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Kik, once valued at $1B, is to be closed

forbes.com

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Re: Kik, once valued at $1B, is to be closed

#161

Post by chx »

jackcodes wrote: post #103
untog wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd say it depends on percentages. The vast, almost entire majority of leggings are not scams. A notable number of cryptocurrencies are scams.

Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP take up around 80% of total market cap and I’ll class those as legitimate enough to fall in the non-scam category. I’ll also ballpark half of the remaining 20% as not being scams (I know that’s a little debatable too, is a poor business premise a scam for example?), and I’d say that’s not too bad on the whole. If we’re talking about number of projects then I can’t disagree, there’d be no arg…

What makes you think Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP are not scams? That's the entire point of this argument: Bitcoin is a scam. I showed you an article about how there are no legit usages (aside from those that include it out of hype but could be implemented just as well without) and another which shows you it is a digital version of the chain distributor scheme.

Re: Kik, once valued at $1B, is to be closed

#162

Post by ForHackernews »

malux85 wrote: post #139
WA wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Calling them currrency is already a scam. They are not a currency. They are hardly money (look up the difference yourself), because you mostly can’t buy stuff with it. And for sure, you can’t pay taxes with them. I read a great question here on HN a while back to enthusiasts: If you were the last person in earth to receive coins, would you still like them and endorse them? So many comments can be traced to the idea o…

I buy heaps of stuff with bitcoin. Not drugs or anything illegal, but computer equipment, membership fees, server hosting, domains and 2nd hand goods from friends. And you can pay your taxes with crypto: https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2019/07/16/canadian-town-pay... Nothing is going to replace fiat overnight, but crypto is far from "not a currency"

Cryptocurrencies are fiat currencies: They have no intrinsic value except what people collectively agree to pretend they do. It's paper money on a computer.

At least gold has real uses in jewellery and industrial applications to put a floor under its value.

Re: Kik, once valued at $1B, is to be closed

#163

Post by tgv »

criddell wrote: post #10

What was the $1B valuation based on? It seems absurd.

I've discovered a foolproof way to make billions of dollars and take controlling interest in the major corporation of your choice. I'll share my secret with you, since I'm all done using my system (hint: if you want to buy any corporation known by three capital letters... forget it.).

Step 1:

Find somebody you trust to work with you as your partner. Your wife is a good choice, although in a pinch your pet hamster will suffice.

Step 2:

Create a dot.com company. Building a company with strong technical underpinnings and lead by a passionate and visionary leader is best. However, you can also cycle through e-.com, choosing 's from the dictionary until you find one which isn't used. Whatever.

If you find all the names are used, try the dictionary of a foreign language.

Step 3:

Go public! Issue 1,000,000,000 shares of stock. Keep 999,999,999 shares for yourself, and sell the other share.

Step 4:

Have your partner buy that share for $100.

Step 5:

Party!!!!! You now have a $100 billion market cap. Make sure you give interviews to Time, WSJ, and so forth. (If you don't understand why you have a $100 billion market cap, please close your AOL account and go back to your day job; this system isn't for you.)

Step 6:

Buy the company of your choice, using your $100 billion in stock. (Note: avoid companies created using this system.)

Step 7:

Retire. You've worked hard, and you deserve it.

(edit: source unknown, found on r.h.f a long time ago)

Re: Kik, once valued at $1B, is to be closed

#164

Post by DiogenesKynikos »

JohnJamesRambo wrote: post #88
chx wrote: post #78

Cryptocurrencies are scam. End. This is very simple. Yes, they are a new kind of scam, a good name suggested is Nakamoto Scheme. https://prestonbyrne.com/2017/12/08/bitcoin_ponzi/ Also notable: https://davidgerard.co.uk/blockchain/2018/04/05/debunking-bu... which doesn't outright call it a scam but certainly points out > Git gives you pretty much everything offered by the business case for blockchains. The one thing…

If you’ve ever needed to buy something that your government doesn’t want you to or get your money out of a country that doesn’t want you to remove your money you’d have a different view of cryptocurrency. Scam is not how I would classify all of them at all. I’d classify them more as a mechanism of freedom. You may find yourself singing a different tune when the current QE house of cards falls and you want somewhere,…

You're talking about the low morals of banks vs. cryptocurrencies, but I feel much safer depositing my savings in a regulated bank than I would converting them into any type of cryptocoin. Is my perception wrong?

I understand that in particular cases (e.g., hyperinflation), you may prefer cryptocurrency, but for the vast majority of people, official currencies and regulated banks are much safer and practical.

Re: Kik, once valued at $1B, is to be closed

#165

Post by miracle2k »

close04 wrote: post #155
malux85 wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I buy heaps of stuff with bitcoin. Not drugs or anything illegal, but computer equipment, membership fees, server hosting, domains and 2nd hand goods from friends. And you can pay your taxes with crypto: https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2019/07/16/canadian-town-pay... Nothing is going to replace fiat overnight, but crypto is far from "not a currency"

> I buy heaps of stuff with bitcoin You're bartering for heaps of stuff. I get heaps of stuff by offering services or other stuff in exchange. Yet my services or other stuff are not a currency. And some towns accept taxes in form of community work for example which is also not a currency. > crypto is far from "not a currency" It's explicitly called "not a currency" by both Fed and the ECB as far as I know. Now it all…

Some people like Bitcoin and some people use it to pay for stuff, and they want to see more people like them, so they can transact in Bitcoin more.

