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> Its easier to make money if you have money Congratulations, you now understand how proof-of-stake works - and why it’s a bad underpinning of cryptocurrencies
by otterley 5y ago
> Its easier to make money if you have money
Congratulations, you now understand how proof-of-stake works - and why it’s a bad underpinning of cryptocurrencies, although bad in a different way than proof of work. Destroy the environment or make the rich richer; pick your poison.
- biophysboy 5y agoI mean, doesn't proof of work also make the rich richer, because they have better computers and more of them?
- otterley 5y agoHow does that invalidate my point? Both things can be true.
- biophysboy 5y agoI assumed you preferred proof-of-work over stake for the reason you gave. Maybe I misinterpreted.
- skybrian 5y agoThis is more or less true of the company stock of any startup that wins big, so I don't get the hate. If they managed to get stability, security, low transaction fees, and is actually useful to consumers, then it seems like it might be a worthwhile project?
- otterley 5y agoThe main difference is that startups add value to society through inventions that ideally improve our quality of life and put food on people’s tables through employment. Cryptocurrency investors do none of that; they just mint a bunch of tokens and roll the dice.
- dkersten 5y agoCryptocurrency investors don't, but neither do startup investors. The question then is whether the startup produces anything of value to the world, so the analogous question is whether the cryptocurrency (not the investors) produces anything of value to the world. I've personally used cryptocurrencies to bypass expensive international bank transfer fees when moving money between family members in different countries. To me, they had beneficial value for this. I'm not saying that's enough to warrant their existence, but saying they literally have no value whatsoever is clearly not true. So the question is whether they provide enough value, compared to startups. In my opinion, a lot of silicon valley startups in many industries (social media and advertising being big ones) also don't provide anything worthwhile to the world, so at least those are about on par with cryptocurrencies. To me, investing in those startups is no different than investing in cryptocurrencies in the sense that they are equally negative forces on the world.
- dskloet 5y agoThere is no picking. The rich always get richer.