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I'm not advocating for or against blockchain / DLT here, but I find it kind of weird that this article explicitly talks about not just the lack of decentralizat

I'm not advocating for or against blockchain / DLT here, but I find it kind of weird that this article explicitly talks about not just the lack of decentralization in the modern internet, but about cryptocurrency... and doesn't mention the claims from DLT companies that they're fixing that. Ethereum is almost a household name as much as Bitcoin. IPFS is obviously more niche but if you were to spend an afternoon reading about blockchain you'd surely stumble upon it. I just find it odd that this article presents a very clear problem, but doesn't present the thousands of people working on hundreds of projects who passionately feel that they have a solution.

artfulhippo 6y ago
Your tech bubble mentality is leaking. Passionate feelings aren’t solutions. To date, Ethereum and IPFS have yet to provide value to regular people. The blockchain/DLT space is focused on financial infrastructure, and until scaling is solved (“6 months away”) it just isn’t relevant to a general audience. Ethereum is nowhere near the brand that Bitcoin is. Bitcoin at least enables people to commit crimes.
- nix23 6y ago
  >And Ethereum is nowhere near the brand that Bitcoin is. Wow and calling others out that they are in a bubble... >Bitcoin at least enables people to commit crimes. Like encryption, the internet and tor right?
- carterklein13 6y ago
  Refer back to my comment where I explicitly said that I'm not advocating for blockchain / DLT, nor did I say that Ethereum / IPFS provide any value. But, there are millions of dollars in investment and research being poured into these pieces of technology that attempt to address the problem stated in the article. I'm not saying they do or do not solve anything - my point was that it just struck me as odd that an article explicitly talking about crypto and the problems of centralization, didn't so much as mention that there are folks out there trying to fix it. It would be like saying "fracking is a problem" without mentioning any group that's trying to address that problem. It's pointing out a problem without a call to action. Whether or not that call will actually fix that problem is a different story.
  - nix23 6y ago
    >nor did I say that Ethereum / IPFS provide any value. Not true: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15367531 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15367531 Bitcoin: https://www.coindesk.com/blackballed-by-paypal-scientific-paper-pirate-takes-bitcoin-donations https://www.coindesk.com/blackballed-by-paypal-scientific-pa... https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerhuang/2019/04/26/how-bitcoin-and-wikileaks-saved-each-other/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerhuang/2019/04/26/how-bitco...
    - carterklein13 6y ago
      Okay, jeez, I can't win here. The second you start to advocate for blockchain or mention its potential utility, people will glom on and mock you for being a pipe dreaming gambler. The second you start to advocate against it or mention its overvaluation, people will glom on and mock you for your bootlicking close-mindedness. Personally, I believe in blockchain. I think Ethereum and IPFS may one day be hugely successful. I own ETH, BTC, and a few other coins that I do believe in but also would not be surprised / upset if they went to $0.00 tomorrow. Yes, I know that's gambling. BUT, MY POINT IN MY ORIGINAL COMMENT WAS THAT NOT TO DO WITH MY BELIEF IN BLOCKCHAIN. I was literally just trying to point out, from a journalistic standpoint, that it was odd they made no mention of anything to do with blockchain / DLT. Seriously, I feel like one of the most damaging things to the space as a whole is that it's almost impossible to find a level-headed conversation about it.
      - nix23 6y ago
        >Seriously, I feel like one of the most damaging things to the space as a whole is that it's almost impossible to find a level-headed conversation about it. Just because you think that someone has to be for or against it, why not see it as plus and minus like every technology?
  - artfulhippo 6y ago
    The Atlantic is an institution with a storied history and strong reputation. The blockchain is a wild west known for (at best) overpromising and underdelivering and (at worst) pump-and-dumps, fraud, and black-hat hacking. If they mention a blockchain project, it's basically like sending some of their audience straight to Binance to get rekt. Do you see why it's not a slam dunk for them to shoutout some project that's passionately trying (and unlikely) to solve these hard problems?

artfulhippo 6y ago

Your tech bubble mentality is leaking. Passionate feelings aren’t solutions. To date, Ethereum and IPFS have yet to provide value to regular people. The blockchain/DLT space is focused on financial infrastructure, and until scaling is solved (“6 months away”) it just isn’t relevant to a general audience. Ethereum is nowhere near the brand that Bitcoin is. Bitcoin at least enables people to commit crimes.

nix23 6y ago
>And Ethereum is nowhere near the brand that Bitcoin is. Wow and calling others out that they are in a bubble... >Bitcoin at least enables people to commit crimes. Like encryption, the internet and tor right?
carterklein13 6y ago
Refer back to my comment where I explicitly said that I'm not advocating for blockchain / DLT, nor did I say that Ethereum / IPFS provide any value. But, there are millions of dollars in investment and research being poured into these pieces of technology that attempt to address the problem stated in the article. I'm not saying they do or do not solve anything - my point was that it just struck me as odd that an article explicitly talking about crypto and the problems of centralization, didn't so much as mention that there are folks out there trying to fix it. It would be like saying "fracking is a problem" without mentioning any group that's trying to address that problem. It's pointing out a problem without a call to action. Whether or not that call will actually fix that problem is a different story.
- nix23 6y ago
  >nor did I say that Ethereum / IPFS provide any value. Not true: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15367531 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15367531 Bitcoin: https://www.coindesk.com/blackballed-by-paypal-scientific-paper-pirate-takes-bitcoin-donations https://www.coindesk.com/blackballed-by-paypal-scientific-pa... https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerhuang/2019/04/26/how-bitcoin-and-wikileaks-saved-each-other/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerhuang/2019/04/26/how-bitco...
  - carterklein13 6y ago
    Okay, jeez, I can't win here. The second you start to advocate for blockchain or mention its potential utility, people will glom on and mock you for being a pipe dreaming gambler. The second you start to advocate against it or mention its overvaluation, people will glom on and mock you for your bootlicking close-mindedness. Personally, I believe in blockchain. I think Ethereum and IPFS may one day be hugely successful. I own ETH, BTC, and a few other coins that I do believe in but also would not be surprised / upset if they went to $0.00 tomorrow. Yes, I know that's gambling. BUT, MY POINT IN MY ORIGINAL COMMENT WAS THAT NOT TO DO WITH MY BELIEF IN BLOCKCHAIN. I was literally just trying to point out, from a journalistic standpoint, that it was odd they made no mention of anything to do with blockchain / DLT. Seriously, I feel like one of the most damaging things to the space as a whole is that it's almost impossible to find a level-headed conversation about it.
    - nix23 6y ago
      >Seriously, I feel like one of the most damaging things to the space as a whole is that it's almost impossible to find a level-headed conversation about it. Just because you think that someone has to be for or against it, why not see it as plus and minus like every technology?
- artfulhippo 6y ago
  The Atlantic is an institution with a storied history and strong reputation. The blockchain is a wild west known for (at best) overpromising and underdelivering and (at worst) pump-and-dumps, fraud, and black-hat hacking. If they mention a blockchain project, it's basically like sending some of their audience straight to Binance to get rekt. Do you see why it's not a slam dunk for them to shoutout some project that's passionately trying (and unlikely) to solve these hard problems?