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One thing that I find so confusing in the crypto maximalist sphere is the obsession with decentralization of everything but also with mainstream adoption. Coin

One thing that I find so confusing in the crypto maximalist sphere is the obsession with decentralization of everything but also with mainstream adoption. Coinbase is centralization, bank adoption is centralization, etc... Also if “fear of regulation” causes massive sell-offs, doesn’t it totally fail at being the “anti-government” centralized currency? I’m also just not convinced total decentralization is good? I mean sure markets are a decentralized way of pricing things and allow distributed decision making blah blah blah, but they have limits. I feel like far too many people are drawn in by the answer to the wrong question “what does crypto solve?” Instead of the more interesting one “what problems does it create”

sneak 5y ago
Cryptocurrencies love discussing their decentralization plans in their Telegram and Discord chats, deploying on AWS/GCE.
seibelj 5y ago
Decentralization is a spectrum. Bitcoin cannot be shutdown because it is decentralized. There can be centralized actors within a decentralized system. The major benefit is you can choose between various service providers and switch when you please. With government monopolies you use their service at gunpoint.
- lefrenchy 5y ago
  > With government monopolies you use their services at gunpoint I mean sure, in an authoritarian state that’s what happens. I’m just not convinced crypto is the solution? In order to evade being at gunpoint you’d essentially need all your crypto transactions to be undiscoverable to an all powerful entity, which is probably mostly possible and that’s great. The downside is you now open yourself to people being able to take all your money from you with close to no discoverability. In order to keep that privacy you’d have to avoid all centralized exchanges and manage most of this yourself and i’m just not convinced 99% of people need or want that? I’m not saying the tech isn’t impressive or the idea in its purest form compelling and interesting, but there’s a lot of fantasy I think.
- AlexandrB 5y ago
  Isn't >50% of mining happening in China? So I can go from being at the mercy of a government I can at least vote for to being a the mercy of a dictatorial government I can't have any influence on at all. Doesn't seem like an improvement to me.

sneak 5y ago

Cryptocurrencies love discussing their decentralization plans in their Telegram and Discord chats, deploying on AWS/GCE.

seibelj 5y ago

Decentralization is a spectrum. Bitcoin cannot be shutdown because it is decentralized. There can be centralized actors within a decentralized system. The major benefit is you can choose between various service providers and switch when you please. With government monopolies you use their service at gunpoint.

lefrenchy 5y ago
> With government monopolies you use their services at gunpoint I mean sure, in an authoritarian state that’s what happens. I’m just not convinced crypto is the solution? In order to evade being at gunpoint you’d essentially need all your crypto transactions to be undiscoverable to an all powerful entity, which is probably mostly possible and that’s great. The downside is you now open yourself to people being able to take all your money from you with close to no discoverability. In order to keep that privacy you’d have to avoid all centralized exchanges and manage most of this yourself and i’m just not convinced 99% of people need or want that? I’m not saying the tech isn’t impressive or the idea in its purest form compelling and interesting, but there’s a lot of fantasy I think.
AlexandrB 5y ago
Isn't >50% of mining happening in China? So I can go from being at the mercy of a government I can at least vote for to being a the mercy of a dictatorial government I can't have any influence on at all. Doesn't seem like an improvement to me.