6 ms·

I see I'm not the only one. Most blockchain stuff seems like an incredibly dull game of Fantasy Stock Exchange, but this was more like Eve Online.

by Igelau 6y ago

hombre_fatal 6y ago
They have nothing on the current financial system, like banks being able to block you because you sell adult sex toys or someone being able to pull money from your account whenever they want because you once gave them your card details to buy a $5 sandwich or having to find a merchant relationship just for people to send you money. These are nonstarters that would get laughed out of the room if pitched today. You're just used to the stupidity, so it's easier to scrutinize the new things. But there are people out there who take those downsides seriously. And sure, you're always trading old problems for new, different problems, but it's nice to have the choice between those trade-offs for once.
- weego 6y ago
  You can as easily blame the previous generations of sex toy sellers for their shady practices as you can banks for responding to it by separating those industries for special treatment. Higher processing fees or outright blocking is just a response to risk. It's not some moral pillar that crypto is taking a stand against at all, it's just removing all the processes that protect both sides of transactions and distributing those trust mechanisms to those parties instead.
  - AnthonyMouse 6y ago
    Except that it's not "shady practices" that caused it. It's, man buys porn on credit card, wife questions the man about it, man denies it was him, wife has the charge reversed. Then the bank stops wanting to deal with anything related to the adult industry. What you need is a payment system that can handle transactions where the seller is honest and the buyer is flaky when the existing one is built around the opposite assumption. And if the banks can't provide that (or the existing regulatory environment doesn't allow them to) then it's good when something else fills the gap.
- marcus_holmes 6y ago
  As an outsider looking in, though, it seems that banks are getting better at this, while crypto is getting worse. There's a bajillion fintechs helping the banks sort out their UI issues and make it friendlier/better. Bitcoin is still basically unusable for everyday transactions, and the endless stream of wallet provider hacks is not convincing anyone that it's secure. As TFA says, the hazards for normal folks playing in this pool are getting worse. If the miners are frontrunning your transaction every time you want to get paid, what's the point?
  - xur17 6y ago
    The fundamental problem of ownership still isn't (and won't be) solved by the existing banking system. Money that you actually own, that you can do whatever you want with (for better or worse).
    - Barrin92 6y ago
      this isn't a fundamental problem for anyone who isn't caught up in this weird ideologically libertarian crypto cult. Virtually nobody wants to 'actually own' money or do whatever they want with it, they want to buy groceries, pay rent, or put it in their bank account. If people wanted to actually own stuff they'd buy pinephones instead of samsung galaxies.
      - mlcrypto 6y ago
        Well until a few centuries ago nobody wanted to have electricity sent into their houses. The masses don't care until it becomes part of life. It's always the quirky pioneers that care first.
        deleted 6y ago
        [deleted]
  - panarky 6y ago
    > basically unusable for everyday transactions Why is this the acid test? Buying a coffee is a solved problem so why is blockchain tech expected to address this use case? > the endless stream of wallet provider hacks is not convincing anyone that it's secure Does the endless stream of point-of-sale and credit card hacks make you question the security of dollars, euros and yen?
- natcombs 6y ago
  > They have nothing on the current financial system Ok, so you have some grief with how the banking system works > These are nonstarters that would get laughed out of the room if pitched today. How is this related? No one is pitching building a KYC government regulated financial banking system?
- Igelau 6y ago
  > You're just used to the stupidity Those examples you listed are at least an explainable, understandable flavor of stupid. "Hello, bank? I'm disputing this charge" or "Yes, I really bought that stuff". It's no accident that TFA has Cthulhu in the header -- we're crossing into a malevolent and incomprehensible dimension of stupid. "Hello, void? Robot monsters ate my contract" and you hear nothing but echoes in your marrow.

I see I'm not the only one. Most blockchain stuff seems like an incredibly dull game of Fantasy Stock Exchange, but this was more like Eve Online.

by Igelau 6y ago

I see I'm not the only one. Most blockchain stuff seems like an incredibly dull game of Fantasy Stock Exchange, but this was more like Eve Online.

hombre_fatal 6y ago

They have nothing on the current financial system, like banks being able to block you because you sell adult sex toys or someone being able to pull money from your account whenever they want because you once gave them your card details to buy a $5 sandwich or having to find a merchant relationship just for people to send you money. These are nonstarters that would get laughed out of the room if pitched today. You're just used to the stupidity, so it's easier to scrutinize the new things. But there are people out there who take those downsides seriously. And sure, you're always trading old problems for new, different problems, but it's nice to have the choice between those trade-offs for once.

weego 6y ago
You can as easily blame the previous generations of sex toy sellers for their shady practices as you can banks for responding to it by separating those industries for special treatment. Higher processing fees or outright blocking is just a response to risk. It's not some moral pillar that crypto is taking a stand against at all, it's just removing all the processes that protect both sides of transactions and distributing those trust mechanisms to those parties instead.
- AnthonyMouse 6y ago
  Except that it's not "shady practices" that caused it. It's, man buys porn on credit card, wife questions the man about it, man denies it was him, wife has the charge reversed. Then the bank stops wanting to deal with anything related to the adult industry. What you need is a payment system that can handle transactions where the seller is honest and the buyer is flaky when the existing one is built around the opposite assumption. And if the banks can't provide that (or the existing regulatory environment doesn't allow them to) then it's good when something else fills the gap.
marcus_holmes 6y ago
As an outsider looking in, though, it seems that banks are getting better at this, while crypto is getting worse. There's a bajillion fintechs helping the banks sort out their UI issues and make it friendlier/better. Bitcoin is still basically unusable for everyday transactions, and the endless stream of wallet provider hacks is not convincing anyone that it's secure. As TFA says, the hazards for normal folks playing in this pool are getting worse. If the miners are frontrunning your transaction every time you want to get paid, what's the point?
- xur17 6y ago
  The fundamental problem of ownership still isn't (and won't be) solved by the existing banking system. Money that you actually own, that you can do whatever you want with (for better or worse).
  - Barrin92 6y ago
    this isn't a fundamental problem for anyone who isn't caught up in this weird ideologically libertarian crypto cult. Virtually nobody wants to 'actually own' money or do whatever they want with it, they want to buy groceries, pay rent, or put it in their bank account. If people wanted to actually own stuff they'd buy pinephones instead of samsung galaxies.
    - mlcrypto 6y ago
      Well until a few centuries ago nobody wanted to have electricity sent into their houses. The masses don't care until it becomes part of life. It's always the quirky pioneers that care first.
      - deleted 6y ago
        [deleted]
- panarky 6y ago
  > basically unusable for everyday transactions Why is this the acid test? Buying a coffee is a solved problem so why is blockchain tech expected to address this use case? > the endless stream of wallet provider hacks is not convincing anyone that it's secure Does the endless stream of point-of-sale and credit card hacks make you question the security of dollars, euros and yen?
natcombs 6y ago
> They have nothing on the current financial system Ok, so you have some grief with how the banking system works > These are nonstarters that would get laughed out of the room if pitched today. How is this related? No one is pitching building a KYC government regulated financial banking system?
Igelau 6y ago
> You're just used to the stupidity Those examples you listed are at least an explainable, understandable flavor of stupid. "Hello, bank? I'm disputing this charge" or "Yes, I really bought that stuff". It's no accident that TFA has Cthulhu in the header -- we're crossing into a malevolent and incomprehensible dimension of stupid. "Hello, void? Robot monsters ate my contract" and you hear nothing but echoes in your marrow.