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The author of this article makes specious claims that can each be refuted. >Any application that could be done on a blockchain could be better done on a centra

The author of this article makes specious claims that can each be refuted. >Any application that could be done on a blockchain could be better done on a centralized database. Except crime. That's simply not true. First he doesn't define "better" which is incredibly important when making such a claim. I would agree that centralized databases can do things "more quickly" and "with less overhead" but you'd lose the most important quality of what make cryptocurrencies important: "without permission, consent, or control of anyone else." Centralized systems can make changes to your data without your knowledge or consent. They can freeze/edit/delete your records without your say. Decentralized systems that use blockchains are immune to this, and for people who prioritize privacy or use of a system without consent from some over-arching 3rd party, they would definitely say blockchain-based systems are "better" >crypto assets have no claim to be currencies because their deflationary properties and volatility don’t fulfill the theoretical or even practical function of money This is untrue. There are government-issued currencies that are far more volatile than cryptocurrencies are. There are 3 functions of money: store of value, unit of account, and medium of exchange. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin fulfill all 3. >They aren’t commodities because they have no non-circular economic use case. Again untrue. ENS and Handshake allow registration of domains without a centralized DNS registrar. Helium tokens allow access to a global decentralized sensor/relay network without relying on centralized telecoms. ETH and AKT allow you to code and deploy a program that does not rely on any centralized servers in two different formats. Sentinel (DVPN) lets you pay for and access a decentralized VPN without relying on a centralized party. Each of these projects - and many many others - have economic use cases that are not circular. The author has twisted facts to conform to his own predetermined reality.

user-the-name 5y ago
> There are 3 functions of money: store of value, unit of account, and medium of exchange. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin fulfill all 3. Bitcoin fails miserably at all three. Come on. Bitcoin can do a measly three transactions per second for exorbitant fees, it is massively unstable and unsuitable as a store of value.
whatever1 5y ago
Crypto can be forked without my consent too.
TheProbes 5y ago
I'm not that au fait with the other cases you mention, but Helium is a straight up scam. No-one uses it for anything at all, even in markets where they have full coverage. This is because, in the real world, companies need security. They will pay a little bit extra so that: A: The network works everywhere, and doesn't suddenly develop dead spots because Jason went scuba diving for a week and turned off his node and B: There is someone on the end of the phone they can call when things go wrong. No-one beyond those trying to make money of their tokens cares about Helium at all, easily provable by looking at their data record. "Oh....but LIME scooters!" No, they ripped off Lime's logo and are BSing that Lime uses their network. Lime doesn't. Lime uses a non-blockchain network called Twillio, because they are a real business in the real world need the things I mentioned above. https://customers.twilio.com/2050/lime/ https://customers.twilio.com/2050/lime/ Helium's only business, like every blockchain business that I have ever seen, is scamming people to buy tokens and selling them hardware. Oh, and lying.

user-the-name 5y ago

> There are 3 functions of money: store of value, unit of account, and medium of exchange. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin fulfill all 3. Bitcoin fails miserably at all three. Come on. Bitcoin can do a measly three transactions per second for exorbitant fees, it is massively unstable and unsuitable as a store of value.

whatever1 5y ago

Crypto can be forked without my consent too.

TheProbes 5y ago

I'm not that au fait with the other cases you mention, but Helium is a straight up scam. No-one uses it for anything at all, even in markets where they have full coverage. This is because, in the real world, companies need security. They will pay a little bit extra so that: A: The network works everywhere, and doesn't suddenly develop dead spots because Jason went scuba diving for a week and turned off his node and B: There is someone on the end of the phone they can call when things go wrong. No-one beyond those trying to make money of their tokens cares about Helium at all, easily provable by looking at their data record. "Oh....but LIME scooters!" No, they ripped off Lime's logo and are BSing that Lime uses their network. Lime doesn't. Lime uses a non-blockchain network called Twillio, because they are a real business in the real world need the things I mentioned above. https://customers.twilio.com/2050/lime/ https://customers.twilio.com/2050/lime/ Helium's only business, like every blockchain business that I have ever seen, is scamming people to buy tokens and selling them hardware. Oh, and lying.