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Ask HN: Why is cryptocurrency so hated here?

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Re: Ask HN: Why is cryptocurrency so hated here?

#51

Post by warrenm »

notreallyserio wrote: post #45

Core features of crypto are a severe detriment to crypto holders: if you lose your passphrase/private key that money is gone forever* and if you get scammed you have little recourse outside the legal system. If you can solve those two things I'm more likely to get on board. As far as I know, they can't be solved, so to me it's a non-starter. * unless you put it in a third party service, that likely isn't insured for…

>that likely isn't insured for the full value of all deposits

And how could it even be insured for the "full value"? The "full value" when it was deposited at $9 a coin? Or the "full value" 3 years later when it's $900 a coin? Or the full value another 3 months after that when it crashes to $0.009 per coin?

Re: Ask HN: Why is cryptocurrency so hated here?

#52

Post by warrenm »

atmosx wrote: post #44

> [...] but the distributed ledger system is pretty interesting, isn't it? Yes, the protocol itself is pretty interesting and I've seen no one bashing Satoshi. If anything, Satoshi is often venerated on this website for his impeccable technical and communication skills - and for good reason IMO as the body of work he left is astounding. A big part of parties involved don't understand the first thing about currencies…

> ps. Isn't it ironic that Satoshi invented BTC as a non-centralised system and instead the tech will be used to enable the most tightly controlled monetary flow ever :-P

This is why many people put a high[ish] plausibility argument for "Satoshi" being a governmental (or quasi-governmental) agency vs some remarkably smart individual

Re: Ask HN: Why is cryptocurrency so hated here?

#53

Post by warrenm »

AbrahamParangi wrote: post #42

A heuristic I like to use is that when someone presents many reasons for why they like or dislike something, they’re usually excluding the main reason. The rationale for this is that causes are often power-law distributed in importance, so the top reason will be most of it and the other reasons are merely supplementary or for the purpose of argument.

Scott Adams calls this the "laundry list" argument: if you have to list more than a couple solid reasons for something, you probably don't really have any solid reasons for believing what you believe

Re: Ask HN: Why is cryptocurrency so hated here?

#54

Post by dragonwriter »

warrenm wrote: post #53
AbrahamParangi wrote: post #42

A heuristic I like to use is that when someone presents many reasons for why they like or dislike something, they’re usually excluding the main reason. The rationale for this is that causes are often power-law distributed in importance, so the top reason will be most of it and the other reasons are merely supplementary or for the purpose of argument.

Scott Adams calls this the "laundry list" argument: if you have to list more than a couple solid reasons for something, you probably don't really have any solid reasons for believing what you believe

Yes, it is very Scott Adams to say “if someone points out many solid reasons why I am wrong, it means I’m really right!”

Re: Ask HN: Why is cryptocurrency so hated here?

#55

Post by georgia_peach »

gostsamo wrote: post #15
georgia_peach wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't find the energy/environmental arguments compelling. US military accounts for almost half of US fuel consumption, 10-20% of the federal budget, and hundreds of toxic waste sites throughout the world. Propping-up the petrodollar has been their primary occupation for at least the last decade, if not longer.

Remember, HN is not with 100% US members. I'm not an US citizen and the US government does not give a flying fuck about my opinion toward their military spending. On the other hand, not all of the US citizens are eco friendly and are much pro US military than me, so it makes sense for them to vote for it.

Nationality is beside the point. A store of value has to be backed by something (know-how, labor, natural resources, etc.), and these somethings (and their markets) have to be defended (agreements, force, counterespionage...), and all of this consumes a great deal of energy, but good luck finding out what that number is in the media. That's much harder piece of homework than typing a number into a mining calculator, hitting enter, and posting another the-sky-is-falling opinion piece on Medium.

Re: Ask HN: Why is cryptocurrency so hated here?

#56

Post by warrenm »

tgflynn wrote: post #8

It's a question I've often wondered about, especially given how much crypto/web3 is talked about in the more mainstream media and how many developers seem to be interested in working in the field. One thing I'd like to know is what is YCombinator's stance on crypto. Have they invested in crypto companies ? Do they have a policy against it ? Have Paul Graham or the other principals ever written about their views on th…

I dunno about YCombinator's stance ... but PG has mentioned them some: http://paulgraham.com/nft.html, https://twitter.com/paulg/status/1490406747051286539 (via https://treatyourcrypto.com/venture-capitalist-paul-graham-d...)

