3 ms·

In your opinion, why is sidestepping PayPal not a second valid use case?

mcv 4y ago
There are far better options, though admittedly not as widely supported as they should be. In Netherland, there are a lot of ways to simply use direct bank transfers. You can buy at a webshop using iDeal, which handles the payment through your own bank. You can send someone a payment request that will simply transfer it straight from their bank to yours. All of these are far superior options to relying on either an unreliable third party, or a slow, expensive payment system using its own wildly fluctuating currency that consumes the energy of a small country.
- everfree 4y ago
  It must be nice to live in the Netherlands. > slow, expensive payment system using its own wildly fluctuating currency that consumes the energy of a small country You don't have to use Bitcoin, you can e.g. use a stablecoin on an Ethereum roll-up. It's not slow; transactions finalize within 1 minute (and soon, less). It's not expensive; it costs less than 10 cents (and soon, less). It doesn't fluctuate wildly, because it value is stabilized using one of several mechanisms. It doesn't consume the energy of a small country, because it does not use proof of work.
yashg 4y ago
Because crypto is not money. It was envisioned as a peer to peer money but it quickly attracted scamsters and it became a speculative instrument. Besides, most of the world has alternatives to PayPal that work just fine and most of the time free.
- everfree 4y ago
  Stablecoins are money. PayPal also quickly attracted scamsters. Some of the world doesn’t have alternatives to PayPal, and sometimes they are not free.
  - yashg 4y ago
    Stablecoins are casino chips. Casinos at least have equivalent cash on hand to encash them. Stablecoin issuers are printing them out of thin air.
    - everfree 4y ago
      > Casinos at least have equivalent cash on hand to encash them. Stablecoin issuers are printing them out of thin air. I'm sorry but you have no idea what you're talking about. I bet you couldn't even name three stablecoins and describe how they maintain price stability. Hint: There are three main backing types (tradfi-backed, overcollateralized, algorithmic), and two peg types (fixed, floating).

mcv 4y ago

There are far better options, though admittedly not as widely supported as they should be. In Netherland, there are a lot of ways to simply use direct bank transfers. You can buy at a webshop using iDeal, which handles the payment through your own bank. You can send someone a payment request that will simply transfer it straight from their bank to yours. All of these are far superior options to relying on either an unreliable third party, or a slow, expensive payment system using its own wildly fluctuating currency that consumes the energy of a small country.

everfree 4y ago
It must be nice to live in the Netherlands. > slow, expensive payment system using its own wildly fluctuating currency that consumes the energy of a small country You don't have to use Bitcoin, you can e.g. use a stablecoin on an Ethereum roll-up. It's not slow; transactions finalize within 1 minute (and soon, less). It's not expensive; it costs less than 10 cents (and soon, less). It doesn't fluctuate wildly, because it value is stabilized using one of several mechanisms. It doesn't consume the energy of a small country, because it does not use proof of work.

yashg 4y ago

Because crypto is not money. It was envisioned as a peer to peer money but it quickly attracted scamsters and it became a speculative instrument. Besides, most of the world has alternatives to PayPal that work just fine and most of the time free.

everfree 4y ago
Stablecoins are money. PayPal also quickly attracted scamsters. Some of the world doesn’t have alternatives to PayPal, and sometimes they are not free.
- yashg 4y ago
  Stablecoins are casino chips. Casinos at least have equivalent cash on hand to encash them. Stablecoin issuers are printing them out of thin air.
  - everfree 4y ago
    > Casinos at least have equivalent cash on hand to encash them. Stablecoin issuers are printing them out of thin air. I'm sorry but you have no idea what you're talking about. I bet you couldn't even name three stablecoins and describe how they maintain price stability. Hint: There are three main backing types (tradfi-backed, overcollateralized, algorithmic), and two peg types (fixed, floating).