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The rebranding of MySQL as blockchain was a brilliant move for sales. Bit torrent is decentralized and it doesn't use "blockchain". "Blockchain" only works for

The rebranding of MySQL as blockchain was a brilliant move for sales. Bit torrent is decentralized and it doesn't use "blockchain". "Blockchain" only works for money and nothing else

TrackerFF 5y ago
World's most expensive linked-list.
Destiner 5y ago
Even if so, "only money" is a multi trillion dollar industry.
wpietri 5y ago
I mean, if you look at transaction cost, settle time, user friendliness, and currency risk, it doesn't even work as a medium of exchange, which is the definition of money. More than a decade on, approximately nobody uses Bitcoin for normal transactions. Compare with Venmo or MPesa, both of which launched around the same time, to se what actual digital money looks like. Both of those do way more transactions than Bitcoin and are much more widely adopted.
- horsawlarway 5y ago
  Hard agree - the only thing bitcoin can reasonably be spent on for most folks is black market goods (usually drugs). Which is really why bitcoin exists as thing today, in my opinion. It was a way to pay for drugs over the internet. The rest of the pricing is purely speculation, and it hurts any real utility it might provide.
  - mywittyname 5y ago
    It does seem to be used by people transferring funds internationally, especially from SEA to the USA.
    - wpietri 5y ago
      Oh? What percent of international transfers are using it?
      - mywittyname 5y ago
        No clue. I just know people who do it.
        wpietri 5y ago
        Got it. I mean, I know people who ride unicycles. But for this I'm not interesting so much in "is it possible" as "is it effective and widely adopted".
        mywittyname 5y ago
        Agree, anecdotes aren't data. But seeing non-tech-savvy people doing it definitely makes me think it's somewhat common. I posted half with the expectation that someone would chime in with some personal experience on the topic; HN has a pretty diverse group here. I found a number of guides on the pros and cons of various international money transfers options, and BTC is often included as an option. I also found some recent (and old!) articles about its use as a remittance system in poorer areas of the world[1]. > Other emerging market central banks in Latin America, India, and Southeast Asia, where remittances make up a significant share of the economy, are in a similar bind. Bitcoin transfers surged in emerging markets last year, as the pandemic accelerated the rise of cheaper, more efficient digital remittance services. [1]https://qz.com/africa/1983610/bitcoin-draws-millions-of-workers-sending-their-money-abroad/ https://qz.com/africa/1983610/bitcoin-draws-millions-of-work...
  - wpietri 5y ago
    For sure. And I think that speculation (with attendant market manipulation) are the main observed purpose of it these days. The total drugs market is large, but I'd be surprised to learn that even 1% passes through all the cryptocurrencies put together. Especially Bitcoin given how traceable it is.
- jdauriemma 5y ago
  Add Starbucks to that list
- doomroot 5y ago
  Why does the bitcoin blockchain need to be used for normal transactions? Do you not think a neutral payment rail/unit of account between nation state level actor’s could be valuable?
  - ARandumGuy 5y ago
    These nation state level actors would need to convert their Bitcoin into something that they can actually spend. Governments need to pay employees, contractors, and suppliers. These people want actual currency they can spend. The main alternative would be to issue a Bitcoin backed currency. But then you're just re-creating the gold standard, and all of the problems that go along with that.
  - wpietri 5y ago
    Let me refer you back to the original paper: https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf The goal was "a purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash". That is, money. If you are proposing a new goal, a settlement system for couple hundred named organizations with strong relationships, then a) that's not money, and b) the Bitcoin system is socially and technically wrong for that. But if we keep the goalposts in their original location, Bitcoin is clearly a failure when you look at how the competition has done.
  - kristjansson 5y ago
    _Anything_ that one could get central banks or nation states to agree to use would be valuable. The LOE the technical system (SWIFT, Bitcoin, whatever) is absolutely infinitesimal compared to negotiating a change of that magnitude.
  - imtringued 5y ago
    In my opinion there is nothing wrong with third parties offering services on top but you know, the whole cryptocurrency idea is that you don't need them.
- kibbleble 5y ago
  Bitcoin is a 1.0, a beta version that caught on. Anybody who knows better wouldn't use Bitcoin as money, that's true. They've moved on to Monero.
- impulser_ 5y ago
  Have you ever did a wire transfer through a bank?
  - wpietri 5y ago
    Yes.
- 0x000000001 5y ago
  Wait until you learn how long settlement time really takes and how big fees are in traditional finance. This is hidden from you.
fksadfji12 5y ago
Money was the entire point...
overlaid 5y ago
> The rebranding of MySQL as blockchain Sadly this really is the most nuanced definition of "blockchain" that many people can understand
- space_rock 5y ago
  It is the only definition of blockchain that matches it's use. Where they copied the word from, the bitcoin datastructure, is unrelated

The rebranding of MySQL as blockchain was a brilliant move for sales. Bit torrent is decentralized and it doesn't use "blockchain". "Blockchain" only works for money and nothing else

TrackerFF 5y ago

World's most expensive linked-list.

