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I'm surprised anyone reading this story wouldn't conclude that the real takeaway is to just not engage with cryptocurrency at all. This ecosystem is so convolut

by dimgl 5y ago

I'm surprised anyone reading this story wouldn't conclude that the real takeaway is to just not engage with cryptocurrency at all. This ecosystem is so convoluted it just turns me off at every level.

de_nied 5y ago
I think there is value in being able to write up an online contract (code) that is able to manage money for two parties without needing to go to a bank or some third party to act as the middleman. It's the same thing as reading the terms and conditions.
- lostcolony 5y ago
  Human transactions can 'easily' be undone in a court of law, and yet are still so painful to undo as to necessitate a trusted escrow agent in many of them. This is making it so there is no "undo", and no escrow agent. There's value, for those looking to take advantage of others.
  - aaaaaaaaata 5y ago
    This is the fulcrum point of the argument, and until you've been on the wrong side of, bluntly, legal bullshit, you just won't get it.
donkarma 5y ago
cryptocurrency is fine. NFT, smart contract, web3, tokens, and pretty much anything related to Ethereum isn't
sunir 5y ago
I woke up this week to dozens of comments on a video from a speaker at SaaS Connect 2017 (previously known as The Small Business Web Summit) to learn she was arrested and charged by the DOJ this week for laundering $4.5 billion in crypto. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-arrested-alleged-conspiracy-launder-45-billion-stolen-cryptocurrency https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-arrested-alleged-conspira... Billion! Since this is an allegation, we must presume innocence. However I still cannot imagine what planet would entrust 10 figures to her control. Witness her rap. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jlSHGAem6g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jlSHGAem6g But I also realize reading this Twitter thread I do not understand the world of crypto at all.
- glandium 5y ago
  It's worth noting that those 4.5 billions had a value of 75 millions or so when they were stolen. It's also worth noting the "heist" happened in 2016, so before that talk.
- Buge 5y ago
  The SaaS Connect 2017 video you mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLKfbjNB5xE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLKfbjNB5xE
AYBABTME 5y ago
That's precisely my take away since I saw what ETH's instruction set looks like and what sort of languages these smart contracts are made of. It's a giant pile of flimsy garbage propped up by a frenetic gold rush. To think that any of this would then be used to build a trustworthy ecosystem for non-developers to use, seems delusional to me. And building a VTOL taxi airline on top of it seems like it puts the cart 3 miles uphill from the horses.
CryptoPunk 5y ago
There are trade-offs with every financial system, and ways of using each in a way that mitigates its disadvantages. Smart contracts on a general computing platform can enable anything, including the reversible payments and reliance on trusted third party delegates that you see in traditional banking, so as a consequence of this maximally expansive design space, I assume they will eventually lead to a financial system that offers a much better set of trade-offs than that of any other financial system.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
pengwing 5y ago
Taking a high-velocity ride in a cage of aluminum? I don't want to engage with that at all. I am so surprised that safety measures such as airbags and seat belts are discussed. Obviously cars are too dangerous to exist.
- stevage 5y ago
  From day one, cars were understandable by ordinary people and useful to them. They have become more complex, but always useful. Crypto is neither understandable nor useful.
  - fragmede 5y ago
    Not that this legitimizes crypto, but early cars were not understandable by ordinary people. They were loud and finicky, and toys of the rich who had the time and energy and money to spend on them until the technology matured and mass manufacturing brought their price way down.
- crossroadsguy 5y ago
  True. I don’t understand at all how wheels move and what is that round thing near my chest and what do with it. Maybe it’s the fifth wheel. Or why fuel is needed, I can’t even find a mechanic who will look under the hood for me if I can’t. Also since my last car could use my ATM card and sign my cheques I had to be extra careful when turning on the ignition and had to see the gps log whether it drove to my bank when I was taking the afternoon nap. There was no service warranty and guarantee with the car at all. I had to hire an entire division of technicians and engineers to use it. I think few lawyers and auditors as well. In fact it felt I also needed a PhD in all things automobile to use my car. Most importantly I can’t see in front of me at all. Front is opaque. I just drive hoping I don’t run someone over or something doesn’t run me over and my car.
naikrovek 5y ago
agreed; it's all scams at every level, it's just that the pro-crypto people are the scammers or they are enthusiasts who haven't been scammed, yet. stay away from all of it.
SZJX 5y ago
Well, Thomas did apparently got to have $100M+ in his wallet amid all this frenzy, at least on paper.
pinephoneguy 5y ago
He's doing some very advanced stuff. Stock options get very convoluted as well, just don't do things you don't fully understand.

