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> but cryptocurrency/blockchain in general are real, useful technologies. Whats the last time you bought anything (besides other coins) with cryptocurrency?

keiferski 5y ago
I’m guessing you’re from a country with a reliable banking system and without rapid inflation. In places where this doesn’t exist, crypto is a miracle. Beyond that, crypto has existed for about a decade now. It’s absolutely absurd to claim that it’s “not useful” because it hasn’t been widely adopted by everyday merchants. Traditional currency has a ten-thousand year head start. Perhaps we can be patient? And that’s not even including all of the other use cases blockchain has.
- mam3 5y ago
  How would crypto different than forex in that case ?
  - keiferski 5y ago
    I don’t have firsthand experience with this, so don’t quote me. But presumably because many countries have capital controls (with regular currencies) that aren’t or can’t be applied to crypto. Plus the simple fact that FOREX still requires a functioning overall banking infrastructure, as compared to crypto which doesn’t. The guy behind Cardano has talked a lot about crypto in Africa, so if you’re interested, I would start there. https://youtu.be/vTVrUOFXIT0 https://youtu.be/vTVrUOFXIT0
- majewsky 5y ago
  You don't need a ten-thousand year head start to be widely adopted. Bitcoin is 12 years old now. PayPal was that old in 2010/2011. PayPal was definitely more widely adopted at that age than Bitcoin is now. And besides, claiming that "traditional currency has a ten-thousand year head start" lumps so many wildly different forms of currency into a single category that the category is borderline meaningless.
  - keiferski 5y ago
    PayPal or other online banking apps are nowhere near as big of a leap as crypto is. Not even remotely comparable. The former is simply making a trusted single location for a database of transactions. The latter is making that database global and uncontrollable by any single entity. A vastly more difficult and complex task. And again, the idea that a technology can be deemed useless a mere decade after its launch is deeply historically ignorant. Automobiles, airplanes, he printing press, the list goes on and on. None of these things replaced their competitors in a decade.
    - jsiepkes 5y ago
      None of the technologies you name had that big of a negative effect on society while they were maturing. We are a decade in with cryptocoins and 98% of the things that cryptocoins have currently accomplished are a net loss for society. A net loss of which we are currently already "paying" for; Ransomware, waste of energy, people getting scammed with pump and dumps, etc.
      - keiferski 5y ago
        Incorrect. Early automobiles killed so many people that it became a major public health issue. The Printing Press essentially fueled the Reformation and the subsequent Wars of Religion. Airplanes were used in bombing raids during WW1, just over a decade after the successful flight of the Wright Brothers. All technologies have both positive and negative consequences. Edit: here’s a nice quote illustrating this. Serious debate was held in courtrooms and in editorials over whether the automobile was inherently evil. The state of Georgia's Court of Appeals wrote: "Automobiles are to be classed with ferocious animals and … the law relating to the duty of owners of such animals is to be applied ... . However, they are not to be classed with bad dogs, vicious bulls, evil disposed mules, and the like."
- rdsubhas 5y ago
  That doesn't answer the question though. Parent asked: > Whats the last time you bought anything (besides other coins) with cryptocurrency? Edit: phrasing
  - keiferski 5y ago
    I only just bought my first crypto about a month ago. Since then I have used some to buy some domain names and a cup of coffee.
- w0de0 5y ago
  I’m not sure I believe under banked societies are actually a good use case. I’ve lived in a country without established banking - and what I wanted most for the cash I earned locally was a bank, not a crypto wallet. Crypto might be safe from the government, buts it is significantly less safe from extortion. Anyone with a will and a ballpeen hammer can steal a crypto wallet with same ease it takes to mug someone out of $20.
koonsolo 5y ago
Bitcoins use-case right now seems to be a "store of value", or in other words, a hedge against inflation. As a short-term store, the price fluctuation is too big. But as a long-term store... Haven't seen a better one up until this point.
stiltzkin 5y ago
Things as NFTS or smart contracts are really new it need years and development for higher adoption.

