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Cryptocurrencies Are Detrimental to Society

louwrentius.com

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Re: Cryptocurrencies Are Detrimental to Society

#81

Post by bigB »

louwrentius wrote: post #70
bigB wrote: post #59

People in general are detrimental to society, regardless of what currency we are using. Your argument is pretty weak considering conventional currency has been used for illegal and immoral activities since it was a thing, and even before that there were illegal trade in goods and services. All your examples in your arguments have been around long before cryptocurrency, with the exception of ransomware, which still wa…

Please state the benefits of cryptocurrencies. Nobody here seems to be able to answer this question without resorting to crazy jargon.

Well you haven't really state any benefit of traditional currency either....it can be given, taken, lost, stolen...and given the current world situation it is certainly not stable. Cryptocurrency has every benefit of normal currency for the user, less beneficial for law enforcement and governmental control, but control is not always a good thing either. Your talking about a currency....why does it have to perform something magical for it to be "good"

Re: Cryptocurrencies Are Detrimental to Society

#82

Post by louwrentius »

sawmill-picture wrote: post #55

Fiat Currencies are Detrimental To Society How would you explain the inner workings of fiat currency to someone in simple, understandable terms? "Imagine if the person in your neighborhood with the biggest house ran a printer in his garage that printed off paper that said "1 Buck" on it, and instead of giving the pizza delivery guy silver coins in exchange for their service, gave them bucks. Also he demands you pay h…

The only thing you do is to move attention away from cryptocurrencies to (other) fiat currencies. They may have problems too.

But we are now talking about the merits of cryptocurrencies. I see zero argument for them.

Re: Cryptocurrencies Are Detrimental to Society

#83

Post by louwrentius »

goblin89 wrote: post #49

Cryptocurrency can facilitate crime just like cash, but with scale come new and unknown implications. Same with information security, surveillance, and more: physical vulnerability in a door lock vs. remotely exploitable vulnerability in Wi-Fi router firmware; standalone CCTV vs. a connected network of cameras with centralized storage that allows tracking the movements of a given person throughout the day—the latter…

But what value does it provide?

Re: Cryptocurrencies Are Detrimental to Society

#85

Post by louwrentius »

throwaway1922 wrote: post #74
louwrentius wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know it's not possible to enforce it. It's a sentiment.

Go after the endpoints: the exchanges. The outlaws won't care, but cryptocurrencies can't go to the moon on the backs of outlaws alone.

I think that is happening, I hope the agencies are spending enough effort on that.

Re: Cryptocurrencies Are Detrimental to Society

#86

Post by klibertp »

louwrentius wrote: post #66
meowface wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. Bitcoin is the first flip phone. Let's see what things look like in 20 years. The one point I agree with the author on is that the electricity waste is unnecessary and unsustainable. Proof of Stake or other alternatives, if there are any, should be a requirement of all future cryptocurrencies.

The flip phone was usable from day 1. This is not a flip phone. It's a tamagotchi.

Which made a bunch of Japanese elders not to suicide (yet). Yeah, no value at all.

Re: Cryptocurrencies Are Detrimental to Society

#87

Post by krapp »

herve76 wrote: post #52

Cryptocurrencies answer the need to move money fast and free, the same way the emails free us from using post offices to send letters.

But cryptocurrencies are neither fast, nor free. They're slow compared to regulated banking transactions, and use up vastly greater amounts of energy and resources.

Re: Cryptocurrencies Are Detrimental to Society

#88

Post by lidHanteyk »

tr00586 wrote: post #57

>Cryptocurrencies have existed for eleven years, they should have something to show for right now. IMO this argument is pretty seriously flawed. We tend to think of revolutionary technologies as "overnight successes" but that's rarely the case. If we had abandoned the smartphone 11 years after the first attempt at, we would never have the iPhone. If we had abandoned combustion engines 11 years after their first attem…

You are selling the author's argument short. They are suggesting that cryptocurrencies have no big positive qualities, but so many negative qualities that it is possible to list them in a table and categorize them. When something is net-negative, we can ask whether we should continue harming society by propagating it further.

Re: Cryptocurrencies Are Detrimental to Society

#89

Post by klibertp »

louwrentius wrote: post #77
asketak wrote: post #75

"Money laundering and buying drugs" "No intrinsic value" "Energy waste" These arguments have been in the wild for over 10 years and discussed by both sides in much detail. The article brings just personal opinion of author and probably the most dumb down version of these arguments I have seen. Not sure if satire or not.

Can you answer the question of the article? > Can you please show me the benefit to society of cryptocurrencies?

Second paragraph in my other comment should do the trick: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22703834

Re: Cryptocurrencies Are Detrimental to Society

#90

Post by louwrentius »

klibertp wrote: post #78
louwrentius wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know we can't. But the people involved should stop and do something 'less detrimental' with their lives.

Why do you feel entitled to tell people what they should do? How do you know what value - or lack thereof - people get from using Bitcoin&co., have you checked with them, or is it just theory? Why do you assume your sense of value has to be universal? The 'drugs' traded on the 'deeply depraved' marketplaces save lives and make other lives kind of comfortable even amid a chronic disease. Yes, I mean drugs which should…

Yes the title didn't help, a good lesson. Less judgement in titles.

You call my post bias and unoriginal, which you can do. But can you answer the core question I pose?

And please not with esoteric examples of availability of medicine for chronic diseases which to me raises the question: is that all you can come up with?

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