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Nobody with basic knowledge in this area would think of USDC as "highly decentralized censorship proof freedom coin". It is centralised and pegged to USD so obv

Nobody with basic knowledge in this area would think of USDC as "highly decentralized censorship proof freedom coin". It is centralised and pegged to USD so obviously it must be intentionally interlinked with the banking system.

SilverBirch 4y ago
This is the fiction of Crypto though - we're all here in this space because we want decentralized censorship-proof, public recorded transactions, and we then proceed to immediately abandon all of those principles to trade dollar denominated assets on a central exchange that operates out of a shady jurisdiction. Yes, we all know what the point of crypto was. Yes we all know what is actually happening, the only question left is why the hell are we still doing it?
- mikelovenotwar 4y ago
  > Yes we all know what is actually happening, the only question left is why the hell are we still doing it? One of the most difficult things to do is explain to a cult member that they're a cult member. Similar to participants in the great crypto ponzi scheme.
- joyfylbanana 4y ago
  > we're all here in this space because we want decentralized censorship-proof, public recorded transactions dude what. no. the majority of people are "here" just wanting the numbers go up in the closed-source centralized database that their trusted banker runs. there are small group of people that actually care about decentralization and open source access to money, that number is maybe 0,01% of the total "crypto" users.
- Galanwe 4y ago
  Because blockchain make sense, even though 90% of the projects using them are scams and get rich quick schemes. If liquidity was available without ridiculous yields promised to lenders, we wouldn't need those centralized exchanges. The sole reason people are trading on Binance is because of the 3bps transaction fee, versus 30bps on decentralized exchanges.
- plsbenice34 4y ago
  People need to manage risk, buy food and pay rent regardless of their conviction in those principles. However, the traditional financial system is broken or malicious and not serving crypto users properly. It is too difficult and slow to cash out to bank accounts. I know some people in developing countries for whom it is simply not an option to withdraw to their bank account, and their nationality precludes them from most offshore options. It can be essentially the same situation in developed countries. It's not a clear question whether it's best to take the risk of a stablecoin collapsing or take the risk of the price volatility of more decentralised coins, but they don't have many other options.
- everfree 4y ago
  > we then proceed to immediately abandon all of those principles to trade dollar denominated assets on a central exchange that operates out of a shady jurisdiction. Speak for yourself. I don't touch that stuff with a 10-foot pole.
- seydor 4y ago
  Because people wanted to make a quick buck
- roenxi 4y ago
  I'm making a guess here, but suspect that you are not one of the "we" who are "still doing it". The glorious thing about decentralized censorship-proof systems is they die when the 2nd to last person stops using them, and not when people declare them dead. Frankly, the government isn't a very respectable institution and it is quite a remarkable era that now, after millennia of thugs taking people's stuff, there is suddenly an asset class that can't just be seized. That comes with a long laundry list of problems. It also comes with uncertain consequences. > ...public recorded transactions... Don't have to do this if you don't want to. So-called privacycoins exist.
londons_explore 4y ago
Creation or redemption of USDC for USD need to interact with the banking system. But movements of USDC need no interaction with the banking system, so there should be no need to pause them.
netheril96 4y ago
It has no freedom either. Circle can block any address from spending USDC.

SilverBirch 4y ago

This is the fiction of Crypto though - we're all here in this space because we want decentralized censorship-proof, public recorded transactions, and we then proceed to immediately abandon all of those principles to trade dollar denominated assets on a central exchange that operates out of a shady jurisdiction. Yes, we all know what the point of crypto was. Yes we all know what is actually happening, the only question left is why the hell are we still doing it?

mikelovenotwar 4y ago
> Yes we all know what is actually happening, the only question left is why the hell are we still doing it? One of the most difficult things to do is explain to a cult member that they're a cult member. Similar to participants in the great crypto ponzi scheme.
joyfylbanana 4y ago
> we're all here in this space because we want decentralized censorship-proof, public recorded transactions dude what. no. the majority of people are "here" just wanting the numbers go up in the closed-source centralized database that their trusted banker runs. there are small group of people that actually care about decentralization and open source access to money, that number is maybe 0,01% of the total "crypto" users.
Galanwe 4y ago
Because blockchain make sense, even though 90% of the projects using them are scams and get rich quick schemes. If liquidity was available without ridiculous yields promised to lenders, we wouldn't need those centralized exchanges. The sole reason people are trading on Binance is because of the 3bps transaction fee, versus 30bps on decentralized exchanges.
plsbenice34 4y ago
People need to manage risk, buy food and pay rent regardless of their conviction in those principles. However, the traditional financial system is broken or malicious and not serving crypto users properly. It is too difficult and slow to cash out to bank accounts. I know some people in developing countries for whom it is simply not an option to withdraw to their bank account, and their nationality precludes them from most offshore options. It can be essentially the same situation in developed countries. It's not a clear question whether it's best to take the risk of a stablecoin collapsing or take the risk of the price volatility of more decentralised coins, but they don't have many other options.
everfree 4y ago
> we then proceed to immediately abandon all of those principles to trade dollar denominated assets on a central exchange that operates out of a shady jurisdiction. Speak for yourself. I don't touch that stuff with a 10-foot pole.
seydor 4y ago
Because people wanted to make a quick buck
roenxi 4y ago
I'm making a guess here, but suspect that you are not one of the "we" who are "still doing it". The glorious thing about decentralized censorship-proof systems is they die when the 2nd to last person stops using them, and not when people declare them dead. Frankly, the government isn't a very respectable institution and it is quite a remarkable era that now, after millennia of thugs taking people's stuff, there is suddenly an asset class that can't just be seized. That comes with a long laundry list of problems. It also comes with uncertain consequences. > ...public recorded transactions... Don't have to do this if you don't want to. So-called privacycoins exist.

londons_explore 4y ago

Creation or redemption of USDC for USD need to interact with the banking system. But movements of USDC need no interaction with the banking system, so there should be no need to pause them.

netheril96 4y ago

It has no freedom either. Circle can block any address from spending USDC.