4 ms·

I trust my ability to keep a small file (or more realistically: 24 random words that can be committed to memory with some effort) secure more than I trust any c

I trust my ability to keep a small file (or more realistically: 24 random words that can be committed to memory with some effort) secure more than I trust any corporate entity that treats the penalties for screwing their customers as a mere cost of doing business. Crypto has many failure cases but a generalized loss of all transfers for all wallets is simply not one of them.

cptskippy 4y ago
This isn't a defense of the corporate banking structure. The cognitive load necessary to grok crypto currencies doesn't displace that which is required to utilize existing financial solutions, it's just adds to it. It's also less forgiving and has fewer safe guards or regulations. For most people, crypto is just an added layer of obfuscation and complexity with some speculative gambling sprinkled on top. It benefits few and only when utilized by many. It's like cash, if cash were a bar of wet soap you had to hold onto while riding a roller coaster in the rain.
- Karunamon 4y ago
  To grok something and to utilize something are two entirely different levels of understanding and it is not honest to conflate the two; most people don't grok the existing financial infrastructures either.
  - cptskippy 4y ago
    Grok was the wrong word then. I wasn't conflating the two but rather emphasizing that the amount of cognitive load needed to utilizing crypto in our society is far higher than what's needed to use a cash, bank card, or even credit.
    - Karunamon 4y ago
      I disagree. At least from the standpoint of the average end-user; sending or receiving a payment with a mainstream cryptocurrency is not meaningfully more difficult than doing that with something like PayPal or Cashapp. Different, but not more difficult. And this is with a wallet where you control your own keys. If you use a centralized site like Coinbase then is basically indistinguishable from something like those other apps.
- idiotsecant 4y ago
  Crypto isn't terribly hard, depending on the exact context you have in mind when you say 'crypto'. It boils down to keeping your key safe and accessible, or in the custody of someone who can keep your keys safe and accessible. You can literally stamp your keys into some steel plate, bolt them somewhere safe in your house, and forget about them for 30 years. You use a hardware wallet for your day-to-day and a separate hardware wallet for your savings account and transfer between as needed. It's not for everyone, but it isn't hard - it's just new context.
  - cptskippy 4y ago
    > Crypto isn't terribly hard ... for you. That's the key. After the Thanksgiving holiday over the course of 2 weeks, I fabricated and installed individually addressable permanent LED holiday lights on my three story house and built out a control box for less than $1000. It wasn't hard... for me. You likely already posses a great deal of knowledge necessary to leverage crypto that a lot of people don't. It's not hard... for you.
    - idiotsecant 4y ago
      That's not an argument that makes much sense to me, because we do things every day that require a great deal of context and training. At some point someone taught us how to operate a steel missile that burns hydrocarbons to propel us onto a road network where we need to be able to interpret symbols, colors, and complex pre-arranged maneuvers in order to allow us to negotiate this system and not die. That took maybe a few weeks to figure out. Crypto is not hard, it's in fact quite simple. It's just a matter of training people on a couple of simple rules. You don't need any pre-existing skills, you don't need any expensive equipment, you just need to be motivated to spend a few hours learning a new thing.
fnordpiglet 4y ago
Does this work for your average hospitality worker, or is it really only a solution for the techno elite? In every institution I’ve worked at if you do something that accumulates fines you and your management get fired. Since it’s a small street, you also effectively get blacklisted. They’re also highly influenced by their credit rating and credit spreads for day to day operational financing, which negative reputational events directly impact. Boards are also really unhappy with these situations and C level folks are often fired. I think you understate the consequences, even if the bank itself can afford to pay the fines.
- Karunamon 4y ago
  And yet gargantuan financial institutions keep getting fined for various kinds of misbehavior, on a what seems to be a regular basis. The one that sticks out in my mind aside from this kind of failure was the systematic fraud perpetuated by Wells Fargo. Are any execs in prison or was it just financial fines (i.e. cost of doing business) and job losses for the lower level peons who executed the (plausibly deniable) orders? You will have to forgive me for being entirely unsatisfied with that level of accountability. Re: ease of use, I think crypto skeptics tend to intentionally overstate the knowledge and skill required. We're not exactly at the "grandparent safe" level yet, but framing it as something only for the "techno-elite" isn't fair either.