Destiner 5y ago

Even if so, "only money" is a multi trillion dollar industry.

wpietri 5y ago

I mean, if you look at transaction cost, settle time, user friendliness, and currency risk, it doesn't even work as a medium of exchange, which is the definition of money. More than a decade on, approximately nobody uses Bitcoin for normal transactions. Compare with Venmo or MPesa, both of which launched around the same time, to se what actual digital money looks like. Both of those do way more transactions than Bitcoin and are much more widely adopted.

horsawlarway 5y ago
Hard agree - the only thing bitcoin can reasonably be spent on for most folks is black market goods (usually drugs). Which is really why bitcoin exists as thing today, in my opinion. It was a way to pay for drugs over the internet. The rest of the pricing is purely speculation, and it hurts any real utility it might provide.
- mywittyname 5y ago
  It does seem to be used by people transferring funds internationally, especially from SEA to the USA.
  - wpietri 5y ago
    Oh? What percent of international transfers are using it?
    - mywittyname 5y ago
      No clue. I just know people who do it.
      - wpietri 5y ago
        Got it. I mean, I know people who ride unicycles. But for this I'm not interesting so much in "is it possible" as "is it effective and widely adopted".
        mywittyname 5y ago
        Agree, anecdotes aren't data. But seeing non-tech-savvy people doing it definitely makes me think it's somewhat common. I posted half with the expectation that someone would chime in with some personal experience on the topic; HN has a pretty diverse group here. I found a number of guides on the pros and cons of various international money transfers options, and BTC is often included as an option. I also found some recent (and old!) articles about its use as a remittance system in poorer areas of the world[1]. > Other emerging market central banks in Latin America, India, and Southeast Asia, where remittances make up a significant share of the economy, are in a similar bind. Bitcoin transfers surged in emerging markets last year, as the pandemic accelerated the rise of cheaper, more efficient digital remittance services. [1]https://qz.com/africa/1983610/bitcoin-draws-millions-of-workers-sending-their-money-abroad/ https://qz.com/africa/1983610/bitcoin-draws-millions-of-work...
- wpietri 5y ago
  For sure. And I think that speculation (with attendant market manipulation) are the main observed purpose of it these days. The total drugs market is large, but I'd be surprised to learn that even 1% passes through all the cryptocurrencies put together. Especially Bitcoin given how traceable it is.
jdauriemma 5y ago
Add Starbucks to that list
doomroot 5y ago
Why does the bitcoin blockchain need to be used for normal transactions? Do you not think a neutral payment rail/unit of account between nation state level actor’s could be valuable?
- ARandumGuy 5y ago
  These nation state level actors would need to convert their Bitcoin into something that they can actually spend. Governments need to pay employees, contractors, and suppliers. These people want actual currency they can spend. The main alternative would be to issue a Bitcoin backed currency. But then you're just re-creating the gold standard, and all of the problems that go along with that.
- wpietri 5y ago
  Let me refer you back to the original paper: https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf The goal was "a purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash". That is, money. If you are proposing a new goal, a settlement system for couple hundred named organizations with strong relationships, then a) that's not money, and b) the Bitcoin system is socially and technically wrong for that. But if we keep the goalposts in their original location, Bitcoin is clearly a failure when you look at how the competition has done.
- kristjansson 5y ago
  _Anything_ that one could get central banks or nation states to agree to use would be valuable. The LOE the technical system (SWIFT, Bitcoin, whatever) is absolutely infinitesimal compared to negotiating a change of that magnitude.
- imtringued 5y ago
  In my opinion there is nothing wrong with third parties offering services on top but you know, the whole cryptocurrency idea is that you don't need them.
kibbleble 5y ago
Bitcoin is a 1.0, a beta version that caught on. Anybody who knows better wouldn't use Bitcoin as money, that's true. They've moved on to Monero.
impulser_ 5y ago
Have you ever did a wire transfer through a bank?
- wpietri 5y ago
  Yes.
0x000000001 5y ago
Wait until you learn how long settlement time really takes and how big fees are in traditional finance. This is hidden from you.

fksadfji12 5y ago

Money was the entire point...

overlaid 5y ago

> The rebranding of MySQL as blockchain Sadly this really is the most nuanced definition of "blockchain" that many people can understand

space_rock 5y ago
It is the only definition of blockchain that matches it's use. Where they copied the word from, the bitcoin datastructure, is unrelated