91–100 of 345 posts
To all the cryptocurrency devotees dreaming of a new world cryptocurrency displacing existing government-backed central banks - be careful what you wish for, it just might come true. This might be the next phase of surveillance capitalism, like Orwell except driven by a private corporation for profit rather than accountable governments for "the greater good".
Facebook's blockchain will most likely be a consortium of corporate validators. In this case you could say that the blockchain is "just" a normal distributed append-only hash-linked ledger with public verifiable records, but nowadays the more concise term for that is "blockchain."
Every git repository counts as a blockchain by that definition.
Can anyone explain what the point of a pegged cryptocurrency is? Since you are dependent on the issuing entity to honour the stated peg, why not just have your balance be an entry in a regular database maintained by that entity? What exactly does the blockchain gain you here? One thing it does _not_ get you is censorship resistance. If the central authority wants to take away coins from a wallet, all it needs to do i…
Have you transferred money across borders to an individual lately? As much as I want to criticize this FB is probably in an excellent position to navigate the kyc minefields.
Yes, frequently. Using TransferWise or FairFx, depending on where the recipient was, but inclusive of Thailand, USA, Ecuador, and Canada. The process was entirely painless, fast, and the transfer was cheap as chips, while bringing to bear the full weight of European bank regulations to protect me as a customer.
Ultimately, the goal seems to be "one currency to rule them all." The peg may prove necessary only initially, to gain confidence. Unlike most other currencies, Facebook's new currency will be readily available to and easily usable by virtually everyone everywhere, and it will likely have very low transaction costs -- much lower than those of most financial intermediaries. You will be able to use it as easily from New…
> with zero fees via Facebook products including Messenger and WhatsApp reminds me of the classic "If You're Not Paying For It, You Become The Product" edit: the prototypical crypto (bitcoin) has fees as the final (after there's no more new btc) incentive for miners to process transactions. but this doesn't? probably we'll have to look at their white paper but if Facebook is the only actor running this network why ma…
Marketing.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Across very cooperative borders in wealthy Europe, sure. Do you think it's as easy for those in India, China, or Kenya, for instance?
Entirely this, many in the West have no idea how difficult crossborder banking actually is for the vast majority of human beings on Earth.
Okay, so like, I'll defend them on this in principle. That said, can you address, like, you know, the myriad scandals you have BEFORE doing something ELSE? It's a bad look.
Meh, this feels like the Jordan Peterson "Set Your House in Perfect Order First" fallacy. Plenty of very flawed people (and presumably companies) have literally driven humanity forward.
Not sure I think Facebook's payment processing system is going to drive humanity forward, but insisting people clean up their shit first -- or even be generally reasonable human beings or companies -- excludes most artists, civil rights leaders, and technology companies.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Your banks are slow. Many process SEPA transfers a lot faster than that, try N26 to Revolut if you're curious. Also the SCT inst scheme has started being rolled out.
The N26 app is garbage. Revolut is OK, but it's a money changing service, not a bank. I did a transfer from the Revolut account and it took 3 days. Topping up is fast because it charges your card, rather than doing a transfer.
Can anyone explain what the point of a pegged cryptocurrency is? Since you are dependent on the issuing entity to honour the stated peg, why not just have your balance be an entry in a regular database maintained by that entity? What exactly does the blockchain gain you here? One thing it does _not_ get you is censorship resistance. If the central authority wants to take away coins from a wallet, all it needs to do i…
What was the point of arcades taking your quarters and issuing you tokens for the machines? Why not just allow the machines to take your quarters?
The idea is for the issuer to take real money from you and issue you Monopoly money which the issuer can track and control. In a worst case scenario the issuer can make up new rules (change their terms and conditions on you) or declare bankruptcy/dissolve and not honor the redemption of your stable coins at all.
Ultimately, the goal seems to be "one currency to rule them all." The peg may prove necessary only initially, to gain confidence. Unlike most other currencies, Facebook's new currency will be readily available to and easily usable by virtually everyone everywhere, and it will likely have very low transaction costs -- much lower than those of most financial intermediaries. You will be able to use it as easily from New…
Wait, you can't do that with your nation-backed currency? In Australia, I can literally open my bank app and send money to any Australian account with just a phone number and they receive it in 30 seconds or so with no fees...
Yeah, international transfers are a little harder, but for domestic transfers it's super easy.