5 ms·

The difference is: (a) if I don't trust "computers" it absolutely can because I can use deposit box, and (b) the government guarantees that it is via FDIC insur

The difference is: (a) if I don't trust "computers" it absolutely can because I can use deposit box, and (b) the government guarantees that it is via FDIC insurance plus a long list of legal alternatives if it suddenly isn't there. Crypto has neither (a) nor (b); it is specifically designed to not have (a), and I don't see it having a (b) any time soon since regulation is anathema. I see your point. Both are ledgers. So in that way crypto and bank accounts are similar. But bank accounts can become cash. Crypto cannot. Now the argument shifts to "what is cash" but a different kind of ledger. We can argue why one is trusted more than the other, and perhaps 100 years from now crypto might be as safe as US dollars or Euros. But today there is a big, bit difference between a crypto wallet and a bank account. I find it especially confusing that many crypto advocates typically lament going off the gold standard, which makes my head hurt... Now that I argue this... i'm confused. Dammit, Beavis.

kranke155 5y ago
Bitcoin was indeed founded by libertarians who believed the loss of the gold standard was the beginning of the end of western civilisation. It’s a weird belief but - what if they’re right ? What if it did cause a lot of the problems ? Maybe not directly, but by freeing the state from a boundary-setting limiter it somehow corrupted it? I don’t know the answer but Bitcoin is a bet that it did cause problems. And so far it’s a winning bet.
cblconfederate 5y ago
you can store your private keys printed inside a deposit box if you don't trust computers (which you shouldn't). Nobody guarantees bitcoin, but insurance companies will always exist.
- xboxnolifes 5y ago
  Ultimately you need to trust the blockchain, which runs on computers. Which is the commenter's point.
  - cblconfederate 5y ago
    Even with cash, you trust that the banks won't blacklist your serial numbers. With gold you trust that the world will not invent a new gold making method that will make it worthless (as happened with aluminum). A basic level of faith is required by any system, so that point is not valid.
  - meowkit 5y ago
    The blockchain is a virtualized state - yes it executes on computers but the whole point is distributed consensus - you don't have to trust the computers, you trust the open source code being executed by the network.
    - lottin 5y ago
      > you don't have to trust the computers, you trust the open source code being executed by the network You're contradicting yourself.
      - cblconfederate 5y ago
        It's not a contradiction. You can trust the law / trust the code, but not trust the judges / trust the machines that run the code. You trust the law beacuse you can read it / You trust the code because you can read and mathematically prove that it works You cant trust the judges -- you have to have faith in them You cant trust the machines either -- but blockchain gives you specific mathematical guarantees that it is very hard for them to break the system.
        lottin 5y ago
        I don't think you're using the word 'trust' correctly. Trust is a belief that a particular outcome will occur despite having no guarantees that it will occur. What does it mean to trust the law? I have no idea.
        thebean11 5y ago

kranke155 5y ago

Bitcoin was indeed founded by libertarians who believed the loss of the gold standard was the beginning of the end of western civilisation. It’s a weird belief but - what if they’re right ? What if it did cause a lot of the problems ? Maybe not directly, but by freeing the state from a boundary-setting limiter it somehow corrupted it? I don’t know the answer but Bitcoin is a bet that it did cause problems. And so far it’s a winning bet.

cblconfederate 5y ago

you can store your private keys printed inside a deposit box if you don't trust computers (which you shouldn't). Nobody guarantees bitcoin, but insurance companies will always exist.

xboxnolifes 5y ago
Ultimately you need to trust the blockchain, which runs on computers. Which is the commenter's point.
- cblconfederate 5y ago
  Even with cash, you trust that the banks won't blacklist your serial numbers. With gold you trust that the world will not invent a new gold making method that will make it worthless (as happened with aluminum). A basic level of faith is required by any system, so that point is not valid.
- meowkit 5y ago
  The blockchain is a virtualized state - yes it executes on computers but the whole point is distributed consensus - you don't have to trust the computers, you trust the open source code being executed by the network.
  - lottin 5y ago
    > you don't have to trust the computers, you trust the open source code being executed by the network You're contradicting yourself.
    - cblconfederate 5y ago
      It's not a contradiction. You can trust the law / trust the code, but not trust the judges / trust the machines that run the code. You trust the law beacuse you can read it / You trust the code because you can read and mathematically prove that it works You cant trust the judges -- you have to have faith in them You cant trust the machines either -- but blockchain gives you specific mathematical guarantees that it is very hard for them to break the system.
      - lottin 5y ago
        I don't think you're using the word 'trust' correctly. Trust is a belief that a particular outcome will occur despite having no guarantees that it will occur. What does it mean to trust the law? I have no idea.
        thebean11 5y ago