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And yet HN loves Snowden but hates Bitcoin and crypto. Let the cognitive dissonance seep in and realize maybe it does have a purpose other than scams. Maybe s

And yet HN loves Snowden but hates Bitcoin and crypto. Let the cognitive dissonance seep in and realize maybe it does have a purpose other than scams. Maybe software devs making 400k a year working for tech giants don’t need it, but lots of other people do. https://twitter.com/Snowden/status/1444794906967486469 https://twitter.com/Snowden/status/1444794906967486469

throwaway2990 3y ago
Because Bitcoin never lived up to the hype. It’s nothing more than a scam. Nothing crypto or blockchain has done has advanced us forward in any meaningful way. But it has stolen 1000s of dollars from people and made a small number of people rich.
- int_19h 3y ago
  You can buy grey market drugs overseas with Bitcoin. That alone makes it more useful than many modern tech "innovations".
- Mistletoe 3y ago
  >Nothing crypto or blockchain has done has advanced us forward in any meaningful way. Snowden is literally saying how helpful and useful to him Bitcoin was. How can you make such a cognitive dissonant statement? Like I said in my original post, crypto hasn't been helpful to you, that doesn't mean it hasn't been helpful to everyone. Newspaper owners hated the internet, that doesn't mean the internet isn't useful.
smoldesu 3y ago
HN loves crypto, just not cryptocurrency. Cryptography can be the most venerable tech on the planet when implemented right. Good cryptosystems protect us everyday, and their continued development and research is necessary to truly ensure that personal security is attainable. Cryptocurrency is a more dubious system. It's trustless and has some cryptographic elements, which is cool and very nerd porn, but it's also intrinsically social and complicated beyond understanding for the layman. That's where custodial scams and interpersonal exploits crop up, along with the other problems of sharing a universal ledger. Wildly variable gas fees, fraudulent transactions, systemic abuse and non-canonical forks are all just a part of the Blockchain model. Combine that with a lack of implementation spec, an incentive to fleece your user and zero regulatory bodies, and you might see how people dislike cryptocurrency. I don't even like the startup culture this website worships, but trusting the Blockchain to be a solution is fatal overcompensation. I can recommend something like PGP or OpenSSL full stop. I cannot recommend cryptocurrency unless you know what you're doing, have a specific use for it, and treat your crypto-assets as disposable if you intend to keep them in the long-term. Those aren't just unacceptable terms for a successful currency; that's unacceptable for any online networked platform.

throwaway2990 3y ago

Because Bitcoin never lived up to the hype. It’s nothing more than a scam. Nothing crypto or blockchain has done has advanced us forward in any meaningful way. But it has stolen 1000s of dollars from people and made a small number of people rich.

int_19h 3y ago
You can buy grey market drugs overseas with Bitcoin. That alone makes it more useful than many modern tech "innovations".
Mistletoe 3y ago
>Nothing crypto or blockchain has done has advanced us forward in any meaningful way. Snowden is literally saying how helpful and useful to him Bitcoin was. How can you make such a cognitive dissonant statement? Like I said in my original post, crypto hasn't been helpful to you, that doesn't mean it hasn't been helpful to everyone. Newspaper owners hated the internet, that doesn't mean the internet isn't useful.

smoldesu 3y ago

HN loves crypto, just not cryptocurrency. Cryptography can be the most venerable tech on the planet when implemented right. Good cryptosystems protect us everyday, and their continued development and research is necessary to truly ensure that personal security is attainable. Cryptocurrency is a more dubious system. It's trustless and has some cryptographic elements, which is cool and very nerd porn, but it's also intrinsically social and complicated beyond understanding for the layman. That's where custodial scams and interpersonal exploits crop up, along with the other problems of sharing a universal ledger. Wildly variable gas fees, fraudulent transactions, systemic abuse and non-canonical forks are all just a part of the Blockchain model. Combine that with a lack of implementation spec, an incentive to fleece your user and zero regulatory bodies, and you might see how people dislike cryptocurrency. I don't even like the startup culture this website worships, but trusting the Blockchain to be a solution is fatal overcompensation. I can recommend something like PGP or OpenSSL full stop. I cannot recommend cryptocurrency unless you know what you're doing, have a specific use for it, and treat your crypto-assets as disposable if you intend to keep them in the long-term. Those aren't just unacceptable terms for a successful currency; that's unacceptable for any online networked platform.