3 ms·

> Just got this email from Coinbase, and it seems one by one the promises of crypto of the last several years are evaporating This is a a somewhat weird take t

> Just got this email from Coinbase, and it seems one by one the promises of crypto of the last several years are evaporating This is a a somewhat weird take to not say uneducated. What coinbase does has nothing to do with promises of crypto, if those promises existed to begin with. The fact that OP omitted the part of the message that specifies that such measures are meant to comply with Dutch laws also tells me there is some dishonesty at play here.

neilalexander 4y ago
Cryptocurrencies have long made promises of decentralisation and fairness and, despite that, people still centralise around exchanges in the same way that people centralise around traditional banks. To that end, what the exchanges do is far more important than people seem to think. Financial institutions have always operated on a reputational basis and KYC has long been important to that (if nothing else because it allows them to shift some liability). In theory, anyone can run a bank. That doesn’t mean that anyone else in the world has to trust your bank if they believe that you represent bad actors or don’t take due diligence. There’s currently no reason to believe that cryptocurrency exchanges will (or should) be any different.
- PretzelPirate 4y ago
  > Cryptocurrencies have long made promises of decentralisation and fairness and, despite that, people still centralise around exchanges in the same way that people centralise around traditional banks. This is the value of crypto. People can choose how much they want to trust 3rd parties and how much personal responsibility they want to take on. Some people may always choose a centralized mechanism for managing their assets, some will choose to manage their assets completely on their own, and others will decide on a case-by-case basis if they want a 3rd party involved.
  - strofcon 4y ago
    "This is the value of cash. People can choose how much they want to trust 3rd parties and how much personal responsibility they want to take on. Some people may always choose a centralized mechanism for managing their assets, some will choose to manage their assets completely on their own, and others will decide on a case-by-case basis if they want a 3rd party involved." Fixed that for ya.
    - PretzelPirate 4y ago
      Cash is fantastic for personal freedom, but for many reasons, cash isn’t a viable alternative in the digital age, especially as we move to fully digital, government-controlled money that loses all the freedoms that come with using cash. Cash is also hard to move and secure in large quantities, which makes it impractical to self-custody.
- irusensei 4y ago
  > despite that, people still So the problem are people not some cryptocurrency problem. Maybe not even "people" as a whole since such arguments are made from a very US/EU privileged perspective which frankly doesn't reflect the realities of the rest of the world. On the other hand, as long as you have your keys you can transact on legit systems like Bitcoin and Ethereum. KYC and travel rules do not exist within the protocol. It doesn't care about you, your opinions, Coinbase or your governments laws and restrictions. It is dishonest to affirm that cryptocurrency fails because a centralized on and off ramp where you convert form and off a centralized currency is enforcing a centralizing rule. Why is this so hard to make such distinctions? Oh I might know it. Remember when I said OP purposely chose to omit the fact that Dutch users received this message? This happens because cryptocurrencies are a touchy political charged subject.

neilalexander 4y ago

Cryptocurrencies have long made promises of decentralisation and fairness and, despite that, people still centralise around exchanges in the same way that people centralise around traditional banks. To that end, what the exchanges do is far more important than people seem to think. Financial institutions have always operated on a reputational basis and KYC has long been important to that (if nothing else because it allows them to shift some liability). In theory, anyone can run a bank. That doesn’t mean that anyone else in the world has to trust your bank if they believe that you represent bad actors or don’t take due diligence. There’s currently no reason to believe that cryptocurrency exchanges will (or should) be any different.

PretzelPirate 4y ago
> Cryptocurrencies have long made promises of decentralisation and fairness and, despite that, people still centralise around exchanges in the same way that people centralise around traditional banks. This is the value of crypto. People can choose how much they want to trust 3rd parties and how much personal responsibility they want to take on. Some people may always choose a centralized mechanism for managing their assets, some will choose to manage their assets completely on their own, and others will decide on a case-by-case basis if they want a 3rd party involved.
- strofcon 4y ago
  "This is the value of cash. People can choose how much they want to trust 3rd parties and how much personal responsibility they want to take on. Some people may always choose a centralized mechanism for managing their assets, some will choose to manage their assets completely on their own, and others will decide on a case-by-case basis if they want a 3rd party involved." Fixed that for ya.
  - PretzelPirate 4y ago
    Cash is fantastic for personal freedom, but for many reasons, cash isn’t a viable alternative in the digital age, especially as we move to fully digital, government-controlled money that loses all the freedoms that come with using cash. Cash is also hard to move and secure in large quantities, which makes it impractical to self-custody.
irusensei 4y ago
> despite that, people still So the problem are people not some cryptocurrency problem. Maybe not even "people" as a whole since such arguments are made from a very US/EU privileged perspective which frankly doesn't reflect the realities of the rest of the world. On the other hand, as long as you have your keys you can transact on legit systems like Bitcoin and Ethereum. KYC and travel rules do not exist within the protocol. It doesn't care about you, your opinions, Coinbase or your governments laws and restrictions. It is dishonest to affirm that cryptocurrency fails because a centralized on and off ramp where you convert form and off a centralized currency is enforcing a centralizing rule. Why is this so hard to make such distinctions? Oh I might know it. Remember when I said OP purposely chose to omit the fact that Dutch users received this message? This happens because cryptocurrencies are a touchy political charged subject.