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Isn‘t that exactly like the status quo with banks?
by u-rate 5y ago
Isn‘t that exactly like the status quo with banks?
- asdfasgasdgasdg 5y agoBank transactions are mutable/reversible by design and by law. It's quite the opposite from banks.
- SilasX 5y agoReally? Access to the legal system doesn’t vary based on how pleb you are?
- asdfasgasdgasdg 5y agoNormally you do not have to actually directly interact with the legal system to reverse a fraudulent bank transaction. The banks have internal policies to comply with the legal system, because the other outcome is more expensive for them.
- SilasX 5y agoUm, what? I did. Banks didn’t do anything when I got defrauded by wire except tell me they can’t do anything.
- asdfasgasdgasdg 5y agoIf you initiated a wire to the wrong account, that's one thing. The banks will not reverse this sort of transaction, to my understanding. If someone else fraudulently initiated a wire from your account, then that's another thing. This type of transaction will be reversed. I'm not sure which situation you're talking about. ACH transactions are a whole other ballgame.
- SilasX 5y agoI’m talking about me wiring money to someone who was actually a scammer, same as AI said before. If your response is “oh well you should have been more careful about that”, congratulations on endorsing the very same defense crypto enthusiasts were giving and validating that they’re not all that different.
- asdfasgasdgasdg 5y agoI reckon that the wire transfer is one of those things where you get a ton of warnings from your bank that the transaction is normally not reversible, at least it is at my bank. I think it's unfortunate that there are any legitimate transactions that require wire transfers -- I definitely am not someone who endorses the status quo here. I guess my take is that all crypto transactions have properties strictly worse than the worst type of bank transfer. In addition to being irreversible when you initiate them, they are also irreversible if someone fraudulently initiates them on your behalf. And there is no more secure option that you can use with crypto. There is to my knowledge nothing in the crypto space with security properties similar to an ACH transfer.
- CRConrad 5y agoToo bad for you, my sympathies. But there is still a huge difference here: Someone has your money; it didn't cease to exist. (So from the bank's viewpoint: "Our books are balanced, it went from one account to another.") In this crypto case though, the money was destroyed by the system; the "bank" "ate" it. At least that shit doesn't happen in the old Alfa Romeo banking system.
- SilasX 5y agoYes, there is a difference in that respect. But I was replying to the parent’t point that, because the banking system is run by humans, obviously they will fix anything for you that a human can identify as a bad result. (Like sending the money to the wrong place or to a scammer.) It’s kind of missing the point to focus on the narrow issue of “can you accidentally destroy money in the conventional banking system?”
- PeterisP 5y agoIn the banking system every day there are reversals for many mistakes of different kinds even if the amounts are tiny and only ordinary people are involved, and if $500k is at stake, the legal system can be used to "convince" banks to do what's right even if they don't want to.
- capableweb 5y agoIt's exactly the same with banks, except "we" (normal plebs) cannot actually see when it happens, as compared to blockchains where all data is public. With banks it happens all the time, but no one knows, so it doesn't make the news. When it happens in blockchains (that one time), it's very obvious so it makes the news.
- root_axis 5y agoHow is it at all the same? The banking system is not immutable, the chargeback for example is available to all the "plebs" and we make regular use of it when transactions go awry.
- oblio 5y agoWhy is it such a hot feature that you can see every transaction, though? Why do you care if I got my bank to revert one of my transactions?
- capableweb 5y agoI'll make no argument for/against cryptocurrencies here, as the discussion if it's good/bad is futile. My comment is just a statement of fact about the differences/similarities of what we have now, and what cryptocurrencies offer.