Some critics seem to like making frankly ill conceived semantic arguments about the academic definition of a currency (or on your case, appeals to authority), but it really has no relation to whether Bitcoin is going to succeed or not succeed.

Re: Kik, once valued at $1B, is to be closed

#166

Post by feanaro »

baroffoos wrote: post #116
lemagedurage wrote: post #31

One and a half year ago, I built an (unofficial) bot, Ragebot [0], that would function as spam protection for the many bot accounts joining public Kik groups. The project took off and was added to hundreds of thousands of groups by Kik users. Two days ago, Ted Livingston announced the closure and Kik has been chaos throughout ever since, with people adopting Discord and Telegram to retain their online friend circles.…

Searchable groups are an antifeature to me. They encourage random strangers to come and go which prevents ever building any sense of community. One of the things I like about the group chats I am in are that the same people are there from years ago.

I don't know... It's sometimes nice to be able to meet random strangers instead of remaining in your own filtered little bubble. My formative years were spent on IRC like a few of the other commenters here and I would judge that as a strictly positive experience.

Re: Kik, once valued at $1B, is to be closed

#167

Post by close04 »

miracle2k wrote: post #165
close04 wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I buy heaps of stuff with bitcoin You're bartering for heaps of stuff. I get heaps of stuff by offering services or other stuff in exchange. Yet my services or other stuff are not a currency. And some towns accept taxes in form of community work for example which is also not a currency. > crypto is far from "not a currency" It's explicitly called "not a currency" by both Fed and the ECB as far as I know. Now it all…

Some people like Bitcoin and some people use it to pay for stuff, and they want to see more people like them, so they can transact in Bitcoin more. Some critics seem to like making frankly ill conceived semantic arguments about the academic definition of a currency (or on your case, appeals to authority), but it really has no relation to whether Bitcoin is going to succeed or not succeed.

> Some people like [cigarettes] and some people use it to pay for stuff, and they want to see more people like them, so they can transact in [cigarettes] more.

Therefore cigarettes are currency. Liking something is not an argument.

> frankly ill conceived semantic arguments about the academic definition of a currency

My argument is ill conceived because it's "just" based on the academic (legal) definition of currency? We truly do live in a world of "alternative truths” and “alternative facts” where using the actual definition of something in a relevant context is frowned upon.

Re: Kik, once valued at $1B, is to be closed

#168

Post by Insanity »

WA wrote: post #121
coralreef wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right. I'm going to challenge you to: - prevent or reverse any of my transactions - confiscate my bitcoin, or even find out how much I have You can't, and never will. Some cryptocurrencies are scams. But if you're saying all cryptocurrencies are scams, you're simply saying math and economics are a scam.

Calling them currrency is already a scam. They are not a currency. They are hardly money (look up the difference yourself), because you mostly can’t buy stuff with it. And for sure, you can’t pay taxes with them. I read a great question here on HN a while back to enthusiasts: If you were the last person in earth to receive coins, would you still like them and endorse them? So many comments can be traced to the idea o…

A couple of shops (jewelry places mainly) and most food delivery services around me accept bitcoin.

So I can use them as a currency. It's like duck typing. If it looks like a currency and behaves like a currency, it'd a currency! (Overly simplistic I know, but I'd challenge the idea that it outright can't be a currency)

Re: Kik, once valued at $1B, is to be closed

#169

Post by close04 »

feanaro wrote: post #147
linkregister wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

- confiscate my bitcoin, or even find out how much I have Bitcoin's public ledger is especially vulnerable to FBI "follow the money" investigation. Only one end is required to be known, and the entire trail is easily followed. The federal agent who stole a portion of Dread Pirate Roberts' Bitcoin was quickly tracked and prosecuted.

Exchanging Bitcoin for Monero or Zcash, making a private transaction, then selling it back for Bitcoin under a separate account would seemingly stop this dead in its tracks.

But then untraceability would be a quality or Monero or Zcash, not Bitcoin itself.

Re: Kik, once valued at $1B, is to be closed

#170

Post by rbreve »

WA wrote: post #121
coralreef wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right. I'm going to challenge you to: - prevent or reverse any of my transactions - confiscate my bitcoin, or even find out how much I have You can't, and never will. Some cryptocurrencies are scams. But if you're saying all cryptocurrencies are scams, you're simply saying math and economics are a scam.

Calling them currrency is already a scam. They are not a currency. They are hardly money (look up the difference yourself), because you mostly can’t buy stuff with it. And for sure, you can’t pay taxes with them. I read a great question here on HN a while back to enthusiasts: If you were the last person in earth to receive coins, would you still like them and endorse them? So many comments can be traced to the idea o…

You are not well informed, you can buy stuff with it and also can pay taxes with bitcoin, google "pay taxes with bitcoin"
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