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I'm curious if crypto enthusiasts believe crypto currencies won't be as regulated as other currencies and if not, in what way will it be more free and open in a

I'm curious if crypto enthusiasts believe crypto currencies won't be as regulated as other currencies and if not, in what way will it be more free and open in a beneficial manner?

cwkoss 5y ago
Right now, the government taxes USD cash savings at 5.4% (current inflation rate). There are good reasons for fiat currencies to continue existing, but it is also easy to understand why savers find a currency that cannot be devalued by federal reserve policy appealing. Personally, I also think the transparency of Bitcoin is a positive quality. Even the federal reserve does not have the capability to trace exactly where a given dollar has been - they are just integers in black box databases owned by banks. They settle net amounts, but enumerating the history of any particular dollar is impossible - even an accurate approximation would be prohibitively expensive. History is integral to the architecture of Bitcoin, so being able to trace where exactly money came from is much easier to do than for the dollar. If governments were forced to use crypto for expenses, it would provide much more transparency into government spending. I think this is especially beneficial to NGOs - they can publish their addresses and the public can audit their income and expenses directly.
- okareaman 5y ago
  Thanks, I see, especially that the govt can't print more Bitcoin
- verdverm 5y ago
  Govt transparency does not require Blockchain to happen, this could be done with any database. The hard part is recording everything. Imagine what happens when some agency loses their wallet key...
  - cwkoss 5y ago
    Technically, you're right, but I think a centralized database doesn't provide much trust beyond current govt reporting methods. The nice thing about decentralized blockchains for government transparency is that it is absolute and mandatory. I'd worry that a centralized database would simply omit some expenditures if they were used for black-ops or things that could otherwise hurt the reputation of the government.
    - verdverm 5y ago
      Transparency would have to be legislated to be mandatory, database or Blockchain. Transition to Blockchain would be complex and likely create more issues than it alleviates, compared to private infra.

I'm curious if crypto enthusiasts believe crypto currencies won't be as regulated as other currencies and if not, in what way will it be more free and open in a beneficial manner?

cwkoss 5y ago

Right now, the government taxes USD cash savings at 5.4% (current inflation rate). There are good reasons for fiat currencies to continue existing, but it is also easy to understand why savers find a currency that cannot be devalued by federal reserve policy appealing. Personally, I also think the transparency of Bitcoin is a positive quality. Even the federal reserve does not have the capability to trace exactly where a given dollar has been - they are just integers in black box databases owned by banks. They settle net amounts, but enumerating the history of any particular dollar is impossible - even an accurate approximation would be prohibitively expensive. History is integral to the architecture of Bitcoin, so being able to trace where exactly money came from is much easier to do than for the dollar. If governments were forced to use crypto for expenses, it would provide much more transparency into government spending. I think this is especially beneficial to NGOs - they can publish their addresses and the public can audit their income and expenses directly.

okareaman 5y ago
Thanks, I see, especially that the govt can't print more Bitcoin
verdverm 5y ago
Govt transparency does not require Blockchain to happen, this could be done with any database. The hard part is recording everything. Imagine what happens when some agency loses their wallet key...
- cwkoss 5y ago
  Technically, you're right, but I think a centralized database doesn't provide much trust beyond current govt reporting methods. The nice thing about decentralized blockchains for government transparency is that it is absolute and mandatory. I'd worry that a centralized database would simply omit some expenditures if they were used for black-ops or things that could otherwise hurt the reputation of the government.
  - verdverm 5y ago
    Transparency would have to be legislated to be mandatory, database or Blockchain. Transition to Blockchain would be complex and likely create more issues than it alleviates, compared to private infra.