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That’s a pipe dream. Like „untraceable, not-controlled-by-banks, decentralised currency bitcoin“. As soon as it becomes popular, it gets regulated. Yes, it’s s

That’s a pipe dream. Like „untraceable, not-controlled-by-banks, decentralised currency bitcoin“. As soon as it becomes popular, it gets regulated. Yes, it’s stupid. But it’s the reality of things.

tremon 1y ago
Regulated and decentralized are not opposing ends on the same spectrum, under a mature government one can have both.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
- JumpCrisscross 1y ago
  > Regulated and decentralized are not opposing ends on the same spectrum, under a mature government one can have both The point is it's regulated irrespective of the government's maturity. If it only works under a mature government, it's superfluous as a social tool. (Technology usually is.)
- a_void_sky 1y ago
  it is, when the regulating authority is centralised
neilv 1y ago
> [...] bitcoin“. As soon as it becomes popular, it gets regulated. And, before it gets popular and regulated, it gets overrun by criminals? Definitely the case with Bitcoin. I don't know about ProtonMail, though.
- DocTomoe 1y ago
  What is a criminal but a person who acts against pre-existing regulation anyway? Bitcoin's 'criminal' use is/was 95% narcotics. In a world without a superficial 'war on drugs', where a state had no right to tell a citizen what to put into their own body, no user, no dealer would be criminal. If you wish to fight crime, the solution might not be to 'make more things criminal', but to 'make less things criminal'. On the other hand, I have been using bitcoin for cross-border value transfers where banks would have taken ridiculous fees, and I have used bitcoin for online micro-transactions where setting up other payment systems would have been expensive.
sneak 1y ago
The fact that governments have regulated cryptocurrency does not change the value proposition of the technology. The governments have also regulated cocaine. It didn’t work there, either.
int_19h 1y ago
Governments would certainly like to regulate Bitcoin, and many have passed laws to this effect. But it's still possible to use it in a way that effectively skirts all this regulation, because of its decentralized nature.

tremon 1y ago

Regulated and decentralized are not opposing ends on the same spectrum, under a mature government one can have both.

deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
JumpCrisscross 1y ago
> Regulated and decentralized are not opposing ends on the same spectrum, under a mature government one can have both The point is it's regulated irrespective of the government's maturity. If it only works under a mature government, it's superfluous as a social tool. (Technology usually is.)
a_void_sky 1y ago
it is, when the regulating authority is centralised

neilv 1y ago

> [...] bitcoin“. As soon as it becomes popular, it gets regulated. And, before it gets popular and regulated, it gets overrun by criminals? Definitely the case with Bitcoin. I don't know about ProtonMail, though.

DocTomoe 1y ago
What is a criminal but a person who acts against pre-existing regulation anyway? Bitcoin's 'criminal' use is/was 95% narcotics. In a world without a superficial 'war on drugs', where a state had no right to tell a citizen what to put into their own body, no user, no dealer would be criminal. If you wish to fight crime, the solution might not be to 'make more things criminal', but to 'make less things criminal'. On the other hand, I have been using bitcoin for cross-border value transfers where banks would have taken ridiculous fees, and I have used bitcoin for online micro-transactions where setting up other payment systems would have been expensive.

sneak 1y ago

The fact that governments have regulated cryptocurrency does not change the value proposition of the technology. The governments have also regulated cocaine. It didn’t work there, either.

int_19h 1y ago

Governments would certainly like to regulate Bitcoin, and many have passed laws to this effect. But it's still possible to use it in a way that effectively skirts all this regulation, because of its decentralized nature.