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You are correct but with Venmo or PayPal there’s a middleman charging fees who can lock your funds. A decentralised PayPal is appealing.

topranks 1y ago
Not really. The “solution” for decentralisation - proof of work - makes the system a lot more expensive (think: higher fees) than a centralised database.
jekrb 1y ago
PayPal also has their own stablecoin, PyUSD https://www.paypalobjects.com/devdoc/community/PYUSD-Solana-White-Paper.pdf https://www.paypalobjects.com/devdoc/community/PYUSD-Solana-...
lern_too_spel 1y ago
That middleman can be compelled by the government to return your funds. A foreigner who empties your wallet on a decentralized PayPal cannot.
thehappypm 1y ago
What fees?
- kccqzy 1y ago
  An implicit fee by not paying you any interest for money held in Venmo. Also notice there's no option to automatically transfer received money into your real checking account. They are banking on you forgetting your money is there and they are earning the interest but not passing it to you. For this reason I prefer receiving money via Zelle but pay with Venmo.
  - diamond559 1y ago
    As if you make any real return holding money in a bank account.
Zanfa 1y ago
Just to be clear, Tether and Circle also have complete control over their respective stablecoins if they so choose. They have the exact same power to reverse, freeze and block any transaction or balance just as PayPal and Venmo do.
- notpushkin 1y ago
  Can you elaborate?
  - topranks 1y ago
    The mechanics are sort of different. It’s on a blockchain so a true “reverse” is not possible. But the smart contracts they write look up a blacklist, which only they control. They can block, unblock or burn tokens. To “reverse” something they could burn those tokens, and then just issue more and send the new ones to the original address. So yeah it’s like PayPal or whatever. Except with blockchain thrown in so they can say the rules don’t apply to them.

topranks 1y ago

Not really. The “solution” for decentralisation - proof of work - makes the system a lot more expensive (think: higher fees) than a centralised database.

jekrb 1y ago

PayPal also has their own stablecoin, PyUSD https://www.paypalobjects.com/devdoc/community/PYUSD-Solana-White-Paper.pdf https://www.paypalobjects.com/devdoc/community/PYUSD-Solana-...

lern_too_spel 1y ago

That middleman can be compelled by the government to return your funds. A foreigner who empties your wallet on a decentralized PayPal cannot.

thehappypm 1y ago

What fees?

kccqzy 1y ago
An implicit fee by not paying you any interest for money held in Venmo. Also notice there's no option to automatically transfer received money into your real checking account. They are banking on you forgetting your money is there and they are earning the interest but not passing it to you. For this reason I prefer receiving money via Zelle but pay with Venmo.
- diamond559 1y ago
  As if you make any real return holding money in a bank account.

Zanfa 1y ago

Just to be clear, Tether and Circle also have complete control over their respective stablecoins if they so choose. They have the exact same power to reverse, freeze and block any transaction or balance just as PayPal and Venmo do.

notpushkin 1y ago
Can you elaborate?
- topranks 1y ago
  The mechanics are sort of different. It’s on a blockchain so a true “reverse” is not possible. But the smart contracts they write look up a blacklist, which only they control. They can block, unblock or burn tokens. To “reverse” something they could burn those tokens, and then just issue more and send the new ones to the original address. So yeah it’s like PayPal or whatever. Except with blockchain thrown in so they can say the rules don’t apply to them.