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I'm a super crypto n00b - I don't really understand altcoins. BTC makes some sense to me, it's basically the gold standard of crypto currencies (I think?) and E

by neom 5y ago

I'm a super crypto n00b - I don't really understand altcoins. BTC makes some sense to me, it's basically the gold standard of crypto currencies (I think?) and ETH makes some sense because of the smart contract stuff built in (I think?) - should I think about all the alt coins like being nation state currencies? Do they have specific unique properties per coin that is relevant to their use-case? What's the theory behind them?

cunidev 5y ago
Behind this, none. Memes, and speculation, and memes, and Elon Musk.
- neom 5y ago
  So for this shiba thing, dude holding 8k worth, I guess his theory was something like "Internet people love Shibas, they're funny and kawaii, bet people will buy it as joke! Bet I'll make bank!" - and they did?
  - cunidev 5y ago
    More or less so. Welcome to crypto wonderland
    - neom 5y ago
      So what's to prevent me from making pepecoin, or going on twitch and making alt coins for funny memes of famous streamers and pumping them in their communities? That would be "the right thing to do" in this so called wonderland? Fascinating to me really...
      - kflzufkrbzi 5y ago
        Nothing. Theres plently of them already, its just that nobody cares about 99.9% of them.
      - tata71 5y ago
        Your local law enforcement, hopefully.
doomroot 5y ago
They are penny stocks, nothing more. Exchanges & VCs buy up a ton of coins then market the coin really hard and dump on retail.
bhickey 5y ago
> What's the theory behind them? Greater Fool Theory underpins crypto currencies. NFTs are a variation on them designed to evade securities regulation. With crypto pogs you're either the con man or the mark.
shagmin 5y ago
Some are created as jokes, some are created with better privacy in mind, some are intended to be more energy efficient forks of other existing altcoins, etc.,.
jstx1 5y ago
> What's the theory behind them? There is no theory, each one is different. Some propose different ways to do transactions, or different scaling solutions, different governance, different ways to do smart contracts etc. Some are poor solutions, others are outright scams. BTC and ETH aren't special, they're just big. BTC has the market place it has because it was first, not because it's better in any technical way. Similarly with ETH - it has a large community but it isn't necessarily better at smart contracts (or it might be - people will argue about this indefinitely).
3r8Oltr0ziouVDM 5y ago
Monero is a private alternative to Bitcoin, all transactions are anonymous. Cardano, Solana, Algorand are smart contract platforms like Ethereum but with different technology and tradeoffs. These are just a few examples.
megameter 5y ago
It all depends on the governance and securing model. Unlike most securities, which have a direct tie to the state apparatus through their legalization, the proof-of-work coins, at least, are governed like their own little consensual nations with ideosyncratic characteristics. Think somewhere in between fandom, religion, and collective and you have many of the more "open" ones. There are also many examples of tokens that are VC plays following the corporate model, where the token is meant to support a core business rather than acting in a national mode. Both are pleasing to speculators for different reasons.
mandmandam 5y ago
Since you've received several trite replies, here's an answer to your actual question: The original promise of crypto was verifiable, trust-less, decentralized transactions of value without middlemen, sanctions or high fees. These transactions have different properties, whether alt-coins, BTC or Ether; for example: * Transaction speed can be Fast / Slow * Security - Very Secure / Broken * Centralization - Tends towards decentralization / Centralization * Transaction cost - Fee-less / Extreme * Privacy / Transparent - Opaque * Energy Efficiency - Highly Efficient / Purposefully wasteful Some alt-coins have far, far surpassed BTC and Ether in all of the above. However, the people who hold BTC and Ether were there first, made the most, and have no intention of letting that value go. If cryptos are nation state currencies, BTC and Ether have invested their money in defense and propaganda. Alt coins are a mixed lot, but some of them have greener, faster, more sustainable and less centralized methods. The small citizenry is what holds them back despite technological superiority; for now. The funny thing about that analogy though, is that changing your backed nation state takes less than a second...
- neom 5y ago
  So question about that. In this new world, we've effectively connected tech choice directly to financial return, is there a disincentivization to pick the "best" tech?
  - mandmandam 5y ago
    Yes and no. Yes in the short term. Picking the best tech is disincentivized, because there are many and powerful forces beyond technical characteristics at play. No in the long term, because technology really does matter once people actually try to use the coin. Ether was once the best tech, and it was $10 a coin. Now it isn't, and it's >$4k. For example: More and more of the people who make money using their graphic cards to mine Ethereum are choosing to have their payment transferred in Nano, and other alts. It just makes more sense to go with the fee-less and near-instant option, when there's a choice like that to be made.
  - bhaak 5y ago
    Look at the real word companies. It's not always the company with the best technology that wins. There are lots of different factors that influence that.
rchaud 5y ago
None of these are currencies. Even BTC isn't used for daily transactions, whereas in 2013 there were small businesses that would accept it (e.g. boutique pizza chains and coffee shops). That all disappeared when transaction fees blew up and made it not worthwhile. These are speculative 'assets' that can only be traded for another speculative asset (altcoin) or a 'stablecoin' that promises that each coin is backed with US$1, but refuses to conduct an audit to verify it.
afroboy 5y ago
They're just gambling materials.

