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The issue is that the problem cryptocurrencies solve is not a real problem. The blockchain, being a public ledger, ensures that transactions are accurately rec

The issue is that the problem cryptocurrencies solve is not a real problem. The blockchain, being a public ledger, ensures that transactions are accurately recorded and can be publicly verified as such. But it’s been centuries since the actual accurate recording of transactions has been an issue. The real problems are far removed from this. When was the last time you heard about people complaining that they paid off their Visa but it did not credit them for the payment? Meanwhile, real problems that people do face, such as a vendor not providing you the goods or services that you paid for, are still a problem with blockchain. The fundamental problem with cryptocurrencies are that they add a whole lot of complexity to solve a problem which is a trivial issue in practice at best, without providing any tools to solve the actual problems people face and in many cases making it harder to find solutions for those problems.

deltree7 4y ago
Blockchain -- Solving Imaginary problems that nobody has...and doing a terrible job of it https://medium.com/@qroshan/block-chain-solving-imaginary-problems-that-nobody-has-487105d90888 https://medium.com/@qroshan/block-chain-solving-imaginary-pr...
jtbayly 4y ago
> real problems that people do face, such as a vendor not providing you the goods or services that you paid for, are still a problem with blockchain. Not just still a problem. Far worse off a problem. Chargebacks exist for credit cards and most bank transactions including wired funds. Send the crypto the wrong way at the wrong time or to the wrong place? Poof. Bye bye money.
Karunamon 4y ago
You ignore the other big benefit which is impossibility of censorship. When was the last time you heard about people complaining that they can't do lawful and legitimate business because Visa or MasterCard (basically a duopoly) don't like them? This problem is not trivial, and as far as I can see crypto is the only scalable solution to it outside of legislation that isn't ever going to happen. What about the privacy implications of having nearly every payment on the planet go through 2 megacorporations? And I can see the response now, while every crypto transaction is public, it's a lot harder to tie identities to wallet addresses than it is to tie a name to a credit card number.
- ceejayoz 4y ago
  > You ignore the other big benefit which is impossibility of censorship. That's a silly claim. Ethereum forked because of a hack and enough people wanting to undo it. Tether regularly freezes funds (https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/11/10/tether-freezes-46m-of-usdt-following-law-enforcement-request/ https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/11/10/tether-freezes-...). Ownership of a cryptocurrency can be made a crime. Developers can be sanctioned and arrested.
  - Karunamon 4y ago
    A fork implies 2 diverging lines. Nobody's hand was forced in the ether versus ether classic fork. Tether is centralized and a scam (and arguably a scam because it is centralized) and irrelevant to the discussion. Anyone can make any token they want and run it according to whoever's rules; this logic would indict the entire internet based on the existence of badly moderated websites. And cryptography can be made a crime as well. Meanwhile, in the world we inhabit today rather than infinite hypothetical ones, no such thing is happening outside of totalitarian governments, and despite their effort, not one single crypto currency transaction has ever been successfully censored.
    - ceejayoz 4y ago
      > A fork implies 2 diverging lines. Nobody's hand was forced in the ether versus ether classic fork. The two diverging lines were very much unequal. > Tether is centralized and a scam (and arguably a scam because it is centralized) and irrelevant to the discussion. Arguing Tether is irrelevant to the crypto space is absurd. (I agree it's a scam. That's a major problem for the whole ecosystem.) > And cryptography can be made a crime as well. Correct. You can censor cryptography. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Export_of_cryptography_from_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Export_of_cryptography_from_th...
      - Karunamon 4y ago
        Nobody said they were equal, the community as a whole decided to move to the new fork. The old one still exists and still has substantial value, but it's not where any of the mind share is. More to my point, nobody forced anyone to move. This was an organic action. What is your point? Surely you aren't arguing that the governance of one specific token in the broader crypto ecosystem invalidates the general uncensorability of crypto transactions? Because that would be pretty fucking disingenuous as a false equivalence.
CyberDildonics 4y ago
Talk to any business and they will tell you that they don't want to pay %3 to visa or any other credit card. Having a ledger of transactions is how any currency works, it isn't the problem being solved. Being able to use money electronically without a 3rd party is something that wasn't possible before. Anyone wanting to cut a credit card out of their deal or choose a currency other than their what their country mandates can now do that.

