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Working together is in the best interest of humans. Humans require trust to operate. A system designed around mistrust is inherently against our nature.

DSingularity 5y ago
Designed around mistrust? Surely you mean motivated by distrust in the financial system? You know, the same financial system that launders cartel money, rigs interest markets against the poor, and crashes housing markets to make pensioners go broke?
- maxqin1 5y ago
  The moral problems exist for a minority of USD, but a majority of BTC.
- apples_oranges 5y ago
  That's why there are control systems in place. Institutions. Their effectiveness may be debatable, but by embracing Bitcoin (imho) we are throwing the baby out with the bathwater for not a good enough reason. But what do I know. For me this whole Coin-Thing looks like Online Poker did 20 years ago. People like to gamble and they like Robin Hood type of stories..
kebman 5y ago
I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Do you consider the middleman banking system a sign of trust? How about the invasion of privacy required by the state in order to collect taxes? It used to be that humans could exchange value without third parties. The third party was introduced exactly because of mistrust, and eventually this practice grew so widespread and big that it became a new industry all on its own. Cryptocurrency cuts out that third party, and makes business a one-to-one interaction again, where contracts can even be fully automated. Of course all third parties out there dislike this, but there might still be a silver lining for them. For the state, all Bitcoin transactions are visible on the blockchain, for instance. This makes Bitcoin inherently less useful to kidnappers and extortionists and so forth... And for the banks it makes the transfer of big amounts of value extremely safe (contrast this to what's going on in South Africa at the moment, where value transports are being violently targeted by cutthroat bandits). It also opens up a wholly new business opportunity for them if they start exchanges and on- and offramps for crypto. Already new organizations are being made that grant interest on loaning out or staking crypto, for instance.
didericis 5y ago
Trustless systems expand who you can cooperate with. Systems which require trust limit you to cooperating with those you trust. Furthermore, systems which are manipulable by a central group that you are supposed to trust are often used not because they are trusted, but because there are not good alternatives. The trust element is only a factor if there are options. Decentralized systems are about moving control to a protocol all participants agree to rather than a small group of people.
disruptalot 5y ago
It's not designed around mistrust, it's designed to not require trust. There's a big difference. Why would you want trust where it's not needed? Trust is a barrier, not a feature.
DennisP 5y ago
Modern civilization is designed around mistrust. It's the reason we have police, contracts, lawyers, double-entry accounting, the SEC, and all sorts of other things. Blockchains are just a logical progression now that we have internet.
koonsolo 5y ago
So you never sign contracts? I would say our whole legal system is based on mistrust.

DSingularity 5y ago

Designed around mistrust? Surely you mean motivated by distrust in the financial system? You know, the same financial system that launders cartel money, rigs interest markets against the poor, and crashes housing markets to make pensioners go broke?

maxqin1 5y ago
The moral problems exist for a minority of USD, but a majority of BTC.
apples_oranges 5y ago
That's why there are control systems in place. Institutions. Their effectiveness may be debatable, but by embracing Bitcoin (imho) we are throwing the baby out with the bathwater for not a good enough reason. But what do I know. For me this whole Coin-Thing looks like Online Poker did 20 years ago. People like to gamble and they like Robin Hood type of stories..

kebman 5y ago

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Do you consider the middleman banking system a sign of trust? How about the invasion of privacy required by the state in order to collect taxes? It used to be that humans could exchange value without third parties. The third party was introduced exactly because of mistrust, and eventually this practice grew so widespread and big that it became a new industry all on its own. Cryptocurrency cuts out that third party, and makes business a one-to-one interaction again, where contracts can even be fully automated. Of course all third parties out there dislike this, but there might still be a silver lining for them. For the state, all Bitcoin transactions are visible on the blockchain, for instance. This makes Bitcoin inherently less useful to kidnappers and extortionists and so forth... And for the banks it makes the transfer of big amounts of value extremely safe (contrast this to what's going on in South Africa at the moment, where value transports are being violently targeted by cutthroat bandits). It also opens up a wholly new business opportunity for them if they start exchanges and on- and offramps for crypto. Already new organizations are being made that grant interest on loaning out or staking crypto, for instance.

didericis 5y ago

Trustless systems expand who you can cooperate with. Systems which require trust limit you to cooperating with those you trust. Furthermore, systems which are manipulable by a central group that you are supposed to trust are often used not because they are trusted, but because there are not good alternatives. The trust element is only a factor if there are options. Decentralized systems are about moving control to a protocol all participants agree to rather than a small group of people.

disruptalot 5y ago

It's not designed around mistrust, it's designed to not require trust. There's a big difference. Why would you want trust where it's not needed? Trust is a barrier, not a feature.

DennisP 5y ago

Modern civilization is designed around mistrust. It's the reason we have police, contracts, lawyers, double-entry accounting, the SEC, and all sorts of other things. Blockchains are just a logical progression now that we have internet.

koonsolo 5y ago

So you never sign contracts? I would say our whole legal system is based on mistrust.