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> Cryptocurrencies have one use: to evade regulation. As soon as that use disappears so will cryptocurrencies. Crime isnt a side-effect, it's the point. Someti

> Cryptocurrencies have one use: to evade regulation. As soon as that use disappears so will cryptocurrencies. Crime isnt a side-effect, it's the point. Sometimes, HN appears to have the collective memory of a goldfish. On HackerNews over the years, we've seen hundreds, maybe even thousands of sob stories from people like "X payment provider has locked my account and is not giving me access to my funds" In every case, it's pointed out that crypto might be a way for people to reduce risk of this kind of thing happening. Yet there's some people who continue to insist with a straight face that crime is the only conceivable use of crypto.

donkey-hotei 4y ago
Also, I support sci-hub through crypto. That's pretty much my only use case for it, but it is one. Wish we lived in a world where we didn't have to bypass regulations to get free access to journals... but cryptocurrency is a solution for now.
- logicalmonster 4y ago
  Morally speaking, it's a laudable use case to spread knowledge. But one could make the argument that this site is technically an example of "crime", at least legally speaking.
  - uoaei 4y ago
    The moment you start letting laws define your morals, you have lost what it means to be human.
    - logicalmonster 4y ago
      As some flavor of libertarian, I understand the concept of the NAP (non-aggression principle) and make the distinction between morality and legality and would like to have a different definition of "crime". That said, as we operate under a legal system that is forced on us, we do have to make references to the legislation that exists.
mjburgess 4y ago
I'm aware that under the status quo a person can be denied banking, online payments, etc. without appropriate systems of redress. In blockchain, redress is impossible. That's part of why it's so lucrative for fraudsters. The failure modes in monetary systems are human, not technological -- and blockchains fuck humans. They make the problem worse. The sales pitch for blockchains is a lie. The problem is real, but this isnt the solution. This solves only the needs of criminals in the strongest sense: people out to get other people. Regulation will pop these schemes and nothing will be left -- it took 10-30 years to regulate credit cards. Hopefully regulators will step in sooner here.
- logicalmonster 4y ago
  The following is clearly labeled as an opinion and a purely subjective value judgment, but here's one thing about crypto that I can't shake my head from. I notice that disgusting, wicked authoritarians that relish in their desire to achieve control over other human beings absolutely despise crypto. If I knew absolutely nothing about crypto other than the fact that enemies of humanity hate it truly vehemently, what should my judgement of crypto be?
  - mjburgess 4y ago
    That you're a sucker for a sales pitch which begins, "You know those people you hate, we hate them to!"
    - logicalmonster 4y ago
      Is the person with an opinion that isn't aligned with the establishment media the sucker for a sales pitch? Or is the sucker for a sales pitch the person who parrots whatever the nice funny man on the TV tells him to think about any given issue?
      - mjburgess 4y ago
        People who think they're smarter than everyone else tend to be very gullible. It's not about TV, its about you. If you want to be smart, don't judges technologies based on supposed virtues signalled; judge them by understanding how they work independent of how their salesmen say they work. Learn, know and understand. Your entire world view is pretty dumb: who is signalling what I should be allied to? That's a dumb question; and it signals that you're ripe for abuse. All you need to be sold an idea is to have it associated, by signals of virtue, with what you hate. You're not alone. This type of gullibility is the mentality of most victims of crypto; and indeed, many scams. 80% of the crypto community is people who think they're smarter than the people scamming them -- that's the other 20%, and they're winning

donkey-hotei 4y ago

Also, I support sci-hub through crypto. That's pretty much my only use case for it, but it is one. Wish we lived in a world where we didn't have to bypass regulations to get free access to journals... but cryptocurrency is a solution for now.

logicalmonster 4y ago
Morally speaking, it's a laudable use case to spread knowledge. But one could make the argument that this site is technically an example of "crime", at least legally speaking.
- uoaei 4y ago
  The moment you start letting laws define your morals, you have lost what it means to be human.
  - logicalmonster 4y ago
    As some flavor of libertarian, I understand the concept of the NAP (non-aggression principle) and make the distinction between morality and legality and would like to have a different definition of "crime". That said, as we operate under a legal system that is forced on us, we do have to make references to the legislation that exists.

mjburgess 4y ago

I'm aware that under the status quo a person can be denied banking, online payments, etc. without appropriate systems of redress. In blockchain, redress is impossible. That's part of why it's so lucrative for fraudsters. The failure modes in monetary systems are human, not technological -- and blockchains fuck humans. They make the problem worse. The sales pitch for blockchains is a lie. The problem is real, but this isnt the solution. This solves only the needs of criminals in the strongest sense: people out to get other people. Regulation will pop these schemes and nothing will be left -- it took 10-30 years to regulate credit cards. Hopefully regulators will step in sooner here.

logicalmonster 4y ago
The following is clearly labeled as an opinion and a purely subjective value judgment, but here's one thing about crypto that I can't shake my head from. I notice that disgusting, wicked authoritarians that relish in their desire to achieve control over other human beings absolutely despise crypto. If I knew absolutely nothing about crypto other than the fact that enemies of humanity hate it truly vehemently, what should my judgement of crypto be?
- mjburgess 4y ago
  That you're a sucker for a sales pitch which begins, "You know those people you hate, we hate them to!"
  - logicalmonster 4y ago
    Is the person with an opinion that isn't aligned with the establishment media the sucker for a sales pitch? Or is the sucker for a sales pitch the person who parrots whatever the nice funny man on the TV tells him to think about any given issue?
    - mjburgess 4y ago
      People who think they're smarter than everyone else tend to be very gullible. It's not about TV, its about you. If you want to be smart, don't judges technologies based on supposed virtues signalled; judge them by understanding how they work independent of how their salesmen say they work. Learn, know and understand. Your entire world view is pretty dumb: who is signalling what I should be allied to? That's a dumb question; and it signals that you're ripe for abuse. All you need to be sold an idea is to have it associated, by signals of virtue, with what you hate. You're not alone. This type of gullibility is the mentality of most victims of crypto; and indeed, many scams. 80% of the crypto community is people who think they're smarter than the people scamming them -- that's the other 20%, and they're winning