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"I can't understand why more developers aren't into blockchain and fintech startups here, let me post an article explaining it!" It ain't the tech, it's the pe

by pluc 5y ago

"I can't understand why more developers aren't into blockchain and fintech startups here, let me post an article explaining it!" It ain't the tech, it's the people.

imglorp 5y ago
Right, there are two groups and you have to figure out which group you're talking to. One group sees new, distributed consensus data structures with unique properties that can advance civilization. They're out there; I've met them and they're doing good work. The other group are pure crooks and speculators willing to burn everything to the ground as long as they get theirs. But they wear a cute face and tell a flashy story, so it's hard to tell them from the first group.
- goodpoint 5y ago
  The first group is small and it feels like it's thinning as cryptocurrencies fail to prove beneficial to humanity. I'm referring to the promises of 1) giving access to banking to people in the global south 2) giving financial stability to people facing unsustainable inflation 3) doing that while not destroying the environment
  - imglorp 5y ago
    Maybe true with currencies, but I'll point out there are other applications of the blockchain-related datastructures, such as namecoin for global pointers, ipfs for content disemination, ethereum for contracts, iota for iot, etc etc.
  - carlosrg 5y ago
    Migrant workers used Bitcoin during the pandemic to transfer money to relatives in their origin countries without the need of a third party. I’d consider that beneficial to humanity, but your definition of beneficial might be different to mine. https://restofworld.org/2021/crypto-remittances/ https://restofworld.org/2021/crypto-remittances/
    - goodpoint 5y ago
      Occasional feel-good stories might not be enough to balance all the complaints around energy consumption and money laundering. > your definition of beneficial might be different to mine It's not my own: I'm trying to summarize the promises that were often made, together with cheap and fast money transfers, ease of use, better security, and many more.
- pluc 5y ago
  The problem is - as it often is with introverts and extroverts, technical and sales, product and marketing - the latter groups make a lot more noise than the former
koheripbal 5y ago
well... it's also the tech. The tech isn't ready yet. There are no truly decentralized scalable blockchains right now. None.

by pluc 5y ago

"I can't understand why more developers aren't into blockchain and fintech startups here, let me post an article explaining it!" It ain't the tech, it's the people.

imglorp 5y ago

Right, there are two groups and you have to figure out which group you're talking to. One group sees new, distributed consensus data structures with unique properties that can advance civilization. They're out there; I've met them and they're doing good work. The other group are pure crooks and speculators willing to burn everything to the ground as long as they get theirs. But they wear a cute face and tell a flashy story, so it's hard to tell them from the first group.

goodpoint 5y ago
The first group is small and it feels like it's thinning as cryptocurrencies fail to prove beneficial to humanity. I'm referring to the promises of 1) giving access to banking to people in the global south 2) giving financial stability to people facing unsustainable inflation 3) doing that while not destroying the environment
- imglorp 5y ago
  Maybe true with currencies, but I'll point out there are other applications of the blockchain-related datastructures, such as namecoin for global pointers, ipfs for content disemination, ethereum for contracts, iota for iot, etc etc.
- carlosrg 5y ago
  Migrant workers used Bitcoin during the pandemic to transfer money to relatives in their origin countries without the need of a third party. I’d consider that beneficial to humanity, but your definition of beneficial might be different to mine. https://restofworld.org/2021/crypto-remittances/ https://restofworld.org/2021/crypto-remittances/
  - goodpoint 5y ago
    Occasional feel-good stories might not be enough to balance all the complaints around energy consumption and money laundering. > your definition of beneficial might be different to mine It's not my own: I'm trying to summarize the promises that were often made, together with cheap and fast money transfers, ease of use, better security, and many more.
pluc 5y ago
The problem is - as it often is with introverts and extroverts, technical and sales, product and marketing - the latter groups make a lot more noise than the former

koheripbal 5y ago

well... it's also the tech. The tech isn't ready yet. There are no truly decentralized scalable blockchains right now. None.