keiferski 5y ago

I’m guessing you’re from a country with a reliable banking system and without rapid inflation. In places where this doesn’t exist, crypto is a miracle. Beyond that, crypto has existed for about a decade now. It’s absolutely absurd to claim that it’s “not useful” because it hasn’t been widely adopted by everyday merchants. Traditional currency has a ten-thousand year head start. Perhaps we can be patient? And that’s not even including all of the other use cases blockchain has.

mam3 5y ago
How would crypto different than forex in that case ?
- keiferski 5y ago
  I don’t have firsthand experience with this, so don’t quote me. But presumably because many countries have capital controls (with regular currencies) that aren’t or can’t be applied to crypto. Plus the simple fact that FOREX still requires a functioning overall banking infrastructure, as compared to crypto which doesn’t. The guy behind Cardano has talked a lot about crypto in Africa, so if you’re interested, I would start there. https://youtu.be/vTVrUOFXIT0 https://youtu.be/vTVrUOFXIT0
majewsky 5y ago
You don't need a ten-thousand year head start to be widely adopted. Bitcoin is 12 years old now. PayPal was that old in 2010/2011. PayPal was definitely more widely adopted at that age than Bitcoin is now. And besides, claiming that "traditional currency has a ten-thousand year head start" lumps so many wildly different forms of currency into a single category that the category is borderline meaningless.
- keiferski 5y ago
  PayPal or other online banking apps are nowhere near as big of a leap as crypto is. Not even remotely comparable. The former is simply making a trusted single location for a database of transactions. The latter is making that database global and uncontrollable by any single entity. A vastly more difficult and complex task. And again, the idea that a technology can be deemed useless a mere decade after its launch is deeply historically ignorant. Automobiles, airplanes, he printing press, the list goes on and on. None of these things replaced their competitors in a decade.
  - jsiepkes 5y ago
    None of the technologies you name had that big of a negative effect on society while they were maturing. We are a decade in with cryptocoins and 98% of the things that cryptocoins have currently accomplished are a net loss for society. A net loss of which we are currently already "paying" for; Ransomware, waste of energy, people getting scammed with pump and dumps, etc.
    - keiferski 5y ago
      Incorrect. Early automobiles killed so many people that it became a major public health issue. The Printing Press essentially fueled the Reformation and the subsequent Wars of Religion. Airplanes were used in bombing raids during WW1, just over a decade after the successful flight of the Wright Brothers. All technologies have both positive and negative consequences. Edit: here’s a nice quote illustrating this. Serious debate was held in courtrooms and in editorials over whether the automobile was inherently evil. The state of Georgia's Court of Appeals wrote: "Automobiles are to be classed with ferocious animals and … the law relating to the duty of owners of such animals is to be applied ... . However, they are not to be classed with bad dogs, vicious bulls, evil disposed mules, and the like."
rdsubhas 5y ago
That doesn't answer the question though. Parent asked: > Whats the last time you bought anything (besides other coins) with cryptocurrency? Edit: phrasing
- keiferski 5y ago
  I only just bought my first crypto about a month ago. Since then I have used some to buy some domain names and a cup of coffee.
w0de0 5y ago
I’m not sure I believe under banked societies are actually a good use case. I’ve lived in a country without established banking - and what I wanted most for the cash I earned locally was a bank, not a crypto wallet. Crypto might be safe from the government, buts it is significantly less safe from extortion. Anyone with a will and a ballpeen hammer can steal a crypto wallet with same ease it takes to mug someone out of $20.

koonsolo 5y ago

Bitcoins use-case right now seems to be a "store of value", or in other words, a hedge against inflation. As a short-term store, the price fluctuation is too big. But as a long-term store... Haven't seen a better one up until this point.

stiltzkin 5y ago

Things as NFTS or smart contracts are really new it need years and development for higher adoption.