cptskippy 4y ago

This isn't a defense of the corporate banking structure. The cognitive load necessary to grok crypto currencies doesn't displace that which is required to utilize existing financial solutions, it's just adds to it. It's also less forgiving and has fewer safe guards or regulations. For most people, crypto is just an added layer of obfuscation and complexity with some speculative gambling sprinkled on top. It benefits few and only when utilized by many. It's like cash, if cash were a bar of wet soap you had to hold onto while riding a roller coaster in the rain.

Karunamon 4y ago
To grok something and to utilize something are two entirely different levels of understanding and it is not honest to conflate the two; most people don't grok the existing financial infrastructures either.
- cptskippy 4y ago
  Grok was the wrong word then. I wasn't conflating the two but rather emphasizing that the amount of cognitive load needed to utilizing crypto in our society is far higher than what's needed to use a cash, bank card, or even credit.
  - Karunamon 4y ago
    I disagree. At least from the standpoint of the average end-user; sending or receiving a payment with a mainstream cryptocurrency is not meaningfully more difficult than doing that with something like PayPal or Cashapp. Different, but not more difficult. And this is with a wallet where you control your own keys. If you use a centralized site like Coinbase then is basically indistinguishable from something like those other apps.
idiotsecant 4y ago
Crypto isn't terribly hard, depending on the exact context you have in mind when you say 'crypto'. It boils down to keeping your key safe and accessible, or in the custody of someone who can keep your keys safe and accessible. You can literally stamp your keys into some steel plate, bolt them somewhere safe in your house, and forget about them for 30 years. You use a hardware wallet for your day-to-day and a separate hardware wallet for your savings account and transfer between as needed. It's not for everyone, but it isn't hard - it's just new context.
- cptskippy 4y ago
  > Crypto isn't terribly hard ... for you. That's the key. After the Thanksgiving holiday over the course of 2 weeks, I fabricated and installed individually addressable permanent LED holiday lights on my three story house and built out a control box for less than $1000. It wasn't hard... for me. You likely already posses a great deal of knowledge necessary to leverage crypto that a lot of people don't. It's not hard... for you.
  - idiotsecant 4y ago
    That's not an argument that makes much sense to me, because we do things every day that require a great deal of context and training. At some point someone taught us how to operate a steel missile that burns hydrocarbons to propel us onto a road network where we need to be able to interpret symbols, colors, and complex pre-arranged maneuvers in order to allow us to negotiate this system and not die. That took maybe a few weeks to figure out. Crypto is not hard, it's in fact quite simple. It's just a matter of training people on a couple of simple rules. You don't need any pre-existing skills, you don't need any expensive equipment, you just need to be motivated to spend a few hours learning a new thing.

fnordpiglet 4y ago

Does this work for your average hospitality worker, or is it really only a solution for the techno elite? In every institution I’ve worked at if you do something that accumulates fines you and your management get fired. Since it’s a small street, you also effectively get blacklisted. They’re also highly influenced by their credit rating and credit spreads for day to day operational financing, which negative reputational events directly impact. Boards are also really unhappy with these situations and C level folks are often fired. I think you understate the consequences, even if the bank itself can afford to pay the fines.

Karunamon 4y ago
And yet gargantuan financial institutions keep getting fined for various kinds of misbehavior, on a what seems to be a regular basis. The one that sticks out in my mind aside from this kind of failure was the systematic fraud perpetuated by Wells Fargo. Are any execs in prison or was it just financial fines (i.e. cost of doing business) and job losses for the lower level peons who executed the (plausibly deniable) orders? You will have to forgive me for being entirely unsatisfied with that level of accountability. Re: ease of use, I think crypto skeptics tend to intentionally overstate the knowledge and skill required. We're not exactly at the "grandparent safe" level yet, but framing it as something only for the "techno-elite" isn't fair either.