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Facebook plans cryptocurrency debut

techcrunch.com

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Re: Facebook plans cryptocurrency debut

#331

Post by dang »

jbverschoor wrote: post #189

More and more I get the feeling that the majority of the HN crowd are FB employees. Any other post about crypto is a scam. Any other tech than react is immature. Etc etc. Have fun at FB guys, I hope your share vest soon

This comment breaks the site guidelines, which ask you not to post insinuations about astroturfing. Those are internet poison and nearly always imaginary. (I've written about this ad nasueum for anyone who wants more explanation: https://hn.algolia.com/?sort=byDate&dateRange=all&type=comme...).

So please don't do that, and please don't post unsubstantive comments in general. We're hoping for thoughtful conversation here, not flames.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: Facebook plans cryptocurrency debut

#332

Post by 013a »

curryst wrote: post #313
013a wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Banks are more regulatory and defend my turf play than a technology play. There's layers and layers of clutter. Why do you think this is? Do you think its just because "hur hur they're evil"? I'm not saying there isn't some of that. But I am saying: 1. The big banks have discovered something that the small, modern banks haven't. YET. They will. Its that banking sucks, and we need the regulatory hurdles. 2. If you t…

> Maybe we need a better system. Maybe we dislike the system we have, but we can't have a better one. Maybe we need better people. But, you can't change human nature. Do you have some sort of evidence for that? "We can't have a better (system)" is a pretty bold statement to make without some kind of supporting evidence. Absolute truths require absolute evidence.

I can't see how you'd think those are absolute truths when they're all prefixed with the word "Maybe".

Re: Facebook plans cryptocurrency debut

#333

Post by arisAlexis »

wz1000 wrote: post #6

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…

no fees, easy to send money to relatives abroad. PayPal was for eBay. this is for FB

Re: Facebook plans cryptocurrency debut

#334

Post by arisAlexis »

panic wrote: post #256
InvisibleCities wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But that doesn't really answer the question being asked. If the cryptocurrency is completely controlled by a centralized authority who has absolute rights over the system, why bother with the technical and cognitive hurdles of using a blockchain? A standard ledger in a centralized database is more than adequate for that task, and much easier to maintain.

It puts their currency in the same semantic basket as Bitcoin and Ethereum. The effort to give these other currencies legitimacy also gives Facebook’s currency legitimacy; many people who support these other currencies will also support Facebook’s. If Facebook’s currency is attacked, it becomes (in some sense) an attack on all cryptocurrencies.

can't be further from the truth. Bitcoin,Ethereum supporters want decentralisation while FB coin is totally centralised

Re: Facebook plans cryptocurrency debut

#335

Post by arisAlexis »

kannanvijayan wrote: post #108
mc32 wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And importantly the tokens can be unilaterally devalued without having to change the slots or recalibrate. So instead of 25¢ and next step being 50¢ if using the same config, they can charge you 27, or 48 or 50¢ for the token and not have to reconfigure the machine one bit.

It also allows for the possibility of selling at discounted rates for volume. $1 for 4 tokens, but $10 gets you 50 instead of 40. There is _some_ inherent value in this. Decoupling the currency rate from a unit of time play provides an entrypoint for the store to incorporate value models that aren't captured by currency alone. In the volume discount case, this allows them to incorporate fixed overhead models into the…

impossible for stable coins. I am awed by the level of ignorance here

Re: Facebook plans cryptocurrency debut

#336

Post by keiru »

So to summarize, the Facebook plan might look like this: (IANAL, so please correct me)

- Create a global currency that can only be used by FB users and through FB apps.

- Invest a billion in pegging the currency to make it stable and position it as the unchallenged WorldMoney™, but it will eventually carry its own weight in the long term.

- Collect direct purchase information like crazy, their ultimate wet dream (I know GDPR is not circumvented by the taxes thing, but it's as simple as asking "Can I track your purchases?" and people will simply say yes.)

- Implement this scheme as a blockchain to dodge antitrust laws (or whatever applies when you become a worldwide financial entity) by distributing the operation/management/governance among interested parties.

- Even receive some millions from said companies to hold that power in the first place.

- Still hold the real power over the implementation at the end of the day, but not the accountability.

- Dodge taxes like crazy wherever you can, charge fees whenever you want, etc.

- Make users comply to whatever conditions you want because at some point it will become mandatory to have a FB account.

Am I missing something?

EDIT: - Pay their employees and finance their worldwide operation with monopoly money.

Re: Facebook plans cryptocurrency debut

#339

Post by jaakl »

Bakary wrote: post #184
nbrempel wrote: post #144

I’m not sure how anyone has even the slightest trust in Facebook anymore. Why is it that people still use the service? Is convenience really that powerful?

I have exactly zero trust in Facebook but I have had so many irritating moments and missed opportunities due to ditching my account years ago that I am seriously considering reopening it again. The main aspect I'm considering these days is that I'm not important in the grand scheme of things so there's no rational reason to increase difficulty in things that do really matter such as having memorable experiences while…

You have zero trust in Facebook, and Facebook has zero trust in you. Perfect use case for blockchain, right?

Re: Facebook plans cryptocurrency debut

#340

Post by m-i-l »

qwsxyh wrote: post #91
m-i-l wrote: post #55

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".

You say that as if that's not what they want.

Well given the pseudoanonymous nature of the original cryptocurrency, and its popularity for illegal activities, I would assume not. But maybe it is more about rampant capitalism and maximise-personal-profit-at-whatever-cost nowadays.
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