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Criticisms are okay, but this isn't a good criticism. From the article: > Let’s start with this: Venmo is a free service to transfer dollars, and bitcoin tran
by bko 5y ago
Criticisms are okay, but this isn't a good criticism.
From the article:
> Let’s start with this: Venmo is a free service to transfer dollars, and bitcoin transfers are not free. Yet after I wrote an article last December saying bitcoin had no use, someone responded that Venmo and Paypal are raking in consumers’ money and people should switch to bitcoin.
Not everyone has access to Venmo or PayPal. For instance, sex workers are routinely booted off the platform in the US with their funds being frozen. People in developing countries also may not have access.
> In fact, I would assert that there is no single person in existence who had a problem they wanted to solve, discovered that an available blockchain solution was the best way to solve it, and therefore became a blockchain enthusiast.
How about people that want to hold western stable coins and they are legally prevented from holding dollars or similarly stable currency?
- Feeble 5y agoMy company operates in a highly international business area. The whole industry is moving towards using crypto for B2B payments. Every provider and partner offers payment by crypto - because international bank payments are slow, expensive and complicated (gets stuck, countries blocked, unclear KYC etc, opaque AML blockers etc).
- rjmunro 5y agoWhich industry do you work in?
- __alexs 5y ago> My company operates in a highly international business area. Is it drug trafficking?
- mellavora 5y agoexcept those KYC and AML laws still apply to the companies making the transfers. And some of the regulators are extremely aggressive in their enforcement. so your company either has to set up its own KYC/AML compliance department (noting that this is often a regulated profession) or it is probably breaking the law. International bank payments are slow, but they are also reversible and compliance is not your problem.
- carlivar 5y agoHow is legally preventing people from owning dollars different from banning Bitcoin (or gold)? Isn't the latter one of the main risks to Bitcoin?
- bko 5y agoIt's not but its a lot easier and safer to hold digital currency than wads of cash in your floorboards. Easier to acquire, receive from abroad and verify as well. It allows for a form of civil disobedience against unjust laws
- caspper69 5y agoSeems to me that an immutable transaction record going back to day 0 would be a very dangerous way to practice civil disobedience under many regimes. All it takes is to turn one participant, and the threads can be followed to trace the money.
- vintermann 5y agoIs it though? If I hold wads of cash in my floorboards, you need to actually break in and take it. If I hold something in a digital wallet, I can never be sure I've eliminated all the ways to take it remotely and anonymously.
- bko 5y agoYou can print out a seed phrase and hold it under your floorboards as well, or better yet, memorize it. It takes up less space. You can split the phrase up and give it to a few trusted parties. You can do multi-sig. It's easier to transport, etc etc etc
- carlivar 5y agoVarious weights of gold or silver are the better comparison versus wads of cash, but your point is taken since I guess the completely digital acquisition is the difference.
- rjmunro 5y agoDo this actual person really exist? They were looking for a way to hold some dollars they had lying around, did some research, found blockchain and have now put the dollars into USDT or whatever?
- martinko 5y agotldr: Yes https://www.wsj.com/articles/turks-pile-into-bitcoin-and-tether-to-escape-plunging-lira-11641982077?mod=hp_lead_pos6 https://www.wsj.com/articles/turks-pile-into-bitcoin-and-tet...
- bko 5y agoThere are people legally prevented from holding USD. Take a look at Argentina [0]. They're legally banned from holding USD and if they have an account with USD it'll get taken by the state and converted to quickly depreciating bonds. Of course there is a black market for USD but holding substantial amounts of USD under your mattress in order to preserve your wealth is impractical and dangerous. [0] https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/09/06/argentina-just-reinstated-foreign-currency-restrictions-heres-what-you-need-know/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/09/06/argentina...
- goesnowhere 5y agoThis is the exception not the rule. Also making this as your main argument for why crypto is a net positive is telling because you understand that there are 0 uses for crypto in a functional democratic society.
- bko 5y agoYou have a very limited view of the history of capital controls. In the history of the world, capital controls are very common. It's a cycle. The state controls the money supply, they debase it through printing (dilution during gold standard), the value depreciates and everyone panics. One of the first things they do is restrict the ability of people to transfer money out of their currency. When everything is stable, you don't see this happen. But when its not (i.e. what its most advantageous) capital controls are applied. You see this happening in Turkey right now: > Turkey had an 80% foreign currency surrender requirement in place from September 2018 to late 2019 during a previous iteration of a currency crisis and has also used other “soft” capital controls including changing fees charged on currency conversions and adjusting the requirements for currency hedging. There are financial assets I cannot hold due to the accident of geography. For instance, I can't hold Chinese stocks. I cannot easily and safely send money to family in Cuba, Iran or North Korea. There are a lot of places I cannot hold real estate. Capital controls and monetary debasement are very much the rule on a long enough timespan. [0] https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/turkey-takes-first-step-toward-capital-controls https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/turkey-takes-first-st...