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> Because they distract from the fact that Bitcoin or any other crypto currency doesn't provide any tangible benefit to our societies. I recommend expanding yo

> Because they distract from the fact that Bitcoin or any other crypto currency doesn't provide any tangible benefit to our societies. I recommend expanding your understanding of the world beyond your coddled first-world perspective. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25797143 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25797143 > I still don't understand why HFT is not illegal Then I suggest you learn something about what liquidity, bid-ask spreads, arbitrage, and price discovery are, and how financial systems work in general.

FabHK 6y ago
> I recommend expanding your understanding of the world beyond your coddled first-world perspective. That comment doesn't enumerate or even alludes to any tangible benefits of crypto currencies. (It's about the benefit of mesh networks during HK protests when internet was shut down, and the supposed resiliency of the "Bitcoin network"). > Then I suggest you learn something about what liquidity, bid-ask spreads, arbitrage, and price discovery are, and how financial systems work in general. I'm pretty sure GP has heard of those. Whether HFT provides any benefit in terms of liquidity and smaller spreads is by no means clear. HFT is certainly neither necessary nor even contributing to price discovery. I submit that the economy would work just fine with a price auction every minute (maybe with stochastic cut-off) for, say, 3 hours a day; and maybe even a bit better, because all the HFT guys would have to do something else, which would most likely be more productive.
- alentist 6y ago
  > That comment doesn't enumerate or even alludes to any tangible benefits of crypto currencies. Either: 1. You didn't actually read the comment. 2. You have no idea what ZeroNet or Blockstream are. It is no crime to be ignorant of the topic, but it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on it while remaining in this state of ignorance. In its discussion of physical and financial censorship (note the 2nd sentence), the comment also did (and I have to wonder how you "missed" this) refer to one of the best real-world illustrations of the value of cryptocurrencies: circumventing Venezuela's tyrannical regime and its destructive fiscal and monetary policies. That's my home country, and those are real lives. I'd love to hear you lecture me about how those people don't exist. > and the supposed resiliency Why "supposed"? > I'm pretty sure GP has heard of those. "Heard of"? Maybe. Understand? Clearly not. > Whether HFT provides any benefit in terms of liquidity and smaller spreads is by no means clear. It is. Bid-ask spreads are down to about 3 basis points from about 90 basis points 2 decades ago. Curbing HFT in the past—surprise, surprise—increased the spread. See also [0]. > HFT is certainly neither necessary nor even contributing to price discovery. Well, you are certainly wrong [1], despite prefacing your false claim with "certainly". What does that tell us? Why are you prefacing false claims with "certainly"? > I submit that the economy would work just fine with a price auction every minute (maybe with stochastic cut-off) for, say, 3 hours a day Indeed the economy would "work just fine" with horse-drawn carriages and pigeon post. I commend you for your brilliant proposal. I recommend we implement this novel idea as soon as possible and see how it goes. [0] https://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2014/04/01/hft-really-does-reduce-the-bid-ask-spread-making-michael-lewis-wrong-about-hft https://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2014/04/01/hft-real... [1] https://www.cfainstitute.org/en/research/cfa-digest/2015/04/high-frequency-trading-and-price-discovery-digest-summary https://www.cfainstitute.org/en/research/cfa-digest/2015/04/...
louwrentius 6y ago
I think you just made my point: crypto people never have anything to show for that most regular people can relate to. It always has to do with some third-world country in the shit. Also funny: they often try to obfuscate and sling irrelevant jargon around.

FabHK 6y ago

> I recommend expanding your understanding of the world beyond your coddled first-world perspective. That comment doesn't enumerate or even alludes to any tangible benefits of crypto currencies. (It's about the benefit of mesh networks during HK protests when internet was shut down, and the supposed resiliency of the "Bitcoin network"). > Then I suggest you learn something about what liquidity, bid-ask spreads, arbitrage, and price discovery are, and how financial systems work in general. I'm pretty sure GP has heard of those. Whether HFT provides any benefit in terms of liquidity and smaller spreads is by no means clear. HFT is certainly neither necessary nor even contributing to price discovery. I submit that the economy would work just fine with a price auction every minute (maybe with stochastic cut-off) for, say, 3 hours a day; and maybe even a bit better, because all the HFT guys would have to do something else, which would most likely be more productive.

alentist 6y ago
> That comment doesn't enumerate or even alludes to any tangible benefits of crypto currencies. Either: 1. You didn't actually read the comment. 2. You have no idea what ZeroNet or Blockstream are. It is no crime to be ignorant of the topic, but it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on it while remaining in this state of ignorance. In its discussion of physical and financial censorship (note the 2nd sentence), the comment also did (and I have to wonder how you "missed" this) refer to one of the best real-world illustrations of the value of cryptocurrencies: circumventing Venezuela's tyrannical regime and its destructive fiscal and monetary policies. That's my home country, and those are real lives. I'd love to hear you lecture me about how those people don't exist. > and the supposed resiliency Why "supposed"? > I'm pretty sure GP has heard of those. "Heard of"? Maybe. Understand? Clearly not. > Whether HFT provides any benefit in terms of liquidity and smaller spreads is by no means clear. It is. Bid-ask spreads are down to about 3 basis points from about 90 basis points 2 decades ago. Curbing HFT in the past—surprise, surprise—increased the spread. See also [0]. > HFT is certainly neither necessary nor even contributing to price discovery. Well, you are certainly wrong [1], despite prefacing your false claim with "certainly". What does that tell us? Why are you prefacing false claims with "certainly"? > I submit that the economy would work just fine with a price auction every minute (maybe with stochastic cut-off) for, say, 3 hours a day Indeed the economy would "work just fine" with horse-drawn carriages and pigeon post. I commend you for your brilliant proposal. I recommend we implement this novel idea as soon as possible and see how it goes. [0] https://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2014/04/01/hft-really-does-reduce-the-bid-ask-spread-making-michael-lewis-wrong-about-hft https://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2014/04/01/hft-real... [1] https://www.cfainstitute.org/en/research/cfa-digest/2015/04/high-frequency-trading-and-price-discovery-digest-summary https://www.cfainstitute.org/en/research/cfa-digest/2015/04/...

louwrentius 6y ago

I think you just made my point: crypto people never have anything to show for that most regular people can relate to. It always has to do with some third-world country in the shit. Also funny: they often try to obfuscate and sling irrelevant jargon around.