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I keep hearing about all these amazing crypto products, yet outside of this very specific scene, where curiously only the VCs and devs involved wax poetic about

I keep hearing about all these amazing crypto products, yet outside of this very specific scene, where curiously only the VCs and devs involved wax poetic about it, you can never seem to find a real customer talking about their experience. You either acknowledge that cryptocurrencies look close enough to currencies or securities and regulate them as such, or you promote them for illegal and ambiguously legal reasons for which there is little rationale for a commercial endeavor. Anything else is just basically letting people slowly reinvent the finance system, with all the inevitable pitfalls it will have. Yes, it's regulated, so are most industries that have substantial systemic risks. The web was an anomaly, but as its proponents and participants acquired more power in society, society sought to regulate the rougher edges (for better or worse).

scsilver 5y ago
Decentralized securities havfe a different flavor than traditional securities, I like whos in charge, Gensler, to determine how they are going to regulate them if they are considered securities.
dataflow 5y ago
> with all the inevitable pitfalls it will have Exhibit A (which I routinely get downvoted for mentioning on HN, as nobody likes to hear it): Ransomware
- jandrese 5y ago
  Exhibit B: Drugs Sadly you can't buy your getaway car with Bitcoin anymore.
  - ludamad 5y ago
    My friend bought some weed. Some years later, it turned out that could have funded a down-payment if he held the BTC. I'm not sure he talks fondly of his user experience
Barrin92 5y ago
>"I keep hearing about all these amazing crypto products, yet outside of this very specific scene, where curiously only the VCs and devs involved wax poetic about it, you can never seem to find a real customer talking about their experience." because there is none. A paper[1] described this as 'Veblenian Entrepreneurship'. Being 'in crypto' isn't actually about producing any tangible goods or services, but consuming the 'crypto/entrepreneur' lifestyle. It's a way for people to LARP as technologists or entrepreneurs without actually producing anything of use to the general public at large. [1]https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3479042 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3479042
- uncomputation 5y ago
  > a way for people to LARP as technologists or entrepreneurs without actually producing anything of use to the general public at large. as someone who likes Words and Terms for things, thank you. It has always rubbed me the wrong way that blockchain enthusiasts use code as a verb. This may sound strange but I find I only use “code“ as a verb for people who do not work in tech to describe what I do. Even introductory programming materials, if you look at them, always say “learn to code,” or “coding,” which I always feel amateur saying. If it’s someone I work with or who even just works in tech, it’s always more specific. Don’t know if this makes sense in the slightest but thanks regardless for the link.
  - nomoreplease 5y ago
    I don’t know. I code and I don’t think it’s weird to use code as a verb. After all, I might be coding right now.
  - ludamad 5y ago
    I bet if Carmack said he's becoming a better coder, I wouldn't blink. Everything sounds clumsy if you're convinced the ideas they convey are clumsy
- oceanghost 5y ago
  It is not everyday one encounters a Thorstein Veblen reference.

scsilver 5y ago

Decentralized securities havfe a different flavor than traditional securities, I like whos in charge, Gensler, to determine how they are going to regulate them if they are considered securities.

dataflow 5y ago

> with all the inevitable pitfalls it will have Exhibit A (which I routinely get downvoted for mentioning on HN, as nobody likes to hear it): Ransomware

jandrese 5y ago
Exhibit B: Drugs Sadly you can't buy your getaway car with Bitcoin anymore.
- ludamad 5y ago
  My friend bought some weed. Some years later, it turned out that could have funded a down-payment if he held the BTC. I'm not sure he talks fondly of his user experience

Barrin92 5y ago

>"I keep hearing about all these amazing crypto products, yet outside of this very specific scene, where curiously only the VCs and devs involved wax poetic about it, you can never seem to find a real customer talking about their experience." because there is none. A paper[1] described this as 'Veblenian Entrepreneurship'. Being 'in crypto' isn't actually about producing any tangible goods or services, but consuming the 'crypto/entrepreneur' lifestyle. It's a way for people to LARP as technologists or entrepreneurs without actually producing anything of use to the general public at large. [1]https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3479042 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3479042

uncomputation 5y ago
> a way for people to LARP as technologists or entrepreneurs without actually producing anything of use to the general public at large. as someone who likes Words and Terms for things, thank you. It has always rubbed me the wrong way that blockchain enthusiasts use code as a verb. This may sound strange but I find I only use “code“ as a verb for people who do not work in tech to describe what I do. Even introductory programming materials, if you look at them, always say “learn to code,” or “coding,” which I always feel amateur saying. If it’s someone I work with or who even just works in tech, it’s always more specific. Don’t know if this makes sense in the slightest but thanks regardless for the link.
- nomoreplease 5y ago
  I don’t know. I code and I don’t think it’s weird to use code as a verb. After all, I might be coding right now.
- ludamad 5y ago
  I bet if Carmack said he's becoming a better coder, I wouldn't blink. Everything sounds clumsy if you're convinced the ideas they convey are clumsy
oceanghost 5y ago
It is not everyday one encounters a Thorstein Veblen reference.