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Yes, just like a bank. Is that a bad thing? Having a Bitcoin bank as a middleman is probably the best model for the majority of payments. But Bitcoin's appeal
by clarkm 13y ago
Yes, just like a bank. Is that a bad thing?
Having a Bitcoin bank as a middleman is probably the best model for the majority of payments. But Bitcoin's appeal lies in its flexibility. Bitcoin is just a protocol: payments can go through a bank, but they don't have to.
- toomuchtodo 13y agoAn open source currency if you will.
- BlackDeath3 13y agoI think you're reading too much into my comment. One of the primary advantages of Bitcoin is its decentralization. I realize that Bitcoin != Coinbase and that Bitcoin provides a foundation for many potential services, but if everybody starts using Coinbase/<insert third-party name here> to handle their transactions, what's the difference? Where is the decentralization?
- CodeCube 13y agoJust because overstock is using coinbase doesn't make it any less decentralized. Either party on both ends of the transaction can be using coinbase, or they can use another service, or they can just send things manually via the commandline (bitcoind, et al). If they were using something like dwolla, then as a consumer, I too would have to use dwolla ... but bitcoin is open.