OpenSea was a W18 (https://www.ycombinator.com/blog/yc-companies-looking-for-su...) YC project (found via https://www.ycombinator.com/blog/?query=nft)

https://www.ycombinator.com/blog/?query=cryptocurrency may give other data points for your consideration

Re: Ask HN: Why is cryptocurrency so hated here?

#57

Post by [deleted] »

warrenm wrote: post #52
atmosx wrote: post #44

> [...] but the distributed ledger system is pretty interesting, isn't it? Yes, the protocol itself is pretty interesting and I've seen no one bashing Satoshi. If anything, Satoshi is often venerated on this website for his impeccable technical and communication skills - and for good reason IMO as the body of work he left is astounding. A big part of parties involved don't understand the first thing about currencies…

> ps. Isn't it ironic that Satoshi invented BTC as a non-centralised system and instead the tech will be used to enable the most tightly controlled monetary flow ever :-P This is why many people put a high[ish] plausibility argument for "Satoshi" being a governmental (or quasi-governmental) agency vs some remarkably smart individual

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Why is cryptocurrency so hated here?

#58

Post by alxjrvs »

georgia_peach wrote: post #43
alxjrvs wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You find find an argument from me that the energy consumption of the US military is somehow acceptable. However, all of that energy consumption being used by crypto is at the mercy of a desperately small number of speculators, hobbyists, and marks. For what it accomplishes - the actual utility it provides, which is to say, very little - it is an astonishingly energy-hungry system. Even compared to traditional banking…

Even though many of these things are grifts wrapped in scams boxed in hustles, the idea of fiat currency upheld by energy and math seems like an improvement over a fiat currency upheld by energy and weapons, and a worthwhile endeavor. BTC has beaten my money market account by a ridiculous amount. As a store of wealth, it has done its job well so far. People keep saying that it's a bubble, and perhaps it is. My gut te…

>As a store of wealth

My uncle picks pockets down by the pier and keeps all the wallets in a bag under his bed. This, too, has been a growing store of wealth, beating out my dinky little ETF accounts. Despite his claims, I do not want to "learn from the best". Despite my wishes, he encourages me to check out the pier anyway.

Re: Ask HN: Why is cryptocurrency so hated here?

#59

Post by alxjrvs »

georgia_peach wrote: post #43
alxjrvs wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You find find an argument from me that the energy consumption of the US military is somehow acceptable. However, all of that energy consumption being used by crypto is at the mercy of a desperately small number of speculators, hobbyists, and marks. For what it accomplishes - the actual utility it provides, which is to say, very little - it is an astonishingly energy-hungry system. Even compared to traditional banking…

Even though many of these things are grifts wrapped in scams boxed in hustles, the idea of fiat currency upheld by energy and math seems like an improvement over a fiat currency upheld by energy and weapons, and a worthwhile endeavor. BTC has beaten my money market account by a ridiculous amount. As a store of wealth, it has done its job well so far. People keep saying that it's a bubble, and perhaps it is. My gut te…

The claim that Bitcoin (or ETH, or lite, or tether, or Doge) will function in any way like a currency in the near or middle future is a meaningless pipe dream with no technical roadmap to meaningful adoption. You can talk about the hypothetical benefits of the chain and the ideological failing of a fiat currency, but none of that maps to the reality of the crypto space right now. You're either a willing con-man or an unwilling mark.

Some people will get fat from crypto. That doesn't change the fact that it is a cesspool.

Re: Ask HN: Why is cryptocurrency so hated here?

#60

Post by georgia_peach »

alxjrvs wrote: post #58
georgia_peach wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even though many of these things are grifts wrapped in scams boxed in hustles, the idea of fiat currency upheld by energy and math seems like an improvement over a fiat currency upheld by energy and weapons, and a worthwhile endeavor. BTC has beaten my money market account by a ridiculous amount. As a store of wealth, it has done its job well so far. People keep saying that it's a bubble, and perhaps it is. My gut te…

>As a store of wealth My uncle picks pockets down by the pier and keeps all the wallets in a bag under his bed. This, too, has been a growing store of wealth, beating out my dinky little ETF accounts. Despite his claims, I do not want to "learn from the best". Despite my wishes, he encourages me to check out the pier anyway.

Who is BTC stealing from?
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