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Yeah, and how many citizens of these countries buy and use BTC? Particularly with how unstable it is compared to other assets like e.g. gold. Mind you, I speak

by M277 6y ago

Yeah, and how many citizens of these countries buy and use BTC? Particularly with how unstable it is compared to other assets like e.g. gold. Mind you, I speak as someone who is a citizen in a country that experienced that. Not now, but back in 2016, our currency got halved. Nobody, and I mean absolutely nobody ever thought "I should have bought crypto." When the 2017-2018 crypto rush happened, and people started mining ETH, well-off people* here got onto it and started mining ETH.... only to immediately sell it as they mined. Nobody held onto it. *well-off because GPUs were absurdly expensive due to the inflation, and it only got worse when the shortages hit. EDIT: I also want to add that very, very few people here in my country actually understand what bitcoin even is (or cryptocurrency or blockchain). The people that I have seen support mining here only really view it as a way to earn some money while doing nothing.

SwimSwimHungry 6y ago
This is quite spot on. Cryptocurrency lately has become this techbro version of a white-savior complex, where we think this magic technology will somehow uproot the lower lesser classes from their eternal toil and discord, yet I've seen plenty of these kinds of folks either not bother to get in on this (because it's likely too difficult to comprehend) or lose their shirt because they didn't make it on the right end of a transaction and lost more money to some cryptocurrency-rich fat cat, laughing all the way to the bank.
- imwillofficial 6y ago
  “Techbro” “white savior complex” Do you actually talk like this or is it just the party line you spit out for virtue signaling points? I mean yeah, technology has magically elevated the toiling masses from shitty work. When was the last time you worked in a factory for 16 hours a day? When was the last time you got scurvy as a sailor on a wooden ship? When was the last time you tilled a field with the trusty family oxen?
  - SwimSwimHungry 6y ago
    I'm dead serious. Your comment seeks to discredit my position, but I'm speaking my truth to what I see. Sorry, but the bitcoin fans get condescending, acting like they can save us from those evil banks. Not a chance. Technology that has improved society does absolutely exist though, like the world wide web, which has proven potential and has revolutionized the way we do business and commerce. Cryptocurrency on the other hand is just an ancap wet dream. You are free to disagree with me, but bitcoin has been around for 12 years now and, yet, I see no killer application that doesn't involve some kind of grift. In the same period of 12 years, from the start of the WWW to around the early 2000s, so much innovation happened by comparison.
    - imwillofficial 6y ago
      So the guy who uses the racist phrase “white savior complex” non ironically, who only admits technology is useful after it has undeniable global appeal, is supposed to be some barometer if a technology will be world changing? Frankly, you can’t possibly know until the dice stop rolling. Just like the internet, or the barcode (look up the guy who invented it, his story is cool.) Fact is it’s too early to tell what impact Bitcoin will have on history. Your self righteousness prognosticating just shows your ignorance of history, humility, and sound reasoning. According to you something is only useful if it has already demonstrated its use, like the web. Well duh, of course the web is useful. You’re not exactly Nostradamus with that one. Will Bitcoin be useful? Maybe, maybe not. Time will tell. Edit: s/p
      - SwimSwimHungry 6y ago
        Eh, can you tell me what the killer app is supposed to be? I'd like to know. Because in 12 freaking years, there has to have been something better than "lets kill our planet as quickly as possible while early adopters get rich".
        imwillofficial 6y ago
        You got me there. I see a lot of cool possibilities, neat ideas, but no killer app. It’s all too complicated. But how long was that the case for the web? Decades? Even circa 2009 when I last did public facing IT work, many people were still talking to their mice. I’m not saying Bitcoin will be any more than a interesting diversion, but much like the web, it is far far too early to tell if it will just be a TempleOS style wet dream, or something that utterly shifts the landscape of the how we live our lives. (I’m also fascinated with how COVID is reshaping our planet.) When was the last time something changed how all of humanity lives their lives, globally, in a short period, before COVID? The internet? Electricity? What were some other big ticket changes you guys can think of?

by M277 6y ago

SwimSwimHungry 6y ago

This is quite spot on. Cryptocurrency lately has become this techbro version of a white-savior complex, where we think this magic technology will somehow uproot the lower lesser classes from their eternal toil and discord, yet I've seen plenty of these kinds of folks either not bother to get in on this (because it's likely too difficult to comprehend) or lose their shirt because they didn't make it on the right end of a transaction and lost more money to some cryptocurrency-rich fat cat, laughing all the way to the bank.

imwillofficial 6y ago
“Techbro” “white savior complex” Do you actually talk like this or is it just the party line you spit out for virtue signaling points? I mean yeah, technology has magically elevated the toiling masses from shitty work. When was the last time you worked in a factory for 16 hours a day? When was the last time you got scurvy as a sailor on a wooden ship? When was the last time you tilled a field with the trusty family oxen?
- SwimSwimHungry 6y ago
  I'm dead serious. Your comment seeks to discredit my position, but I'm speaking my truth to what I see. Sorry, but the bitcoin fans get condescending, acting like they can save us from those evil banks. Not a chance. Technology that has improved society does absolutely exist though, like the world wide web, which has proven potential and has revolutionized the way we do business and commerce. Cryptocurrency on the other hand is just an ancap wet dream. You are free to disagree with me, but bitcoin has been around for 12 years now and, yet, I see no killer application that doesn't involve some kind of grift. In the same period of 12 years, from the start of the WWW to around the early 2000s, so much innovation happened by comparison.
  - imwillofficial 6y ago
    So the guy who uses the racist phrase “white savior complex” non ironically, who only admits technology is useful after it has undeniable global appeal, is supposed to be some barometer if a technology will be world changing? Frankly, you can’t possibly know until the dice stop rolling. Just like the internet, or the barcode (look up the guy who invented it, his story is cool.) Fact is it’s too early to tell what impact Bitcoin will have on history. Your self righteousness prognosticating just shows your ignorance of history, humility, and sound reasoning. According to you something is only useful if it has already demonstrated its use, like the web. Well duh, of course the web is useful. You’re not exactly Nostradamus with that one. Will Bitcoin be useful? Maybe, maybe not. Time will tell. Edit: s/p
    - SwimSwimHungry 6y ago
      Eh, can you tell me what the killer app is supposed to be? I'd like to know. Because in 12 freaking years, there has to have been something better than "lets kill our planet as quickly as possible while early adopters get rich".
      - imwillofficial 6y ago
        You got me there. I see a lot of cool possibilities, neat ideas, but no killer app. It’s all too complicated. But how long was that the case for the web? Decades? Even circa 2009 when I last did public facing IT work, many people were still talking to their mice. I’m not saying Bitcoin will be any more than a interesting diversion, but much like the web, it is far far too early to tell if it will just be a TempleOS style wet dream, or something that utterly shifts the landscape of the how we live our lives. (I’m also fascinated with how COVID is reshaping our planet.) When was the last time something changed how all of humanity lives their lives, globally, in a short period, before COVID? The internet? Electricity? What were some other big ticket changes you guys can think of?