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Super sad that they didn't choose Monero.

olah_1 6y ago
It is. Monero community seems to have made so many choices that prove it is dedicated to the "digital cash" use case (dynamic block sizes, constant tail emission, etc).
matheusmoreira 6y ago
That was my first thought as well. Why didn't they pick Monero? I don't see how any other coin could be better.
- justupvoting 6y ago
  Only thing I can think of off the top of my head is optics (most of the installed userbase for signal has probably only ever heard of monero in a negative light).
- wjntzf 6y ago
  No near-instant confirmation, maybe. At first glance not a big problem for users, but can run you into a lot of problems
  - qqii 6y ago
    That's not a problem if you accept transactions in the mempool.
- PragmaticPulp 6y ago
  Using an established cryptocurrency doesn’t provide a good way for them to profit. MobileCoin is pre-mined and the majority of coins are held by founders and the MobileCoin organization. They want to sell you coins, so partnering with Signal to force you to buy their coins to transact on the app gives them a revenue stream. If they simply added Monero, they wouldn’t be able to sell you coins.
AfouToPatisa 6y ago
Multiple reasons why MOB over monero but I will state only the most practical one, using the stellar consensus a tx takes 3-5sec. With monero that's more like 1-2mins if Im not mistaken which is a big no-no for the usecase of instant mobile private payments. Fees are also super low w/ mob (0.01) TLDR: UX
- selsta 6y ago
  XMR transaction can show up instantly once they are in the mempool, a user does not have to wait for a confirmation to see a transaction. Obviously there are uses where you want to wait for confirmations, but for the use case of sending money to friends it isn't necessary. Fees are also in a similar range (0.01).
  - AfouToPatisa 6y ago
    Using 0-conf is restricting usage to "friends only" which is a tiny subset of who you may want to send money too so I think you've already answered this. Also moxie replied in his twitter about why not monero stating they wanted a "non custodial" integration, not sure what he means but you can ask him.
dethos 6y ago
The tech behind this new "coin" they are using seems to be based on Monero. Even their book [1] says the following: > ‘Mechanics of MobileCoin: First Edition’ is an adaptation of ‘Zero to Monero: Second Edition’, published in April 2020. [1] https://github.com/UkoeHB/Mechanics-of-MobileCoin/blob/master/Mechanics-of-MobileCoin-v0-0-39-preview-10-11.pdf https://github.com/UkoeHB/Mechanics-of-MobileCoin/blob/maste...
qqii 6y ago
Similarly dissapointed but looking at Signal's past choices (barely open source server, no plans to federate, aggression against modified clients, extensive use and lack of criticism for SGX) monero wasn't even on the table.

It is. Monero community seems to have made so many choices that prove it is dedicated to the "digital cash" use case (dynamic block sizes, constant tail emission, etc).

matheusmoreira 6y ago

That was my first thought as well. Why didn't they pick Monero? I don't see how any other coin could be better.

justupvoting 6y ago
Only thing I can think of off the top of my head is optics (most of the installed userbase for signal has probably only ever heard of monero in a negative light).
wjntzf 6y ago
No near-instant confirmation, maybe. At first glance not a big problem for users, but can run you into a lot of problems
- qqii 6y ago
  That's not a problem if you accept transactions in the mempool.
PragmaticPulp 6y ago
Using an established cryptocurrency doesn’t provide a good way for them to profit. MobileCoin is pre-mined and the majority of coins are held by founders and the MobileCoin organization. They want to sell you coins, so partnering with Signal to force you to buy their coins to transact on the app gives them a revenue stream. If they simply added Monero, they wouldn’t be able to sell you coins.

AfouToPatisa 6y ago

Multiple reasons why MOB over monero but I will state only the most practical one, using the stellar consensus a tx takes 3-5sec. With monero that's more like 1-2mins if Im not mistaken which is a big no-no for the usecase of instant mobile private payments. Fees are also super low w/ mob (0.01) TLDR: UX

selsta 6y ago
XMR transaction can show up instantly once they are in the mempool, a user does not have to wait for a confirmation to see a transaction. Obviously there are uses where you want to wait for confirmations, but for the use case of sending money to friends it isn't necessary. Fees are also in a similar range (0.01).
- AfouToPatisa 6y ago
  Using 0-conf is restricting usage to "friends only" which is a tiny subset of who you may want to send money too so I think you've already answered this. Also moxie replied in his twitter about why not monero stating they wanted a "non custodial" integration, not sure what he means but you can ask him.

dethos 6y ago

The tech behind this new "coin" they are using seems to be based on Monero. Even their book [1] says the following: > ‘Mechanics of MobileCoin: First Edition’ is an adaptation of ‘Zero to Monero: Second Edition’, published in April 2020. [1] https://github.com/UkoeHB/Mechanics-of-MobileCoin/blob/master/Mechanics-of-MobileCoin-v0-0-39-preview-10-11.pdf https://github.com/UkoeHB/Mechanics-of-MobileCoin/blob/maste...

qqii 6y ago

Similarly dissapointed but looking at Signal's past choices (barely open source server, no plans to federate, aggression against modified clients, extensive use and lack of criticism for SGX) monero wasn't even on the table.