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I mean, is he wrong? Genuinely the only other application I’ve seen which seems plausible is for use in places like Venezuela where the official currency is wor
by _jab 3y ago
I mean, is he wrong? Genuinely the only other application I’ve seen which seems plausible is for use in places like Venezuela where the official currency is worthless.
- uLogMicheal 3y agoYep, the only use cases for decentralized, programmable monetary systems are criminal. /s
- thatguy0900 3y agoWell you don't seem to have any other examples of things that can't be done with fiat
- uLogMicheal 3y agoYou comment this as many major central banks are conducting trial / rollout plans for CBDC. I prefer the decentralized side of cryptocurrency where the rules, censorship, and supply is transparent and limited.
- FormerBandmate 3y agoBanks work fine now for payments. The only real advantage of crypto over CBDC is that you can more easily sell drugs and guns. No one is losing their bank account for donating to Donald Trump
- uLogMicheal 3y agohttps://www.npr.org/2023/06/12/1181675580/epstein-jane-doe-1-290-million-settlement-jpmorgan-chase https://www.npr.org/2023/06/12/1181675580/epstein-jane-doe-1... This was done in USD. Maybe crime wouldn't be whitelist only on a transparent blockchain and that is what is feared? Money is the root of most activity in this world, criminal or good. Transparent transactions bring all crime into the spotlight and for some that is problematic.
- bruce511 3y agoYou are not alone. There are lots of folk who have your opinion. You are of course free to have it. That doesn't change the fact that the only killer app is criminal activity. Of course you -can- do non-criminal things with it, but frankly as a currency it's terrible. It's way too volatile, and transactions are both too expensive and too slow. I get the goals - decentralisation, limited money supply (which in theory is supposed to limit inflation, but doesn't) and so on. Unfortunately the volatility dwarfs any inflation hedging etc. It's also super-risky right now, so I recommend holding your own coins. Not your keys not your money. Sure it's different. Sure it's idealistic. But it's also, well, a terrible currency. Which means mostly it serves as a nice way to do criminal transactions.
- mr_woozy 3y ago[dead]
- xwdv 3y agoTechnically, since the Venezuelan government doesn’t want people laundering money with crypto, most people there are likely committing crimes and tax evasion with it.
- uLogMicheal 3y agoOr trying to escape inflation/corruption? Please look into how the government there has brutally mismanaged their currency. People are suffering there because of monetary policy, empathy is a good practice.
- xwdv 3y agoThe law is the law.
- 2OEH8eoCRo0 3y agoHe didn't say that, he said it's the killer app. It's the only value add over traditional finance.
- surgical_fire 3y agoThis, but without the "/s"
- api 3y agoHe's not entirely correct. Crime is a major application but by far the largest use case for crypto is "investing" (gambling) in crypto.
- dismalpedigree 3y agoLike being famous for being famous!
- uLogMicheal 3y agoThe number one facilitator of crime/gambling is USD, might want to check your facts.
- HDThoreaun 3y agonon-sequitor. The question is what bitcoins use is, not how crimes are most often facilitated.
- misnome 3y agoOn the topic of checking facts, is gambling/crime the number one use of USD, which is the equivalent statement?
- vore 3y agoYou are intentionally reversing the direction of the claim to be disingenuous here. By your logic, the number one facilitator of crime/gambling is also breathing air and drinking water, might want to check your facts.
- vaxintar 3y agoFor some people crypto is the only way to keep their wealth away from the hands of faulty and corrupt governments.
- tyre 3y agoGiven that almost all of that is violates securities laws, this still fits.
- bluescrn 3y agoOther uses include local crimes and national crimes. They don't have to be global... Oh, and gambling/speculating of course.
- FormerBandmate 3y agoThere's nothing wrong with gambling, and it could eventually become a currency that could replace the dollar. It won't, but it could
- favorited 3y agoWhen I put a dollar in a vending machine, I don't want to wait an hour for the soda to come out the bottom.
- wongarsu 3y agoWell, you just said that's he's wrong. One "killer application" is that it's a "stable" store of value. Not perfectly stable, it can quickly fall by a factor of about 2, and if you buy in the worst bubble it might fall to a fourth of its value. That's decidedly less stable than Western currencies, but it's more stable than some others. And for many people Bitcoin is more accessible than the foreign exchange market. It also tends to rise in value over sufficiently long time scales. The other use is providing online payments to people who aren't in the banking system. The banking system requires trust, and shuts untrustworthy people out - both at the level of individuals and entire regions. Bitcoin eliminates the need for trust (on the monetary layer) and can thus reach more people. Both are great applications. They are largely irrelevant in the West because only a tiny fraction of us experience those problems, but that doesn't mean they don't exist elsewhere.
- misnome 3y agoSo, it’s stable as long as you understand it is unstable, and helps people without access to banking but with a stable, constant internet connection and perfect operational security, access none of the benefits of having a bank account. Oh, and it’s actually neither of those but if you wish _reaaaaly_ hard and ignore all the practical problems, it might be, someday.
- wongarsu 3y agoIn absolute terms it's not stable, in relative terms it can be. If you gave me the choice between storing my money in Bitcoin or Turkish Lira I would choose Bitcoin every time. If I have the option to use USD instead the answer is different. > helps people without access to banking but with a stable, constant internet connection and perfect operational security You don't need constant internet connection unless you are mining or want to verify a payment right now. And mobile internet and smartphones are surprisingly prevalent in the third world (and among homeless in the first world).
- Eisenstein 3y agoSo, you need a worker and I offer to day labor for you. At the end of the day, how do I get paid in bitcoin?