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It seems to me like there is already something better than "smart contracts" now with the current legal and financial system. The current system can handle all

It seems to me like there is already something better than "smart contracts" now with the current legal and financial system. The current system can handle all sorts of nuance, edge cases, and disagreement that smart contracts can't. What's the Oracle for "Did you really go bankrupt?" or "Does the interaction between Alabama and California law necessitate payment in these specific conditions?" Ethereum is one of the more credible cryptocurrencies and yet, it is slow, throughput is woefully inadequate for scale, expensive to transact, and smart contracts don't really work. When I say "Don't really work" I mean that you can't use them for the things you'd want to use them for - i.e. you can't write an Ethereum smart contract for "If I deliver X hours of contracting work, meeting these specifications, then you will pay me Y amount by Z date automatically." If I'm wrong and you can do stuff like that, please point me to the solidity. I'm glad you included the line welcoming comments from those who feel this market shouldn't exist, otherwise I wouldn't have written this comment. I hate to be negative regarding a launch - but this feels like adding a product to the Ponzi Scheme Industry. Maybe it's like writing software to help manage slot machines, except your slot machines aren't regulated and you tell people they're investing rather than gambling.

colbycornish 5y ago
Thanks for the thoughtful response, and you're absolutely right, the current legal system is designed to handle all these. Right now, Oracles are also way more complex to build, and they can't handle the nuances of meeting X specification in a way that's simple and easy to do. To be clear, that doesn't mean that a simple solution will never be created. Obviously we think it will, but that doesn't mean we're right. But to address a slightly different part of your framing, our situation actually got more complicated when attempting to go the legal route. We suddenly had additional lawyer, collections, and time costs associated with the process...and we still never managed to collect. That's certainly an area where the current legal system fails (for a lot of people!). Cryptocurrencies might not be the perfect alternative, but they are an alternative that, in our opinion, is exciting to explore.
- ALittleLight 5y ago
  Hope it works out!
- almost 5y ago
  But it’s not just a matter of “no done yet” is it? Adding an oracle removes any “benefits” of smart contracts and puts you right back where you were with just regular contracts (but this time done badly and with bugs by incompetent bullshitters) The fact that you justify your product with a use case which does not work and can not work is very telling. But I’m sure as a strategy it’s working very well for you.
  - jadillionaire 5y ago
    I think it will help if I share a little more of the story. We are not using that use case of smart contracts as justification for our product, but the excitement for the future of smart contracts and the innovations in the cryptocurrency space encouraged the founders to get involved. They started buying cryptocurrency and found a pain point in tracking and rebalancing all of their holdings using Excel which could take upwards of 30 hours a week. Making an easier solution is the justification for the start of this product
gverrilla 5y ago
Think cars near the time they were first commercialized, and cars now. Blockchain and smart contract tech is several times more complex than cars, much probably. Of course you will get frustrated if you expect smart contracts to substitute the entirety of the legal system because it's not going to happen, I can assure you. If you look at cars and dismiss them because "they cannot fly" that's on you. There's a lot smart contract tech is doing, can do, and will do. Not only through tech but also through culture. There's plenty of interesting use already, but I'll mention a different example, more on the culture side of things: People in Brazil are using a new technology to transfer money between bank accounts faster and in an easier manner, it's a hit and growing very fast. It's not blockchain or ethereum, but a. the team involved cites those techs as their main influence, some of them having prior work/interest in those areas aswell and b. they say they have plans for implementing integration with public cryptocurrencies, smartcontracts, and several of their technologies such as smart contracts. Why, you could ask, wasn't this released to the public before, if it's not groundbreaking tech or even a tech innovation at all and provides so much benefit? "Culture".
- ganzuul 5y ago
  I got your point, this is tangential, but I would argue cars are much complex than DLT because they interface with the real world in a mission critical manner. The only reason they don't fly is the safety margin.

colbycornish 5y ago

Thanks for the thoughtful response, and you're absolutely right, the current legal system is designed to handle all these. Right now, Oracles are also way more complex to build, and they can't handle the nuances of meeting X specification in a way that's simple and easy to do. To be clear, that doesn't mean that a simple solution will never be created. Obviously we think it will, but that doesn't mean we're right. But to address a slightly different part of your framing, our situation actually got more complicated when attempting to go the legal route. We suddenly had additional lawyer, collections, and time costs associated with the process...and we still never managed to collect. That's certainly an area where the current legal system fails (for a lot of people!). Cryptocurrencies might not be the perfect alternative, but they are an alternative that, in our opinion, is exciting to explore.

ALittleLight 5y ago
Hope it works out!
almost 5y ago
But it’s not just a matter of “no done yet” is it? Adding an oracle removes any “benefits” of smart contracts and puts you right back where you were with just regular contracts (but this time done badly and with bugs by incompetent bullshitters) The fact that you justify your product with a use case which does not work and can not work is very telling. But I’m sure as a strategy it’s working very well for you.
- jadillionaire 5y ago
  I think it will help if I share a little more of the story. We are not using that use case of smart contracts as justification for our product, but the excitement for the future of smart contracts and the innovations in the cryptocurrency space encouraged the founders to get involved. They started buying cryptocurrency and found a pain point in tracking and rebalancing all of their holdings using Excel which could take upwards of 30 hours a week. Making an easier solution is the justification for the start of this product

gverrilla 5y ago

Think cars near the time they were first commercialized, and cars now. Blockchain and smart contract tech is several times more complex than cars, much probably. Of course you will get frustrated if you expect smart contracts to substitute the entirety of the legal system because it's not going to happen, I can assure you. If you look at cars and dismiss them because "they cannot fly" that's on you. There's a lot smart contract tech is doing, can do, and will do. Not only through tech but also through culture. There's plenty of interesting use already, but I'll mention a different example, more on the culture side of things: People in Brazil are using a new technology to transfer money between bank accounts faster and in an easier manner, it's a hit and growing very fast. It's not blockchain or ethereum, but a. the team involved cites those techs as their main influence, some of them having prior work/interest in those areas aswell and b. they say they have plans for implementing integration with public cryptocurrencies, smartcontracts, and several of their technologies such as smart contracts. Why, you could ask, wasn't this released to the public before, if it's not groundbreaking tech or even a tech innovation at all and provides so much benefit? "Culture".

ganzuul 5y ago
I got your point, this is tangential, but I would argue cars are much complex than DLT because they interface with the real world in a mission critical manner. The only reason they don't fly is the safety margin.