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The blockchain/cryptocurrency space is mostly fraudulent

davidgolumbia.medium.com

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Re: The blockchain/cryptocurrency space is mostly fraudulent

#21

Post by rleahy22 »

dnautics wrote: post #6

was ready to give this a shot, but what?? > They do not meet any of the standard tests for money (especially the three classic criteria of store of value, medium of exchange, and unit of account) That's a really difficult claim to swallow. Especially without further explanation than a wall of citations that I'm not going to bother chasing because I know the claim is false. At least provide a quick synopsis/summary fo…

> Especially without further explanation than a wall of citations that I'm not going to bother chasing because I know the claim is false

If you refuse to read the evidence cited, how could you possibly validate or refute your position?

Re: The blockchain/cryptocurrency space is mostly fraudulent

#22

Post by mrkeen »

> Part I. Outright Falsehoods

> Cryptocurrencies are money, cash, or currency

> They simply are not.

OK, but on the other hand, they are?

> They do not meet any of the standard tests for money (especially the three classic criteria of store of value, medium of exchange, and unit of account).

I followed the link, did the reading, and came to the opposite conclusion.

Re: The blockchain/cryptocurrency space is mostly fraudulent

#23

Post by adamnemecek »

It feels like people don't understand the development curve of technology. This reminds me of that famous 1995 Clifford Stoll article on why internet is terrible. https://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-actually-t...

Things take a while to develop.

Re: The blockchain/cryptocurrency space is mostly fraudulent

#24

Post by olalonde »

Almost nothing about the technology itself. Some juicy quotes from the author:

> [...] and the far-right actors who gave birth to the ideas of cryptocurrency and blockchain in the first place. Repeating these claims only helps to promote their values, the values of those with the deepest vested interest in the “revolutionary” aspects of blockchain, the vast majority of whom span the ideological spectrum from the moderately far right to outright Nazis.

> David Gerard writes that “they are small computer programs. In conventional IT jargon, these are called ‘database triggers’ or ‘stored procedures,’ and they are considered bad software engineering that should only be used when you absolutely have to.”

> It may seem improbable at first glance to think that there might be connections between the pursuit of artificial general intelligence (AGI) and white supremacy. Yet the more you examine the question the clearer and more disturbing the links get. (from another article)

I leave you to decide whether the article is worth reading...

Re: The blockchain/cryptocurrency space is mostly fraudulent

#25

Post by nwah1 »

dnautics wrote: post #6

was ready to give this a shot, but what?? > They do not meet any of the standard tests for money (especially the three classic criteria of store of value, medium of exchange, and unit of account) That's a really difficult claim to swallow. Especially without further explanation than a wall of citations that I'm not going to bother chasing because I know the claim is false. At least provide a quick synopsis/summary fo…

Many who were even pro-bitcoin like Peter Thiel gave up on the idea that it is a good platform for transactions, and instead argue that it is like "digital gold." A wildly volatile digital gold, of course, given that it has no other uses beyond speculation.

But you are correct. It is bad at transactions but not incapable of them. Just as it is bad at storing value. As for being a unit of account that seems more theoretical, but in theory anything could be a unit of account.

Re: The blockchain/cryptocurrency space is mostly fraudulent

#27

Post by dnautics »

dnautics wrote: post #6

was ready to give this a shot, but what?? > They do not meet any of the standard tests for money (especially the three classic criteria of store of value, medium of exchange, and unit of account) That's a really difficult claim to swallow. Especially without further explanation than a wall of citations that I'm not going to bother chasing because I know the claim is false. At least provide a quick synopsis/summary fo…

I'll take a shot at least at refuting the claims in the first bulleted point:

"they are deliberately incompatible with the rest of the financial system"

so is the north korean won (or the venezuelan bolivar, or, on the other side of the "good faith" spectrum, the brazilian real at its inception), but you wouldn't claim that they aren't currencies.

"Most merchants who accept cryptocurrency aren’t actually accepting cryptocurrency, they’re using a service that turns it into dollars"

Arguably the same would be true for certain types of bank notes in the 19th-20th century (like 5k, 10k, notes). Still currency.

"they are provably inferior to alternative payment mechanisms."

this is basically a concession that it is a payment mechanism, if a poor one.

Re: The blockchain/cryptocurrency space is mostly fraudulent

#28

Post by hakesdev »

lanevorockz wrote: post #10

Crypto is just a digital asset that is very damaging to the environment and it is not like fiat currency because there is no exclusive market under it.

this "crypto is bad for the environment" meme is a zombie meme.

https://www.coindesk.com/the-last-word-on-bitcoins-energy-co...

Re: The blockchain/cryptocurrency space is mostly fraudulent

#29

Post by 0mn1 »

>cryptocurrency is fraught with fraud

Ya know, unlike fiat markets with marketcaps 100x the entire crypto space. Those are 100% legitimate.

>literal Nazis

Nazis use currency? :O jfc Nazis drank water too. The sooner Reductio ad Hitlerum gets invoked, the sooner I stop reading.

Re: The blockchain/cryptocurrency space is mostly fraudulent

#30

Post by YetAnotherNick »

wyldfire wrote: post #13
lanevorockz wrote: post #10

Crypto is just a digital asset that is very damaging to the environment and it is not like fiat currency because there is no exclusive market under it.

> very damaging to the environment That's not accurate: not all cryptocoins are secured by an ever-escalating proof-of-work.

proof-of-work is supported by value of cryptocurrency, and does not something of inherent value. Contrast this with stocks, for which trading value depends on technical analysis and is slightly random, but in the end it is supported by some concrete thing.
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