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My main criticism comes from the fact that Bitcoin (and other crypto-coins) had a good several years to find a purpose, to this day, I am not aware of a single

My main criticism comes from the fact that Bitcoin (and other crypto-coins) had a good several years to find a purpose, to this day, I am not aware of a single use-case where they are used to solve a real world problem. If I had to sum up how I feel about Bitcoin (/ crypto / block chain..) - magic buzz word for the non-tech-savvy ,draw for gamblers & ego driven individuals, theme of quasi-fake money-grab startups.. I think one of the things that ruined Bitcoin is it becoming this "asset" instead of a tool to get something done, maybe proving something about a truly "free" market, maybe there's a lesson here.

Applejinx 5y ago
Blackmail, extortion and drug dealing absolutely are real world problems that bitcoin directly serves to facilitate. The notion of it being in any way an investment vehicle is a whole separate thing, an arguably non-proven use-case. Being able to use bitcoin to conduct actions outside the control of any government or law is absolutely, demonstrably proven. That part delivers on all its promises. Nobody ever said that the things you want to DO when you want to do them outside any legal or governmental control, are nice things. On the whole there are fewer impediments to doing nice things within the confines of laws and governments. The more reasonable governments are, the more Bitcoin becomes only a method for facilitating straight-up crime. If you're fixing to be paid for being an absolute monster you've got to have an infrastructure that works even when the government wants to lock you up. You'll be doing things where you must not be identified or traced: where there are real specific reasons for law enforcement to be gunning for you, bigtime. Ransom, extortion, kidnapping: there are whole classes of behavior generally considered undesirable where you'd require a completely liquid and untraceable way to get paid off in order to get you to stop doing the thing. Bitcoin is that tool, today and as long as it lasts. It's no investment vehicle but it is a very effective mechanism for ransom payments and enabling the avoidance of consequences no matter how monstrous you are. That's a practical and very active use case right now.
- leroman 5y ago
  Good point. If Bitcoin was shutdown today, how would these criminals collect their ransoms?
  - randomhodler84 5y ago
    Most phone scammers don’t use cryptocurrency, they use gift cards. Ransom will work the same it always did, hacked bank account transfers, money mules, gift cards and gift credit cards. Even cash in the mail. Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are just money like any other surrogate. Money doesn’t create crime, but it is a necessary component. It’s not the money that is bad, it is the criminals.

Applejinx 5y ago

Blackmail, extortion and drug dealing absolutely are real world problems that bitcoin directly serves to facilitate. The notion of it being in any way an investment vehicle is a whole separate thing, an arguably non-proven use-case. Being able to use bitcoin to conduct actions outside the control of any government or law is absolutely, demonstrably proven. That part delivers on all its promises. Nobody ever said that the things you want to DO when you want to do them outside any legal or governmental control, are nice things. On the whole there are fewer impediments to doing nice things within the confines of laws and governments. The more reasonable governments are, the more Bitcoin becomes only a method for facilitating straight-up crime. If you're fixing to be paid for being an absolute monster you've got to have an infrastructure that works even when the government wants to lock you up. You'll be doing things where you must not be identified or traced: where there are real specific reasons for law enforcement to be gunning for you, bigtime. Ransom, extortion, kidnapping: there are whole classes of behavior generally considered undesirable where you'd require a completely liquid and untraceable way to get paid off in order to get you to stop doing the thing. Bitcoin is that tool, today and as long as it lasts. It's no investment vehicle but it is a very effective mechanism for ransom payments and enabling the avoidance of consequences no matter how monstrous you are. That's a practical and very active use case right now.

leroman 5y ago
Good point. If Bitcoin was shutdown today, how would these criminals collect their ransoms?
- randomhodler84 5y ago
  Most phone scammers don’t use cryptocurrency, they use gift cards. Ransom will work the same it always did, hacked bank account transfers, money mules, gift cards and gift credit cards. Even cash in the mail. Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are just money like any other surrogate. Money doesn’t create crime, but it is a necessary component. It’s not the money that is bad, it is the criminals.