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Ask HN: Why are privacy coins like Monero not seeing wide adoption?

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Re: Ask HN: Why are privacy coins like Monero not seeing wide adoption?

#41

Post by PainfullyNormal »

edent wrote: post #16

As with anything - what's the user need? The vast majority of people don't seem fazed about their credit card company knowing they've bought a sex toy. Hell, if Amex offered double-cashback at PornHub I expect they'd be inundated. For those which do want a bit more privacy, it's dead easy to buy a single-use gift card or cash card. Will that stop the police from tracing you? No, but it makes it harder for a company t…

> How easy is it - for both sides - to get set up?

I suspect this is a huge sticking point. The last time I tried to pay for something using bitcoin, I failed. I tried again with monero and, once again, failed. Zelle worked just fine.

Re: Ask HN: Why are privacy coins like Monero not seeing wide adoption?

#42

Post by bejelentkezni »

maerF0x0 wrote: post #34
woodruffw wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s no small irony that the simplest answer is the right answer here: you can’t force consumers to use your product. They need a reason to use it, and none of the current ones are sufficiently compelling.

I've always wondered why consumers seem to lack foresight though? Like the foresight of governmental / corporate dystopias due to information asymmetries. or foresight that exclusively buying goods manufactured abroad will eventually affect your home price as your neighbors one by one lose their local jobs... Do we know why people act in such a way? Edit: I'm quite shocked at the deep presumption of negativity. I was…

That's not foresight, it's out-of-hand speculation. But I guess people who don't wildly speculate would never invest in crypto in the first place, heh.

Re: Ask HN: Why are privacy coins like Monero not seeing wide adoption?

#43

Post by maerF0x0 »

Aaronstotle wrote: post #31

I think the fiat on/off ramps are a large problem for Monero, I say this as someone who is a huge proponent of Monero and would like to see adoption rise. It is only offered on one exchange (Kraken) which inherently limits availability, there are certain vendors who do accept Monero such as Mullvad, and a popular wallet for iOS (CakeWallet) will soon allow you to redeem Giftcards for Monero. Right now, if I gave my f…

I have always wondered how much money laundering is in mining.

It seems pretty benign to buy a whole bunch of CPU/GPUs on the used market and then have them mine you cryptocurrencies (not just monero, but notably monero is CPU favorable). This might be a massive onramp for fiat to cryptocurrencies.

A quick google talks a lot about tumblers and other buy/sell strategies, but I'm curious about mining.

I would hate to be the lackey who suggested it to their boss last fall only for them to see their laundered money fall > 50% though.

Re: Ask HN: Why are privacy coins like Monero not seeing wide adoption?

#45

Post by ZiiS »

pc86 wrote: post #9
rvz wrote: post #4

> I consider Web3/NFTs to be a scam Not all NFTs are the same or even JPEGs. 90% of them are useless though. The blockchain domains are the only valid NFTs that cannot be right-click saved and are useful. > the only utility I see in cryptocurrency is the anonymous and decentralized transfer of value. > However interestingly the coins that do this well like Monero are not seeing wide adoption. The regulators would lik…

Let's pretend that in my mind, "NFT === JPEG === scam for idiots and speculators" - what is a "blockchain domain," why does it have to be an NFT (or why is being an NFT better than not being one), and how is it different from the above?

blockchain domain are equivelent of domain names in DNS, i.e. they ae human readable wallet addresses. Making them nonfungable is a requirment (If it pointed at two wallets someone else could get your payment). Making them decentralised is a requirement to prevent someone else (and so ultimatly govenments) to decide where your payments go.

Re: Ask HN: Why are privacy coins like Monero not seeing wide adoption?

#46

Post by zichy »

maerF0x0 wrote: post #34
woodruffw wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s no small irony that the simplest answer is the right answer here: you can’t force consumers to use your product. They need a reason to use it, and none of the current ones are sufficiently compelling.

I've always wondered why consumers seem to lack foresight though? Like the foresight of governmental / corporate dystopias due to information asymmetries. or foresight that exclusively buying goods manufactured abroad will eventually affect your home price as your neighbors one by one lose their local jobs... Do we know why people act in such a way? Edit: I'm quite shocked at the deep presumption of negativity. I was…

Having the supposed foresight, I can tell that cryptocurrencies are definitely part of the dystopia.

Re: Ask HN: Why are privacy coins like Monero not seeing wide adoption?

#47

Post by rr888 »

apeace wrote: post #32

There are basically two compelling reasons to use a privacy coin: - You are doing something illegal and don't want to get caught. - Powerful actors in the economy are abusing their power, and you want to avoid/prevent that abuse. Most people are not criminals, so let's focus on the second use-case. If the government created a 1000% tax on all person-to-person transactions, you can bet nearly everyone would switch off…

There are a bunch of people that want to send cash to family in Cuba/Russia/Iran. Also Chinese people want to get foreign currency. I guess they are combinations of 1 & 2.

Re: Ask HN: Why are privacy coins like Monero not seeing wide adoption?

#48

Post by openfuture »

nikivi wrote: post #24

Is there any nice DEX that lets you trade Solana for Monero and vice versa? I want to do some commerce in Monero but since Monero is banned on most/all marketplaces, it'd be nice to get it easily via decentralized exchange swapping it for Solana. Doing commerce with Monero and then swapping it back to Solana and later FIAT. I assume the issue with this setup even if one builds it, you still have to tell the governmen…

The oracle problem rears its ugly head once more.

It's not a /nice/ DEX but amoveo exists, almost no liquidity but in theory it works.

It's not hopeless but it is important to understand how impactful solving the oracle problem would be. The implications are IMMENSE. Literally obviates the need for governance.

So idk, monero is too small (in some sense) to really be useful and the oracle problem is too big (in some sense) for a solution to it to be "one of many" - it'll transform everything and it can't happen unless people make it happen.

Re: Ask HN: Why are privacy coins like Monero not seeing wide adoption?

#49

Post by maerF0x0 »

Afforess wrote: post #40
maerF0x0 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've always wondered why consumers seem to lack foresight though? Like the foresight of governmental / corporate dystopias due to information asymmetries. or foresight that exclusively buying goods manufactured abroad will eventually affect your home price as your neighbors one by one lose their local jobs... Do we know why people act in such a way? Edit: I'm quite shocked at the deep presumption of negativity. I was…

Your comment reads as incredibly tone-deaf, but I'll give it an honest answer. Hierarchy of needs. Maslow is obviously not accurate, but people focus on basic survival and prioritize themselves and their families first. You do not even reach the level of contemplation of politics until you have food, shelter, comfort and a degree of safety. Most Americans struggle to satisfy all of these consistently. If you want mor…

fair enough, so your claim is essentially that people likely would, but are struggling to survive in the short run and therefore the long run is basically presumed to not matter?

Re: Ask HN: Why are privacy coins like Monero not seeing wide adoption?

#50

Post by openfuture »

Aaronstotle wrote: post #38
nikivi wrote: post #24

Is there any nice DEX that lets you trade Solana for Monero and vice versa? I want to do some commerce in Monero but since Monero is banned on most/all marketplaces, it'd be nice to get it easily via decentralized exchange swapping it for Solana. Doing commerce with Monero and then swapping it back to Solana and later FIAT. I assume the issue with this setup even if one builds it, you still have to tell the governmen…

I don't know of any DEX that does this currently, I'd be happy to make the exchange though

You guys can do it via amoveo. If you need veo then feel free to contact me by following links from profile to an email address.
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