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Blockchains are value-transfer networks. The value transfer layer has historically been abused as a rule rather than the exception: - Rent seeking, such as by

Blockchains are value-transfer networks. The value transfer layer has historically been abused as a rule rather than the exception: - Rent seeking, such as by Visa and Mastercard that continually try and raise merchant fees - Censorship, such as with OnlyFans and its attempted blacklisting by the banking system - As a weapon of war, as with the treasury blocking entities via their monopoly of the global reserve currency and their licensing / penalty system of banks regardless of their country - Debasement of money in general by the money printers Blockchains, when properly implemented as closely as can be attempted using decentralized engineering techniques, are neutral plumbing for value transfer. Ethereum is owned by no one, thus competitors can use it, and fees can be optionally added by middlemen if their services justify the fees. The benefit to the world is choice in the world of finance, something society has never had until recently.

HWR_14 5y ago
All those problems you listed are "I don't trust the central authority". None of those are problems that cannot be solved by a central authority. However, all those are specifically only useful for payments/currency. So, if blockchain is only nifty for distributed currency, that's a use case. But hardly lives up to the hype you bring forward. ML can solve problems I face. Blockchain cannot.
- craftinator 5y ago
  > All those problems you listed are "I don't trust the central authority". None of those are problems that cannot be solved by a central authority. It seems to me that the listed issues are actually actions that have been taken by central authority systems. This isn't about trust, it's about historical behavior, and an incentive and power scheme that promotes those types of autocratic and exploitive actions.
systemsignal 5y ago
Those last two bullets are not solved by crypto unless people stop using their country’s currencies altogether, which is incredibly unlikely in any well functioning country People still buy crypto with dollars and they have shown an obsession with the dollar value
- ZephyrBlu 5y ago
  > People still buy crypto with dollars and they have shown an obsession with the dollar value This is an unfair criticism. When I travel to a different country I think about their currency in terms of my home country's currency. People are "obsessed" with the dollar value because crypto is not currently the main currency/asset/payment method/whatever you want to call it.

HWR_14 5y ago

All those problems you listed are "I don't trust the central authority". None of those are problems that cannot be solved by a central authority. However, all those are specifically only useful for payments/currency. So, if blockchain is only nifty for distributed currency, that's a use case. But hardly lives up to the hype you bring forward. ML can solve problems I face. Blockchain cannot.

craftinator 5y ago
> All those problems you listed are "I don't trust the central authority". None of those are problems that cannot be solved by a central authority. It seems to me that the listed issues are actually actions that have been taken by central authority systems. This isn't about trust, it's about historical behavior, and an incentive and power scheme that promotes those types of autocratic and exploitive actions.

systemsignal 5y ago

Those last two bullets are not solved by crypto unless people stop using their country’s currencies altogether, which is incredibly unlikely in any well functioning country People still buy crypto with dollars and they have shown an obsession with the dollar value

ZephyrBlu 5y ago
> People still buy crypto with dollars and they have shown an obsession with the dollar value This is an unfair criticism. When I travel to a different country I think about their currency in terms of my home country's currency. People are "obsessed" with the dollar value because crypto is not currently the main currency/asset/payment method/whatever you want to call it.