5 ms·

Good. The world definitely does not need more wasteful bitcoin mining.

• hossbeast 4y ago
  Do you think the world could benefit from money that can't be manipulated by governments? If so, is it worth some expenditure of energy?
  • EdwardDiego 4y ago
    It's being manipulated by private entities, so, I'm not really sure it's an improvement.
    • fsflover 4y ago
      Just like the government itself?
      • EdwardDiego 4y ago
        Governments are far more answerable to average citizens than the people behind Tether or the whales currently, even if government isn't ideally accountable. Also, governments have reasonable incentives to keep currencies at levels that maintain economic conditions. Being voted out or overthrown are consequences of economic mismanagement. I've yet to see that from Tether.
        • smokey_circles 4y ago
          > I've yet to see that from Tether The wheels of bureaucracy turn slowly, it's no different with any other financial scandal.
          • EdwardDiego 4y ago
            True, but the fact that government regulation is needed kinda voids the argument that crypto currencies are great because they can't be manipulated by the government like a fiat currency.
        • stjohnswarts 4y ago
          This is only true in democracies. In autocracies like Russia and China they just do whatever the government tells them.
          • EdwardDiego 4y ago
            The CCP is oppressively authoritarian because it's scared of its own citizens, especially its young NEET men.
  • wiseowise 4y ago
    > Do you think the world could benefit from money that can't be manipulated by governments? Maybe, but that's not Bitcoin for sure.
  • speedgoose 4y ago
    Isn’t the money being manipulated by the governments an important positive feature for their economy?
  • c0nducktr 4y ago
    I do think so, but also believe bitcoin will not be that protocol. It's the first, but not the best, and while it benefits from being the first, that will only take it so far.
  • dathinab 4y ago
    If we assume for a moment it's a currency (and not a security) and it fulfills the goal of an non manipulable currency well (IMO it doesn't) then you could say: Besides the operators (miners, devs) following people are the main profiteers: - in a progressive well working country, mainly organized crime, terrorists and people wanting to destabilize the country, so if you live in such a (non existing) country you would not want it at all - in a autocratic country it's the opposite, you want it really really hard - in a dysfunctional country it can be helpful but the "it's safe from government manipulation" point matters less then the it's not operated by the government point Now most countries are somewhere in-between so there is no clear cut answer. But as far as I can tell all ethically "good" use-cases which couldn't simpler be archived with other means are also illegal by law of at least some involved parties/countries. Now by-law illegal doesn't mean bad. Still IMHO Bitcoin completely failed as currency, and some of the other promises aren't really there either. It did have a temp. huge success as security, (stock like) speculation target and high risk speculators (at some point, not now).
  • TomSwirly 4y ago
    No, and no. "Manipulated by governments" primarily means "tax evasion and crime".
  • Synaesthesia 4y ago
    Some expenditure, but how much? Because right now it's an incredibly large amount of energy. Also, the US govt controls quite a substantial amount of bitcoin, I even have a conspiracy theory that bitcoin could have been created by the US govt ..
  • alangibson 4y ago
    > Do you think the world could benefit from money that can't be manipulated by governments? Not really, no. What you call manipulation is really necessary maintenance and management meant to avoid the hypervolatility we see in crypto. How many real world experiments do we need to run before people accept that markets, especially for money, aren't self regulating.
    • fsflover 4y ago
      > What you call manipulation is really necessary maintenance and management meant to avoid the hypervolatility we see in crypto. It depends on the government...
    • md2020 4y ago
      How many real world experiments do we need to run before people accept that governments aren’t self-regulating? Why do laws matter when the government can get around them and change them whenever it wants? Eliminating alternative means of exchange is just cementing the opportunity for governments to implement their own digital currencies, and if you don’t think they’ll abuse the power that gives them, you need to read more history.
    • datadata 4y ago
      If governments are successful in manipulating money to avoid volatility, why are these still scores of hyperinflation failed currencies, financial crises due to too much debt, and so on? Why is these not a clear law of economics that can lead to stability and no recessions?
      • pyinstallwoes 4y ago
        Because politicians and lobbies get away with leveraging laws to create moats and red tape. Economic policy is just a charade. Less interference would be ideal, but a government is still a necessary evil. It’s just too large in most cases.
  • quickthrower2 4y ago
    Yes it probably is worth “Some”. It is worth about 10 watts based on the transaction processing rate.
  • stjohnswarts 4y ago
    Bitcoin is a failed experiment and it's in free fall.