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Look at how hard it is to get a tiny twist on an old idea like AirBnB or Uber legal in society. These are great things that the existing institutions that benef

Look at how hard it is to get a tiny twist on an old idea like AirBnB or Uber legal in society. These are great things that the existing institutions that benefit from government enforced monopolies try and use the law to smother. I view the lack of regulation as a feature, not a bug. Bitcoin is an arena for innovation and new ideas for micro transactions and programmable contracts and probably lots of decentralized things nobody has thought of yet. Were it left to the existing financial regulators and institution, the pace of innovation would be glacial and they would prevent most new ideas from coming into fruition. Why would they want innovation? They have an effective monopoly and use regulations to prevent competition. And these companies know that if they take major risks and nearly kill themselves, that they'll almost certainly be bailed out by a magic bag of free money. It's refreshing to see a financial system with no bailouts for companies that crash and burn.

eropple 13y ago
AirBnB is not a "tiny twist on an old idea." AirBnB makes much of its business on the counter-contractual use of other people's property. They're a predatory company and I wish them ill. Bitcoin, on the other hand, is just a land where P. T. Barnum is endlessly proven right. Nobody gets hurt who isn't dumb enough to play.
- throwaway420 13y ago
  > AirBnB is not a "tiny twist on an old idea." AirBnB makes much of its business on the counter-contractual use of other people's property. They're a predatory company and I wish them ill. Insofar as an apartment renter is violating a rental agreement to effectively lease out their apartment to a third party without permission, I can see your point. But this isn't always the case. I'm open to hearing about your opinion, but not sure how AirBnB can really be considered a predatory company at any rate.
  - eropple 13y ago
    I am extremely skeptical that their business wouldn't work without people breaking leases. And I am certain they know it.
  - aestra 13y ago
    AirBnB pushes up housing costs for local residents. http://www.rooflines.org/3498/airbnb_way_to_make_ends_meet_or_destroyer_of_affordable_housing/ http://www.rooflines.org/3498/airbnb_way_to_make_ends_meet_o... http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2014/02/airbnb_gentrification_how_the_sharing_economy_drives_up_housing_prices.html http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2014/02/airb...
rosser 13y ago
I don't think anyone's fretting over Mt Gox crashing and burning here. It's all the individual BTC holders that it took with it. Yeah, they probably should have known better than to use a wallet service on a cobbled-together site like that, but you sound like you're suggesting that's sufficient reason for them to be out their money. I emphatically disagree. A site, upon offering a wallet-type service has (or would have, in the presence of regulation) a fiduciary duty to its users to protect their holdings. ISTM that in the Wild West of Bitcoin, the situation is, instead, "Sucks to be you." Maybe you're comfortable living in that world. I don't think that's remotely grounds on which to suggest that everyone else should be comfortable with the same level of risk.
- throwaway420 13y ago
  > Yeah, they probably should have known better than to use a wallet service on a cobbled-together site like that, but you sound like you're suggesting that's sufficient reason for them to be out their money. This was an expected outcome given what information was public about Mt. Gox, but I'm not suggesting that the users deserve to be out of their money. The only thing I like about what happened is that nobody is going to bail out Mt. Gox's owners. And this incident should hopefully make people more cautious about where they store their money. > Maybe you're comfortable living in that world. I don't think that's remotely grounds on which to suggest that everyone else should be comfortable with the same level of risk. I'm also not suggesting that everybody else should be comfortable with any particular level of risk. The great thing about Bitcoin is that it's voluntary. Nobody is forcing another human to use it - you only do so if you feel it's the best avenue for you.
- ericd 13y ago
  I'm completely on the fence about BTC - it could enable a lot of cool new stuff, but it also seems to have some structural problems. That said, I see the lack of regulation and high level of risk as something that should just be taken into account by the buyers. This necessarily means only dipping your toe in and experimenting, not viewing it as a solid investment. When it becomes more secure, less volatile, and easier to use, people can take larger positions in it. Also, we should probably come up with better software solutions that don't rely on third parties. You can't really do anything this big without some people getting burned, unfortunately.
aestra 13y ago
If you like AirBnB so much then perhaps you would enjoy it if this house was across the street from you: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-airbnb-party-house-glendale-20140106,0,938194.story#axzz2uMKbAqC5 http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-airbnb-party-hou...

eropple 13y ago

AirBnB is not a "tiny twist on an old idea." AirBnB makes much of its business on the counter-contractual use of other people's property. They're a predatory company and I wish them ill. Bitcoin, on the other hand, is just a land where P. T. Barnum is endlessly proven right. Nobody gets hurt who isn't dumb enough to play.

throwaway420 13y ago
> AirBnB is not a "tiny twist on an old idea." AirBnB makes much of its business on the counter-contractual use of other people's property. They're a predatory company and I wish them ill. Insofar as an apartment renter is violating a rental agreement to effectively lease out their apartment to a third party without permission, I can see your point. But this isn't always the case. I'm open to hearing about your opinion, but not sure how AirBnB can really be considered a predatory company at any rate.
- eropple 13y ago
  I am extremely skeptical that their business wouldn't work without people breaking leases. And I am certain they know it.
- aestra 13y ago
  AirBnB pushes up housing costs for local residents. http://www.rooflines.org/3498/airbnb_way_to_make_ends_meet_or_destroyer_of_affordable_housing/ http://www.rooflines.org/3498/airbnb_way_to_make_ends_meet_o... http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2014/02/airbnb_gentrification_how_the_sharing_economy_drives_up_housing_prices.html http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2014/02/airb...

rosser 13y ago

I don't think anyone's fretting over Mt Gox crashing and burning here. It's all the individual BTC holders that it took with it. Yeah, they probably should have known better than to use a wallet service on a cobbled-together site like that, but you sound like you're suggesting that's sufficient reason for them to be out their money. I emphatically disagree. A site, upon offering a wallet-type service has (or would have, in the presence of regulation) a fiduciary duty to its users to protect their holdings. ISTM that in the Wild West of Bitcoin, the situation is, instead, "Sucks to be you." Maybe you're comfortable living in that world. I don't think that's remotely grounds on which to suggest that everyone else should be comfortable with the same level of risk.

throwaway420 13y ago
> Yeah, they probably should have known better than to use a wallet service on a cobbled-together site like that, but you sound like you're suggesting that's sufficient reason for them to be out their money. This was an expected outcome given what information was public about Mt. Gox, but I'm not suggesting that the users deserve to be out of their money. The only thing I like about what happened is that nobody is going to bail out Mt. Gox's owners. And this incident should hopefully make people more cautious about where they store their money. > Maybe you're comfortable living in that world. I don't think that's remotely grounds on which to suggest that everyone else should be comfortable with the same level of risk. I'm also not suggesting that everybody else should be comfortable with any particular level of risk. The great thing about Bitcoin is that it's voluntary. Nobody is forcing another human to use it - you only do so if you feel it's the best avenue for you.
ericd 13y ago
I'm completely on the fence about BTC - it could enable a lot of cool new stuff, but it also seems to have some structural problems. That said, I see the lack of regulation and high level of risk as something that should just be taken into account by the buyers. This necessarily means only dipping your toe in and experimenting, not viewing it as a solid investment. When it becomes more secure, less volatile, and easier to use, people can take larger positions in it. Also, we should probably come up with better software solutions that don't rely on third parties. You can't really do anything this big without some people getting burned, unfortunately.

aestra 13y ago

If you like AirBnB so much then perhaps you would enjoy it if this house was across the street from you: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-airbnb-party-house-glendale-20140106,0,938194.story#axzz2uMKbAqC5 http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-airbnb-party-hou...