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Whether you call it a fact or feature, it does attract people who have a distrust of institutions. Many of these people don’t understand how modern banking syst
by PragmaticPulp 6y ago
Whether you call it a fact or feature, it does attract people who have a distrust of institutions. Many of these people don’t understand how modern banking systems actually work or how protections like FDIC insurance are extremely valuable protections.
Every Bitcoin thread on HN attracts crypto proponents who try to compare cryptocurrency to storing cash under your mattress or keeping gold bars in your basement, when that comparison is useless for 99% of people who wisely choose to use modern banking systems and all of the protections they afford.
Cryptocurrency also attracts people who like the complexity and rituals of managing it all. Playing with crypto wallets and blockchains and different ways of moving numbers around is fun to a lot of people, and they don’t understand why the things they enjoy are actually a hassle to everyone else.
Finally, crypto enthusiasts love the scarcity of their crypto, so seeing other people lose crypto makes their own holdings more valuable. It financially benefits them each time coins are lost forever, because the market cap stays high but those lost coins will never be sold, removing them from downward price pressure.
- matheusmoreira 6y agoNothing wrong with these protections. Insurance is a good thing, exchanges should be insured as well. We just don't like the costs typically associated with these nice things. We gain protections and stability but in exchange we are subjected to the whims of government: arbitrary freezing of accounts, invasion of privacy, erosion of freedom, abusive taxation, highly inflationary monetary policy... It's no wonder people like a system that lets them escape all of that if they want.