dodgy shit on the dark web?

LanceH 7y ago

International transfer of money, sometimes to themselves.

seibelj 7y ago

I have fallen into this trap soooo many times here. “What’s it even used for?” I provide a list. “All of that is dumb and you are dumb.” Look up MakerDAO. If that whole thing isn’t even remotely interesting to you, I don’t know what to say. There are plenty of interesting and useful projects. Is there anything AI has delivered other than surveillance tech and giving me suggestions while typing that I just turn off because it’s annoying?

shadowprofile77 7y ago
Just recently there was a comment thread on HN about Reddit being used as a place for financial advice, with many of the HN commentators complaining about the collective mentality and tribalism of the entire Reddit forum and many of its subreddits. Yes, just as you say, the tribalism that gets taken to absurd degrees here on HN with regards to crypto and blockchains is amusingly obvious and emotional ,regardless of numerous pieces of evidence and case studies showing exactly the opposite, but if you point many of them out, you risk being persistently downvoted. What makes the entire tendency so frustrating is that most here self-identify as intelligent, reasoned people who avoid her mentalities, yet visibly practice these tendencies for all the same very human reasons you see them elsewhere. Also, yes, it's extremely obvious to my eye that blockchains and cryptocurrencies are here to stay and expand even. For those of us who do indeed use them here and there, the value of having something that lets you send money to someone else on the other side of the world almost instantly with very few if any intermediaries being able to block the transaction is wonderful. Yes some of you in here who send money inside the EU or inside the US markets keep insisting from within your bubbles that money transfers are easy and instant, but really, try sending money to someone on the literal other side of the world, outside your market, without spending unreasonable money on fees or dealing with terrible customer services, then perhaps reconsider the value of crypto.. In addition to this, there are indeed many legitimate uses for them in the form of anonymous payments for services that ARE NOT illegal, and the market for such products and services could easily grow in a number of ways.. But easier to ignore that and wave ones hands about the crypto scam and the supposedly pending collapse of everything. (It's been several years already and things slowly, sometimes haphazardly but persistently keep growing in this whole sphere, so, don't hold your breath)
- Nursie 7y ago
  > but really, try sending money to someone on the literal other side of the world, outside your market, without spending unreasonable money on fees or dealing with terrible customer services, I have done, many times, for small and large amounts. No problems with the traditional system, way more protections too. The fact is that cryptocurrency continues to fail to make inroads in this space, despite cheerleaders having shouted about it for years now.
  - shadowprofile77 7y ago
    Wonderful, your single anecdote negates a whole litany of international payments problems that many people right here on HN have complained about repeatedly in numerous comments across numerous threads. International payments outside of major mutually coordinated markets are a known, frequently mentioned difficulty for many businesses and people. This is something that should be as easy as sending an email, but it doesn't even come close to that on a global scale. Crypto needs to be ironed out very thoroughly but it at least offers one possible avenue for avoiding these problems, with the added benefit of giving users access to a certain degree of anonymity and resiliance to arbitrary institutional payment/account freezes.
    - Nursie 7y ago
      Wonderful, your single rebuttal negates the actual market response to cryptocurrency as an international remittance tool, which so far has has been utterly negligible, because it turns out not to actually solve any of those problems where they are felt, and where they aren't it's rendered irrelevant by the lack of protections and inability to compete, either on ease of use or fees.
- shadowprofile77 7y ago
  And naturally, my comment gets downvoted, way to stay so predictable HN crowd-mind, keep patting yourselves on the back about how much you disdain these tendencies in places like Reddit. It's frankly amazing that crypto and the blockchains behind these digital currencies can't be perceived by so many here for the potential they have despite the obvious attractions of the concept. You simply point to their errors and deride the whole concept as a scam, ponzi scheme, pie-in-the-sky and etc, while then complaining about all the nonsense and bullshit that institutionalized payment processing causes for many of you and others. It's not possible to see something flawed and look beyond its defects to how the basic concept of a global anonymized near instant payment system that doesn't depend on heavily regulated institutions might just possibly not be such a bad thing?
sireat 7y ago
I've fallen in a different trap so many times here. Someone will mention a crypto that is supposedly different. * Check Project Page * Check Whitepaper * Check glowing usage reports * Check success stories * Check actual usage - find none that is outside other crypto holders 99% of crypto is eating some other crypto. MakerDAO seems interesting but really is a way for ETH holders to borrow against it. Checking r/MakerDAO seems people are using DAI to speculate on ETH not much else. Crypto has fallen into permanent Year of Linux on Desktop phase.

lawn 7y ago

I buy stuff with them. Email, domains, VPS and VPNs. The beauty is that I can buy these things anonymously. Oh I also make donations. As for why that's a good use case, remember that USA froze all donations to WikiLeaks before.

martinko 7y ago

Try sending a wire to your friend on the other side of the globe, then try sending BTC. Also, digital gold.