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This comparison was also made a lot in the early days of crypto, but at this point we're 15 years into crypto and real-life use cases remain awfully thin on the

This comparison was also made a lot in the early days of crypto, but at this point we're 15 years into crypto and real-life use cases remain awfully thin on the ground.

JonathanBeuys 4y ago
15 years because the Bitcoin whitepaper was written in 2008? The Internet Protocol whitepaper was written in 1974. 15 years later, in 1989, real-life use cases of the internet were at least as thin on the ground as crypto use cases today.
- ulrikrasmussen 4y ago
  I am so tired of the comparison with the internet because it tries to conclude that crypto will be successful despite the scepticism because people were also sceptic of the internet. You could compare any new thing with the internet and come up with a similar prophecy, but it just isn't given that the success is ever going to come.
- tialaramex 4y ago
  By 1989 the Internet's primary applications are email, Usenet news, and the file transfer protocol. Those may not seem like much today, but they're a big deal in 1989.
  - JonathanBeuys 4y ago
    In crypto, there are payments, store of value, decentralized exchanges, smart contracts, NFTs, DAOs... I tend to think crypto is used more already than the internet was in 1989?
    - noSyncCloud 4y ago
      Comparing the internet to crypto is like comparing roads to clown cars. They are entirely different classes of technology and the second would be completely useless without the first, so like to like comparisons are meaningless.
      - tatersolid 4y ago
        Aren’t clown cars usually driven off road? (Stages, circus tents)
    - shakna 4y ago
      Minitel was almost universal in France by '89. It might not be the WorldWideWeb, but it was around. It had instant messaging, 24hr news, business listings, public databases (similar to wikis), online shopping, prostitution, dating services, online games, public transport ticketing, forums, online payment system, and over 25mil individual people using it on a daily basis. Apart from the customers, it had all of that from _day one_.

This comparison was also made a lot in the early days of crypto, but at this point we're 15 years into crypto and real-life use cases remain awfully thin on the ground.

JonathanBeuys 4y ago

15 years because the Bitcoin whitepaper was written in 2008? The Internet Protocol whitepaper was written in 1974. 15 years later, in 1989, real-life use cases of the internet were at least as thin on the ground as crypto use cases today.

ulrikrasmussen 4y ago
I am so tired of the comparison with the internet because it tries to conclude that crypto will be successful despite the scepticism because people were also sceptic of the internet. You could compare any new thing with the internet and come up with a similar prophecy, but it just isn't given that the success is ever going to come.
tialaramex 4y ago
By 1989 the Internet's primary applications are email, Usenet news, and the file transfer protocol. Those may not seem like much today, but they're a big deal in 1989.
- JonathanBeuys 4y ago
  In crypto, there are payments, store of value, decentralized exchanges, smart contracts, NFTs, DAOs... I tend to think crypto is used more already than the internet was in 1989?
  - noSyncCloud 4y ago
    Comparing the internet to crypto is like comparing roads to clown cars. They are entirely different classes of technology and the second would be completely useless without the first, so like to like comparisons are meaningless.
    - tatersolid 4y ago
      Aren’t clown cars usually driven off road? (Stages, circus tents)
  - shakna 4y ago
    Minitel was almost universal in France by '89. It might not be the WorldWideWeb, but it was around. It had instant messaging, 24hr news, business listings, public databases (similar to wikis), online shopping, prostitution, dating services, online games, public transport ticketing, forums, online payment system, and over 25mil individual people using it on a daily basis. Apart from the customers, it had all of that from _day one_.