As Bitcoin Sinks, Industry Startups Are Forced to Cut Back • Hacker News Board

Re: As Bitcoin Sinks, Industry Startups Are Forced to Cut Back

#181

Post by mindfulplay » Wed, Dec 26, 2018, 9:50 PM UTC

InGodsName wrote: post #47

minimaxir wrote: post #6

At what price will the Bitcoin death spiral occur? (i.e. when it costs more to produce/handle Bitcoin than the revenue generated, so best move is to just exit the crypto industry).

Bitcoin will rise again. Bitcoin removes the need to trust a bookie/agent to move money offshore. Whenever flow of money is possible between a safe haven and a corrupt/socialist big country with high tax rate/more population burden. Money flows to the safe heaven. Bitcoin is one such way to move money from african nations/india/china to safe haven like Switzerland, Singapore, UK etc... I am talking about illict gains…

Basically a scam then?

Re: As Bitcoin Sinks, Industry Startups Are Forced to Cut Back

#182

Post by mmirate » Wed, Dec 26, 2018, 9:51 PM UTC

carlob wrote: post #103

InGodsName wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, but it certainly can be used for money laundering and tax evasion. It removes the need to trust a bookie or agent to move money offshore. There are lawyers/accountants in Switzerland and Hong Kong who will help you launder money from third world countries. Moving your assets offshore without local government knowing is not a crime in other country! Edit: why downvotes? What's wrong?

My point was that you are assuming some sort of libertarian viewpoint where nation-states trying to tax your money are fundamentally corrupt/socialist. I personally tend to think that in the vast majority of cases govt spending of tax money does more for the greater good than whatever a self-appointed authority would. There are many exception to this, but I still think this is largely true in democracies. But then ag…

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Re: As Bitcoin Sinks, Industry Startups Are Forced to Cut Back

#183

Post by mindfulplay » Wed, Dec 26, 2018, 9:54 PM UTC

jMyles wrote: post #66

The discussion of blockchain tech on HN is puzzling to me. On the matter of value: I suspect that if we find ourselves able to send a message back in time two years (when BTC was less than $1,000 USD) and report that the price is now over $3,700, that we'll find this message to be met with an understanding that this is, at least, a validation of the use of blockchain tech as a store of value. I suspect that if we des…

Actually talking of potential shilling, are you really hyping your own products and claiming childlike curiosity ??? Wow.

Re: As Bitcoin Sinks, Industry Startups Are Forced to Cut Back

#184

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Dec 26, 2018, 9:54 PM UTC

jMyles wrote: post #100

twblalock wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There will always be people who say a breakthrough is just around the corner. How many years should the rest of us wait wait before we decide that blockchain tech was a dead end? It's already been around for a while and I can't think of any successful use cases outside of cryptocurrency.

Are you insinuating that there have been no breakthroughs in the past 2 years? How do you respond to the ones I have listed in the comment to which you're replying?

[deleted]

Re: As Bitcoin Sinks, Industry Startups Are Forced to Cut Back

#185

Post by AlexCoventry » Wed, Dec 26, 2018, 9:57 PM UTC

mdpopescu wrote: post #146

superkuh wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you haven't seen the need for an apolitical currency yet you probably never will. But maybe you're just all viewing this from the perspective of traditional speculators and haven't even considered it?

It's fascinating how strongly we believe that now == how things should be. Humans have been using gold as a currency for thousands of years, and yet nowadays everyone seems to believe that nothing but state-backed paper can work as such - and anyone who wants (as you said) an apolitical currency is just weird.

To me the key question is whether competitive organizations can form around incentive structures based on a decentralized currency. I think doubts and debate on that question are still reasonable.

Re: As Bitcoin Sinks, Industry Startups Are Forced to Cut Back

#186

Post by jMyles » Wed, Dec 26, 2018, 10:01 PM UTC

mindfulplay wrote: post #179

jMyles wrote: post #66

The discussion of blockchain tech on HN is puzzling to me. On the matter of value: I suspect that if we find ourselves able to send a message back in time two years (when BTC was less than $1,000 USD) and report that the price is now over $3,700, that we'll find this message to be met with an understanding that this is, at least, a validation of the use of blockchain tech as a store of value. I suspect that if we des…

You are conflating greed with innovation. We did not rally optimism and childlike curiosoty from the general public for HTTP or TCP/IP. You are shilling based on the popular Bitcoin playbook of Quotes and Comments. If it's really about the technology then people shouldn't care about the USD value of this crapshitcoins era... But no you folks not only took on the technologically inclined people but dragged the unaware…

> We did not rally optimism and childlike curiosoty from the general public for HTTP or TCP/IP.

Yes we did! It took a lot to get people excited about the internet, and a lot of naysayers made it a dramatic feat. The difference is that I'm hoping not to find this kind of negativity and name-calling here on HN.

