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Ask HN: Why do negative crypto articles dominate on HN?

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Re: Ask HN: Why do negative crypto articles dominate on HN?

#21

Post by laszlo-kiss »

Finnucane wrote: post #3

As someone who thinks that bitcoin etc are just a techy form of alchemy (the old dream of creating something of value from nothing), if not an outright scam (for anti-social losers to escape from 'teh rulez'), I wouldn't say that it's not so much that I hold the existing order in high regard, but that the alleged 'disruption' does not appear to be anything other than an old ruse in a new guise.

I'm not sure what you mean by the 'old ruse'. The use of gold in ancient times was adopted because it removed the need to trust the other guy's currency.

Unless Satoshi shows up tomorrow and cashes out his coin I think we are not in danger of diluting the value of Bitcoin - which would be like the 'old ruse' I think.

Re: Ask HN: Why do negative crypto articles dominate on HN?

#22

Post by neb_b »

ops wrote: post #19
neb_b wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It allows for uncensorable transactions. Which is an improvement to people living in authoritarian countries with governments trying to stop its citizens from saving and transacting freely.

If authoritarian governments can monitor and track the transactions, then arrest those people who make transactions that the government considers illegal, it seems pretty censorable.

There are ways to avoid your transactions being tracked. Coinjoin transactions, purchasing a miner for non-kyc bitcoin, payments on the lightning network, etc

Re: Ask HN: Why do negative crypto articles dominate on HN?

#23

Post by kradeelav »

version_five wrote: post #4

Many of us were excited when bitcoin came out, about both the technology, and the concept of a currency that sovereigns can't control. The problem is, blockchain / cryptocurrency failed to deliver in any practical way, and as a concept was hijacked by scammers, so the only real hype now is from people trying to bypass securities laws so they can scam you. Find a way I can actually electronically teleport money to pay…

+1, plus the negative effects bitcoin mining are having on the environment as well as the chip shortage.

Re: Ask HN: Why do negative crypto articles dominate on HN?

#24

Post by laszlo-kiss »

dolni wrote: post #6

There are two major issues with Bitcoin for me. First, crypto is always broken eventually. We have seen the deprecation of crypto algorithms time and again. Why should we assume Bitcoin is immune to this phenomenon? It's a high-value target and it could literally become valueless in an instant. Second, the changing climate is one of the most pressing matters of our time. Bitcoin is absolutely not helping there.

I'm not an expert on this by any means, but I would think that mechanisms exist that allows for the evolution of the technology to protect itself. The key for me is that we strive for a financial foundation that no-one can debase.

I view Bitcoin as an agreement and an understanding of a unit of value that we can all rely on.

Re: Ask HN: Why do negative crypto articles dominate on HN?

#25

Post by alex504 »

neb_b wrote: post #11
PaulHoule wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With most forms of crypto the government can look at the ledger. Frequently the US has success at tracking down and seizing Bitcoin and other forms of crypto. Since the ledger is public you can replace your elected and somewhat accountable 'government' with * North Korea, Iran, ... * Scientology or Jeffery Epstein's lawyers (if you are a victim looking for justice) * the Mafia, Yakuza, Triad, ... * Greenpeace, ACT UP…

The key is that they can look at the ledger, but not alter the ledger. But also privacy improvements to the bitcoin protocol, privacy focused transactions like coinjoins, and payments on the lightning network help hide that even more.

They can look at the ledger, and show up to your house, take ownership of your house and put you in jail.

Re: Ask HN: Why do negative crypto articles dominate on HN?

#26

Post by neb_b »

dolni wrote: post #17
neb_b wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The key is that they can look at the ledger, but not alter the ledger. But also privacy improvements to the bitcoin protocol, privacy focused transactions like coinjoins, and payments on the lightning network help hide that even more.

> The key is that they can look at the ledger, but not alter the ledger. This is only true if you think governments are not capable of pulling off a 51% attack. It would absolutely be feasible for a few of the world powers to pull it off, if not a single world power.

Sure for smaller proof of work coins, and maybe today. It would require a massive amount of money, energy, coordination, and time - and it's getting harder to do as the total hashpower grows every day.

Re: Ask HN: Why do negative crypto articles dominate on HN?

#27

Post by przeor »

cbdumas wrote: post #12

Because HN readers skew more technologically literate, people here are on average (slightly) more capable of seeing though the techno-babble hype than on other social media sites. It's not that the financial status quo is held in high regard, rather that HN readers see crypto's empty promises to fix existing issues for what they are: bullshit designed to lure in ever more dumb money.

similar empty promises were made in dot com era. Does it mean dot com period of 1995-2001 was wasted and meaningless?

Re: Ask HN: Why do negative crypto articles dominate on HN?

#28

Post by PaulHoule »

neb_b wrote: post #26
dolni wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The key is that they can look at the ledger, but not alter the ledger. This is only true if you think governments are not capable of pulling off a 51% attack. It would absolutely be feasible for a few of the world powers to pull it off, if not a single world power.

Sure for smaller proof of work coins, and maybe today. It would require a massive amount of money, energy, coordination, and time - and it's getting harder to do as the total hashpower grows every day.

But who needs that?

If "they" can track you down "they" can arrest you, kill you, torture you, extort you, ...

Re: Ask HN: Why do negative crypto articles dominate on HN?

#29

Post by neb_b »

PaulHoule wrote: post #28
neb_b wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure for smaller proof of work coins, and maybe today. It would require a massive amount of money, energy, coordination, and time - and it's getting harder to do as the total hashpower grows every day.

But who needs that? If "they" can track you down "they" can arrest you, kill you, torture you, extort you, ...

There are ways to avoid your transactions being tracked. Coinjoin transactions, purchasing a miner for non-kyc bitcoin, payments on the lightning network, etc

Also, they can do all of those things, but you can setup your private keys in a way that your family will still have access to the bitcoin even if you are killed

Re: Ask HN: Why do negative crypto articles dominate on HN?

#30

Post by laszlo-kiss »

dolni wrote: post #17
neb_b wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The key is that they can look at the ledger, but not alter the ledger. But also privacy improvements to the bitcoin protocol, privacy focused transactions like coinjoins, and payments on the lightning network help hide that even more.

> The key is that they can look at the ledger, but not alter the ledger. This is only true if you think governments are not capable of pulling off a 51% attack. It would absolutely be feasible for a few of the world powers to pull it off, if not a single world power.

Theoretically I can stand up a mining operation in my apartment. That means that the 51% attack (as long as it can be detected) can be thwarted by folks at the grass roots level (as long as they actually care). Am I wrong about this?
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