3 ms·

Well my answer would be that there are many different types of exploits that we may consider fraud. As I said blockchains prevent _some_ of these exploits but n

by ipnon 5y ago

Well my answer would be that there are many different types of exploits that we may consider fraud. As I said blockchains prevent _some_ of these exploits but not all. I don't think we can prevent laundering of illegal arms sales with cryptocurrency just as I don't think we can prevent the same laundering with actual paper bills.[a] However blockchains do prevent problems like double spending and information asymmetry from occurring. My counter point to the lack of specific, easy answers on how blockchain solves any kind of fraud would be that there aren't any, in that there is a certain amount of financial and technical know how that is prerequisite to explaining _why_ these problems are provably non existent. We will need to wait for higher level abstractions to be invented before mainstream adoption is possible, and until that happens I will admit cryptocurrencies are almost hopelessly confusing in their mechanisms of action. [a] China's new central bank currency may be able to solve this problem to some extent but I consider the forced adoption of such a currency in the Western world to be too draconian to be practical.

leifg 5y ago
So blockchain solves some unspecified subset of fraud. But only people who know enough about finance and technology are able to understand how this fraud is prevented? A lot of time has passed. Why has no one come up with these higher level abstractions?
- ipnon 5y ago
  All I can say is that it can't be built overnight. There were 32 years between ARPANET implementing TCP/IP and AOL mailing install floppies around the country. I cannot claim to know that crypto will have the same impact as the Web has, but I claim it will require a similar amount of time to develop.
  - leifg 5y ago
    ARPANET implemented TCP/IP in 1983. The first AOL floppy disks were sent out in 1993. So thank you for proving my point. Even assuming your timeline is correct. And even ignoring that the top comment on this HN addresses this exact point pretty well: Are you telling me the goal post is now 32 years? And while we’re picking arbitrary points in computer history. The iPhone was released in late 2007 and is around 2 years older than the Bitcoin blockchain. I hope I don’t have to make the argument that smartphones have had a bigger impact on society than any kind of crypto/blockchain solution.

by ipnon 5y ago

leifg 5y ago

So blockchain solves some unspecified subset of fraud. But only people who know enough about finance and technology are able to understand how this fraud is prevented? A lot of time has passed. Why has no one come up with these higher level abstractions?

ipnon 5y ago
All I can say is that it can't be built overnight. There were 32 years between ARPANET implementing TCP/IP and AOL mailing install floppies around the country. I cannot claim to know that crypto will have the same impact as the Web has, but I claim it will require a similar amount of time to develop.
- leifg 5y ago
  ARPANET implemented TCP/IP in 1983. The first AOL floppy disks were sent out in 1993. So thank you for proving my point. Even assuming your timeline is correct. And even ignoring that the top comment on this HN addresses this exact point pretty well: Are you telling me the goal post is now 32 years? And while we’re picking arbitrary points in computer history. The iPhone was released in late 2007 and is around 2 years older than the Bitcoin blockchain. I hope I don’t have to make the argument that smartphones have had a bigger impact on society than any kind of crypto/blockchain solution.