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Launch HN: Dharma (YC S17) an open protocol for borrowing/lending cryptoassets

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71–80 of 167 posts

Re: Launch HN: Dharma (YC S17) an open protocol for borrowing/lending cryptoassets

#71
post #12

`dharma` is the term we buddhists use to designate the (sacred) teachings of Buddha. Would you use `Coran` or `Bible` to name your project? Probably not. It would have been a good idea to take more time to reflect on your choice of name.

I'm sorry but Dharma in its original context, that being India, is far more a broad term than simply a religious one. For example the conduct of the corporate form in Ancient, and Medieval India was often defined by certain publicly stated terms that the corporation/guild and its members had to follow, this was called "Sreni Dharma" (Sreni being the guild/corporation, and Dharma being the terms it must conduct itself by).

So Dharma is a very broad term, and quite apt in this case.

Re: Launch HN: Dharma (YC S17) an open protocol for borrowing/lending cryptoassets

#72
post #44
post #42

There's something I don't understand about Smart Contracts. Normal contracts are written by lawyers. They are reviewed by both parties' lawyer. Sometimes, after the contracts are signed, the lawyers disagree what a particular provision or clause means. At which point, they either negotiate or sue. In which case, a human judge weighs up the case and decides. How do disagreements work with smart contracts? I assume som…

How do disagreements work with smart contracts? If you are big or popular or have connections, then the guys in power will bend the rules in your favour. Google 'The DAO' for an example. Otherwise, an algorithm will decide.

Not quite. The ecosystem was much smaller back then. Nowadays, I'm not sure one company would be able to make a case for forking the currency.

Besides, you can still buy ETH classic, if you disagree with the decision. It's just not worth much.

Re: Launch HN: Dharma (YC S17) an open protocol for borrowing/lending cryptoassets

#73
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How can this make sense? If the collateral is X, then the borrowed amount (Y) has to be less then X. Why lend anything in the first place, when that means you can only spend Y while otherwise you could have spent X which is more?

Say I own 1 bitcoin at $10k/BTC. I want to go buy a mining rig for $5k. I could sell 0.5BTC and buy the rig. BUT, I believe that BTC is going to $20k, and I don't want to sell. So I go to person X and say lend me $5k against what is currently $10k of BTC. He has 2x collateral coverage... so he makes the loan. if BTC falls to $7500, he may have the option to sell and recover his loan. I get my money so I can create mo…

This can easily be done on CME futures market, we don't need dharma for this. Futures can be used in multiple ways to swap inherent volatility with a fixed stream of return.

Re: Launch HN: Dharma (YC S17) an open protocol for borrowing/lending cryptoassets

#74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In general, no, we don't find it offensive. The word "bible" is simply from the Greek word for book or books.

How would you feel about Bible.io being a company page for a crypto project promoting the Bible protocol? You have to admit it sounds a little confusing, no?

There is JesusCoin https://jesuscoin.network/

Re: Launch HN: Dharma (YC S17) an open protocol for borrowing/lending cryptoassets

#76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The collateral can be any other asset that is represented by a cryptographic token. Right now, few crypto-assets map to real world assets in some capacity, but we're willing to make a bet that this will change faster than most expect. Already, though, there are many interesting assets in the world of crypto that are particularly well suited to being put up for collateral -- namely, the emerging class of crypto-collec…

If the borrower is the one setting the collateral, what's to prevent me from putting up something that's rapidly depreciating like my collection of e-Beanie Babies and effectively stealing the loan?

I'm sure the lender could make the right decision there if they had enough knowledge and were able to view what the collateral is.

Re: Launch HN: Dharma (YC S17) an open protocol for borrowing/lending cryptoassets

#77
post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are the collaterals always worth equal or more than the amount borrowed? I asked that assuming people put up 1 eth as collateral to borrow 2 eth.

Usually collateral is supposed to be equal or more than the amount borrowed, especially in a situation like this where there is no 'credit score' to use to determine likelihood of default.

The protocol doesn't have a credit score. That's a concept better suited for the application layer built on top.

Re: Launch HN: Dharma (YC S17) an open protocol for borrowing/lending cryptoassets

#78

How is this different from EthLend or SALT

EthLend and SALT are both lending applications. While we have created a lightweight lending app in Dharma Plex, our core offering is Dharma Protocol. Dharma Protocol is a suite of developer tools that enables entrepreneurs to create apps like Ethlend or SALT easily and securely. It's open source and entirely free to use.

Ah thanks for the response. What's the business model?

Re: Launch HN: Dharma (YC S17) an open protocol for borrowing/lending cryptoassets

#79
post #32

How is paying the debt back enforced or incentivised?

Right now we expect most loans will be fully collateralized by other crypto-assets. So the default deterrence would be that if you don't pay back your loan, you lose your collateral.

We also support unsecured loans (i.e., loans that are not fully collateralized). We consider these pretty experimental and lenders should do a lot of diligence before investing.

For unsecured loans, counterparties can agree to any kind of default deterrence that they want. Could be off-chain legal agreement, could be a reputation scheme, etc.

Re: Launch HN: Dharma (YC S17) an open protocol for borrowing/lending cryptoassets

#80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Say I own 1 bitcoin at $10k/BTC. I want to go buy a mining rig for $5k. I could sell 0.5BTC and buy the rig. BUT, I believe that BTC is going to $20k, and I don't want to sell. So I go to person X and say lend me $5k against what is currently $10k of BTC. He has 2x collateral coverage... so he makes the loan. if BTC falls to $7500, he may have the option to sell and recover his loan. I get my money so I can create mo…

This can easily be done on CME futures market, we don't need dharma for this. Futures can be used in multiple ways to swap inherent volatility with a fixed stream of return.

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