> you folks not only took on the technologically inclined people but dragged the unaware general public into the mud took their money and fueled your drug-induced, darkweb fantasies of lambos and Porsches.

Please show me where I did anything even vaguely resembling this. I assert that I've been a reliable, honest contributor and spoken with my code. I've never been part of a public sale, nor ever made any promises of any kind to anybody who was participating in a public sale. NuCypher will not hold a public sale until our network is ready for use by real application developers. Full stop. That is the opposite of shilling.

Why are you attacking me personally here?

Re: As Bitcoin Sinks, Industry Startups Are Forced to Cut Back

#187

Post by root_axis » Wed, Dec 26, 2018, 10:03 PM UTC

jMyles wrote: post #66

The discussion of blockchain tech on HN is puzzling to me. On the matter of value: I suspect that if we find ourselves able to send a message back in time two years (when BTC was less than $1,000 USD) and report that the price is now over $3,700, that we'll find this message to be met with an understanding that this is, at least, a validation of the use of blockchain tech as a store of value. I suspect that if we des…

The cynicism has been well earned by all the hype with nothing to show for it. The best thing the cryptocurrency community can do is accept the lumps on the head, taste some humble pie, and shut down the hype machines until there is actually something useful to show. Cryptocurrency is the only technology that requires so much vociferous defense.

Re: As Bitcoin Sinks, Industry Startups Are Forced to Cut Back

#188

Post by zanny » Wed, Dec 26, 2018, 10:03 PM UTC

dgellow wrote: post #128

jMyles wrote: post #66

The discussion of blockchain tech on HN is puzzling to me. On the matter of value: I suspect that if we find ourselves able to send a message back in time two years (when BTC was less than $1,000 USD) and report that the price is now over $3,700, that we'll find this message to be met with an understanding that this is, at least, a validation of the use of blockchain tech as a store of value. I suspect that if we des…

> outdated notions of "intellectual property." Could you elaborate? What is wrong with current notion of intellectual property? What is outdated about it? In general I see this point targeting patents, not the whole concept of IP.

The practical real world beneficiaries of IP law in modern time are nigh exclusively international business conglomerates using it for rent seeking. The number of individual creatives who use the courts to enforce their copyrights as a revenue stream are drops from a spigot next to a torrential river of institutionalized copyright trolling, cross-lawsuits between dozens of lawyers from fortune 500s, and the systemic privatization of culture as a means for profit.

Whole generations have had their heritages locked up in corporate coffers for going on a century now with no end in sight, and that kind of abuse will leave lasting scars on humanity as a whole. I would anticipate historians a millennia from now might reflect on this time as having sufficient creative and intellectual death by copyright aside other calamities like global warming, exploitation of third world labor, or nuclear proliferation as the principal sins of the 20th and 21st century.

Re: As Bitcoin Sinks, Industry Startups Are Forced to Cut Back

#189

Post by mindfulplay » Wed, Dec 26, 2018, 10:04 PM UTC

jMyles wrote: post #186

mindfulplay wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are conflating greed with innovation. We did not rally optimism and childlike curiosoty from the general public for HTTP or TCP/IP. You are shilling based on the popular Bitcoin playbook of Quotes and Comments. If it's really about the technology then people shouldn't care about the USD value of this crapshitcoins era... But no you folks not only took on the technologically inclined people but dragged the unaware…

> We did not rally optimism and childlike curiosoty from the general public for HTTP or TCP/IP. Yes we did! It took a lot to get people excited about the internet, and a lot of naysayers made it a dramatic feat. The difference is that I'm hoping not to find this kind of negativity and name-calling here on HN. > you folks not only took on the technologically inclined people but dragged the unaware general public into…

Please at least add a HUGE disclaimer that all the NuCoin things are your own products and not some childlike curiosity. It's important that people understand that because HN doesn't allow ads without disclaimers.

Re: As Bitcoin Sinks, Industry Startups Are Forced to Cut Back

#190

Post by jMyles » Wed, Dec 26, 2018, 10:04 PM UTC

mindfulplay wrote: post #183

jMyles wrote: post #66

The discussion of blockchain tech on HN is puzzling to me. On the matter of value: I suspect that if we find ourselves able to send a message back in time two years (when BTC was less than $1,000 USD) and report that the price is now over $3,700, that we'll find this message to be met with an understanding that this is, at least, a validation of the use of blockchain tech as a store of value. I suspect that if we des…

Actually talking of potential shilling, are you really hyping your own products and claiming childlike curiosity ??? Wow.

I'm proud of my work, and that of the rest of our team. I don't think I have ever shilled. If you think I'm morally obliged to be silent about my work, where does it end? Am I supposed to shut down my github account too?