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Using bitcoin in a warzone is an extreme edge case (imo). 99.9% of scenarios BTC is inferior to what we already have for day to day transactions.

Melting_Harps 4y ago
> Using bitcoin in a warzone is an extreme edge case (imo). It's not just warzones, it's places where they simply lack any financial infrastructure; be it politically motivated, or otherwise. > 99.9% of scenarios BTC is inferior to what we already have for day to day transactions. See, again, not true: try making a low cost instantaneous transaction to halfway around the World on a weekend. You can't, its simply not possible. I understand that for most the affluent in developed Western nations, whom you regards as 'we' it seems entirely unnecessary: but in relation to the total amount of Humans on this planet with those options, you are the minority. And again, you're limited to what the banks and institutions will allow you to do: you have family in Iran, or Russia trying to flee? Good luck getting anything sent over there to help them out because of geopolitics which ultimately harm the People who are trying to get out of those situations. I think what most will genuinely never be able to comprehend is just how overly complex, over regulated, and quite frankly how bad the modern payment system is: ACH, Swift, SEPA etc... Unless you do fintech you will never really get any of that, especially if you are of the aforementioned class of person where the most you have had to deal with with was paying higher tx fees at an ATM that one time you used an out network bank.
- MrMan 4y ago
  Bitcoin is garbage algorand is ok. Go away with your preaching
  - Melting_Harps 4y ago
    > Bitcoin is garbage algorand is ok. Go away with your preaching This sums up the level of most HN on the topic, thank you for proving my point for me. Still, as technologists one cannot help but feel disappointed.
- thawaya3113 4y ago
  Go look up MPesa. Been around as long as Bitcoin, and unlike Bitcoin it’s banking thr unbanked, allowing FG cheap transfers and being used in millions of real life transactions all across Africa. So yeah, Bitcoin and most other crypto are a joke compared to actual real life in use technology. Edit: Bitcoin does fewer than 300k transactions a day, so let’s be generous and say it does a million. That’s 365million transactions a year. MPesa has been regularly handling over 15billion transactions a year. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1139181/m-pesa-transaction-volume/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/1139181/m-pesa-transacti... https://www.statista.com/statistics/730806/daily-number-of-bitcoin-transactions/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/730806/daily-number-of-b...
  - Melting_Harps 4y ago
    MPesa is awesome, but entirely outdated and relies on a central entity; it was a good solution for its time, but it fails to do much other than scale. There was a bitcoin version of that called Bitpesa, which has been in Africa for some time, too. > So yeah, Bitcoin and most other crypto are a joke compared to actual real life in use technology. > Edit: Bitcoin does fewer than 300k transactions a day, so let’s be generous and say it does a million. That’s 365million transactions a year. MPesa has been regularly handling over 15billion transactions a year. BTC transferred $3 trillion last year, rivaling Visa/MC [0], so your point is entirely disingenuous, hence why you posted this on a throwaway. 0: https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/news/bitcoin-network-processed-3-trillion-worth-of-payments-in-2021/ https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/news/bitcoin-...
    - thawaya3113 4y ago
      Volume doesn’t matter in terms of BTC’s operational capacity. It just reflects how 1 BTC is priced. The number of transactions that can be made on the Bitcoin network is ridiculously low, which is why it can never be a currency. What the “volume” represents is the high valuation of a Bitcoin and little else. And if you further break down those transactions into those that are actual money transfers and payments, vs those that are just financial engineering within crypto or simply Converting money to and from BTC it will look pitifully small.

Melting_Harps 4y ago

> Using bitcoin in a warzone is an extreme edge case (imo). It's not just warzones, it's places where they simply lack any financial infrastructure; be it politically motivated, or otherwise. > 99.9% of scenarios BTC is inferior to what we already have for day to day transactions. See, again, not true: try making a low cost instantaneous transaction to halfway around the World on a weekend. You can't, its simply not possible. I understand that for most the affluent in developed Western nations, whom you regards as 'we' it seems entirely unnecessary: but in relation to the total amount of Humans on this planet with those options, you are the minority. And again, you're limited to what the banks and institutions will allow you to do: you have family in Iran, or Russia trying to flee? Good luck getting anything sent over there to help them out because of geopolitics which ultimately harm the People who are trying to get out of those situations. I think what most will genuinely never be able to comprehend is just how overly complex, over regulated, and quite frankly how bad the modern payment system is: ACH, Swift, SEPA etc... Unless you do fintech you will never really get any of that, especially if you are of the aforementioned class of person where the most you have had to deal with with was paying higher tx fees at an ATM that one time you used an out network bank.

MrMan 4y ago
Bitcoin is garbage algorand is ok. Go away with your preaching
- Melting_Harps 4y ago
  > Bitcoin is garbage algorand is ok. Go away with your preaching This sums up the level of most HN on the topic, thank you for proving my point for me. Still, as technologists one cannot help but feel disappointed.
thawaya3113 4y ago
Go look up MPesa. Been around as long as Bitcoin, and unlike Bitcoin it’s banking thr unbanked, allowing FG cheap transfers and being used in millions of real life transactions all across Africa. So yeah, Bitcoin and most other crypto are a joke compared to actual real life in use technology. Edit: Bitcoin does fewer than 300k transactions a day, so let’s be generous and say it does a million. That’s 365million transactions a year. MPesa has been regularly handling over 15billion transactions a year. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1139181/m-pesa-transaction-volume/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/1139181/m-pesa-transacti... https://www.statista.com/statistics/730806/daily-number-of-bitcoin-transactions/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/730806/daily-number-of-b...
- Melting_Harps 4y ago
  MPesa is awesome, but entirely outdated and relies on a central entity; it was a good solution for its time, but it fails to do much other than scale. There was a bitcoin version of that called Bitpesa, which has been in Africa for some time, too. > So yeah, Bitcoin and most other crypto are a joke compared to actual real life in use technology. > Edit: Bitcoin does fewer than 300k transactions a day, so let’s be generous and say it does a million. That’s 365million transactions a year. MPesa has been regularly handling over 15billion transactions a year. BTC transferred $3 trillion last year, rivaling Visa/MC [0], so your point is entirely disingenuous, hence why you posted this on a throwaway. 0: https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/news/bitcoin-network-processed-3-trillion-worth-of-payments-in-2021/ https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/news/bitcoin-...
  - thawaya3113 4y ago
    Volume doesn’t matter in terms of BTC’s operational capacity. It just reflects how 1 BTC is priced. The number of transactions that can be made on the Bitcoin network is ridiculously low, which is why it can never be a currency. What the “volume” represents is the high valuation of a Bitcoin and little else. And if you further break down those transactions into those that are actual money transfers and payments, vs those that are just financial engineering within crypto or simply Converting money to and from BTC it will look pitifully small.