deltree7 4y ago

Blockchain -- Solving Imaginary problems that nobody has...and doing a terrible job of it https://medium.com/@qroshan/block-chain-solving-imaginary-problems-that-nobody-has-487105d90888 https://medium.com/@qroshan/block-chain-solving-imaginary-pr...

jtbayly 4y ago

> real problems that people do face, such as a vendor not providing you the goods or services that you paid for, are still a problem with blockchain. Not just still a problem. Far worse off a problem. Chargebacks exist for credit cards and most bank transactions including wired funds. Send the crypto the wrong way at the wrong time or to the wrong place? Poof. Bye bye money.

Karunamon 4y ago

You ignore the other big benefit which is impossibility of censorship. When was the last time you heard about people complaining that they can't do lawful and legitimate business because Visa or MasterCard (basically a duopoly) don't like them? This problem is not trivial, and as far as I can see crypto is the only scalable solution to it outside of legislation that isn't ever going to happen. What about the privacy implications of having nearly every payment on the planet go through 2 megacorporations? And I can see the response now, while every crypto transaction is public, it's a lot harder to tie identities to wallet addresses than it is to tie a name to a credit card number.

ceejayoz 4y ago
> You ignore the other big benefit which is impossibility of censorship. That's a silly claim. Ethereum forked because of a hack and enough people wanting to undo it. Tether regularly freezes funds (https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/11/10/tether-freezes-46m-of-usdt-following-law-enforcement-request/ https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/11/10/tether-freezes-...). Ownership of a cryptocurrency can be made a crime. Developers can be sanctioned and arrested.
- Karunamon 4y ago
  A fork implies 2 diverging lines. Nobody's hand was forced in the ether versus ether classic fork. Tether is centralized and a scam (and arguably a scam because it is centralized) and irrelevant to the discussion. Anyone can make any token they want and run it according to whoever's rules; this logic would indict the entire internet based on the existence of badly moderated websites. And cryptography can be made a crime as well. Meanwhile, in the world we inhabit today rather than infinite hypothetical ones, no such thing is happening outside of totalitarian governments, and despite their effort, not one single crypto currency transaction has ever been successfully censored.
  - ceejayoz 4y ago
    > A fork implies 2 diverging lines. Nobody's hand was forced in the ether versus ether classic fork. The two diverging lines were very much unequal. > Tether is centralized and a scam (and arguably a scam because it is centralized) and irrelevant to the discussion. Arguing Tether is irrelevant to the crypto space is absurd. (I agree it's a scam. That's a major problem for the whole ecosystem.) > And cryptography can be made a crime as well. Correct. You can censor cryptography. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Export_of_cryptography_from_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Export_of_cryptography_from_th...
    - Karunamon 4y ago
      Nobody said they were equal, the community as a whole decided to move to the new fork. The old one still exists and still has substantial value, but it's not where any of the mind share is. More to my point, nobody forced anyone to move. This was an organic action. What is your point? Surely you aren't arguing that the governance of one specific token in the broader crypto ecosystem invalidates the general uncensorability of crypto transactions? Because that would be pretty fucking disingenuous as a false equivalence.

CyberDildonics 4y ago

Talk to any business and they will tell you that they don't want to pay %3 to visa or any other credit card. Having a ledger of transactions is how any currency works, it isn't the problem being solved. Being able to use money electronically without a 3rd party is something that wasn't possible before. Anyone wanting to cut a credit card out of their deal or choose a currency other than their what their country mandates can now do that.