by neom 5y ago

cunidev 5y ago

Behind this, none. Memes, and speculation, and memes, and Elon Musk.

neom 5y ago
So for this shiba thing, dude holding 8k worth, I guess his theory was something like "Internet people love Shibas, they're funny and kawaii, bet people will buy it as joke! Bet I'll make bank!" - and they did?
- cunidev 5y ago
  More or less so. Welcome to crypto wonderland
  - neom 5y ago
    So what's to prevent me from making pepecoin, or going on twitch and making alt coins for funny memes of famous streamers and pumping them in their communities? That would be "the right thing to do" in this so called wonderland? Fascinating to me really...
    - kflzufkrbzi 5y ago
      Nothing. Theres plently of them already, its just that nobody cares about 99.9% of them.
    - tata71 5y ago
      Your local law enforcement, hopefully.

doomroot 5y ago

They are penny stocks, nothing more. Exchanges & VCs buy up a ton of coins then market the coin really hard and dump on retail.

bhickey 5y ago

> What's the theory behind them? Greater Fool Theory underpins crypto currencies. NFTs are a variation on them designed to evade securities regulation. With crypto pogs you're either the con man or the mark.

shagmin 5y ago

Some are created as jokes, some are created with better privacy in mind, some are intended to be more energy efficient forks of other existing altcoins, etc.,.

jstx1 5y ago

> What's the theory behind them? There is no theory, each one is different. Some propose different ways to do transactions, or different scaling solutions, different governance, different ways to do smart contracts etc. Some are poor solutions, others are outright scams. BTC and ETH aren't special, they're just big. BTC has the market place it has because it was first, not because it's better in any technical way. Similarly with ETH - it has a large community but it isn't necessarily better at smart contracts (or it might be - people will argue about this indefinitely).

3r8Oltr0ziouVDM 5y ago

Monero is a private alternative to Bitcoin, all transactions are anonymous. Cardano, Solana, Algorand are smart contract platforms like Ethereum but with different technology and tradeoffs. These are just a few examples.

megameter 5y ago

It all depends on the governance and securing model. Unlike most securities, which have a direct tie to the state apparatus through their legalization, the proof-of-work coins, at least, are governed like their own little consensual nations with ideosyncratic characteristics. Think somewhere in between fandom, religion, and collective and you have many of the more "open" ones. There are also many examples of tokens that are VC plays following the corporate model, where the token is meant to support a core business rather than acting in a national mode. Both are pleasing to speculators for different reasons.

mandmandam 5y ago

Since you've received several trite replies, here's an answer to your actual question: The original promise of crypto was verifiable, trust-less, decentralized transactions of value without middlemen, sanctions or high fees. These transactions have different properties, whether alt-coins, BTC or Ether; for example: * Transaction speed can be Fast / Slow * Security - Very Secure / Broken * Centralization - Tends towards decentralization / Centralization * Transaction cost - Fee-less / Extreme * Privacy / Transparent - Opaque * Energy Efficiency - Highly Efficient / Purposefully wasteful Some alt-coins have far, far surpassed BTC and Ether in all of the above. However, the people who hold BTC and Ether were there first, made the most, and have no intention of letting that value go. If cryptos are nation state currencies, BTC and Ether have invested their money in defense and propaganda. Alt coins are a mixed lot, but some of them have greener, faster, more sustainable and less centralized methods. The small citizenry is what holds them back despite technological superiority; for now. The funny thing about that analogy though, is that changing your backed nation state takes less than a second...

neom 5y ago
So question about that. In this new world, we've effectively connected tech choice directly to financial return, is there a disincentivization to pick the "best" tech?
- mandmandam 5y ago
  Yes and no. Yes in the short term. Picking the best tech is disincentivized, because there are many and powerful forces beyond technical characteristics at play. No in the long term, because technology really does matter once people actually try to use the coin. Ether was once the best tech, and it was $10 a coin. Now it isn't, and it's >$4k. For example: More and more of the people who make money using their graphic cards to mine Ethereum are choosing to have their payment transferred in Nano, and other alts. It just makes more sense to go with the fee-less and near-instant option, when there's a choice like that to be made.
- bhaak 5y ago
  Look at the real word companies. It's not always the company with the best technology that wins. There are lots of different factors that influence that.

rchaud 5y ago

None of these are currencies. Even BTC isn't used for daily transactions, whereas in 2013 there were small businesses that would accept it (e.g. boutique pizza chains and coffee shops). That all disappeared when transaction fees blew up and made it not worthwhile. These are speculative 'assets' that can only be traded for another speculative asset (altcoin) or a 'stablecoin' that promises that each coin is backed with US$1, but refuses to conduct an audit to verify it.

afroboy 5y ago

They're just gambling materials.