by dimgl 5y ago

I'm surprised anyone reading this story wouldn't conclude that the real takeaway is to just not engage with cryptocurrency at all. This ecosystem is so convoluted it just turns me off at every level.

de_nied 5y ago

I think there is value in being able to write up an online contract (code) that is able to manage money for two parties without needing to go to a bank or some third party to act as the middleman. It's the same thing as reading the terms and conditions.

lostcolony 5y ago
Human transactions can 'easily' be undone in a court of law, and yet are still so painful to undo as to necessitate a trusted escrow agent in many of them. This is making it so there is no "undo", and no escrow agent. There's value, for those looking to take advantage of others.
- aaaaaaaaata 5y ago
  This is the fulcrum point of the argument, and until you've been on the wrong side of, bluntly, legal bullshit, you just won't get it.

donkarma 5y ago

cryptocurrency is fine. NFT, smart contract, web3, tokens, and pretty much anything related to Ethereum isn't

sunir 5y ago

I woke up this week to dozens of comments on a video from a speaker at SaaS Connect 2017 (previously known as The Small Business Web Summit) to learn she was arrested and charged by the DOJ this week for laundering $4.5 billion in crypto. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-arrested-alleged-conspiracy-launder-45-billion-stolen-cryptocurrency https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-arrested-alleged-conspira... Billion! Since this is an allegation, we must presume innocence. However I still cannot imagine what planet would entrust 10 figures to her control. Witness her rap. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jlSHGAem6g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jlSHGAem6g But I also realize reading this Twitter thread I do not understand the world of crypto at all.

glandium 5y ago
It's worth noting that those 4.5 billions had a value of 75 millions or so when they were stolen. It's also worth noting the "heist" happened in 2016, so before that talk.
Buge 5y ago
The SaaS Connect 2017 video you mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLKfbjNB5xE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLKfbjNB5xE

AYBABTME 5y ago

That's precisely my take away since I saw what ETH's instruction set looks like and what sort of languages these smart contracts are made of. It's a giant pile of flimsy garbage propped up by a frenetic gold rush. To think that any of this would then be used to build a trustworthy ecosystem for non-developers to use, seems delusional to me. And building a VTOL taxi airline on top of it seems like it puts the cart 3 miles uphill from the horses.

CryptoPunk 5y ago

There are trade-offs with every financial system, and ways of using each in a way that mitigates its disadvantages. Smart contracts on a general computing platform can enable anything, including the reversible payments and reliance on trusted third party delegates that you see in traditional banking, so as a consequence of this maximally expansive design space, I assume they will eventually lead to a financial system that offers a much better set of trade-offs than that of any other financial system.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

pengwing 5y ago

Taking a high-velocity ride in a cage of aluminum? I don't want to engage with that at all. I am so surprised that safety measures such as airbags and seat belts are discussed. Obviously cars are too dangerous to exist.

stevage 5y ago
From day one, cars were understandable by ordinary people and useful to them. They have become more complex, but always useful. Crypto is neither understandable nor useful.
- fragmede 5y ago
  Not that this legitimizes crypto, but early cars were not understandable by ordinary people. They were loud and finicky, and toys of the rich who had the time and energy and money to spend on them until the technology matured and mass manufacturing brought their price way down.
crossroadsguy 5y ago
True. I don’t understand at all how wheels move and what is that round thing near my chest and what do with it. Maybe it’s the fifth wheel. Or why fuel is needed, I can’t even find a mechanic who will look under the hood for me if I can’t. Also since my last car could use my ATM card and sign my cheques I had to be extra careful when turning on the ignition and had to see the gps log whether it drove to my bank when I was taking the afternoon nap. There was no service warranty and guarantee with the car at all. I had to hire an entire division of technicians and engineers to use it. I think few lawyers and auditors as well. In fact it felt I also needed a PhD in all things automobile to use my car. Most importantly I can’t see in front of me at all. Front is opaque. I just drive hoping I don’t run someone over or something doesn’t run me over and my car.

naikrovek 5y ago

agreed; it's all scams at every level, it's just that the pro-crypto people are the scammers or they are enthusiasts who haven't been scammed, yet. stay away from all of it.

SZJX 5y ago

Well, Thomas did apparently got to have $100M+ in his wallet amid all this frenzy, at least on paper.

pinephoneguy 5y ago

He's doing some very advanced stuff. Stock options get very convoluted as well, just don't do things you don't fully understand.