Ethereum 2.0 launches • Hacker News Board

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#121

Post by nickik » Tue, Dec 01, 2020, 2:20 PM UTC

tormeh wrote: post #31

Is it still deflationary? Wondering if I should invest in the coin itself (which makes sense for deflationary coins) or a company doing something with it (which makes sense for an inflationary coin)

It depends on what definition of inflation/deflation you use.

Some people, Austrians define any change in the amount of base currency as inflation/deflation. This is the traditional definition.

However the normal everyday usage of inflation/deflation talks about the 'General Price Level', usually measured with things like GDP Deflator, or CPI. Some way of trying to measure the general price level. All of those measures are imperfect.

By the first definition, both Bitcoin and ETH are inflationary but only slightly so.

By the second definition it is very hard to say because we don't really have a way to measure it.

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#122

Post by achempion » Tue, Dec 01, 2020, 2:20 PM UTC

louwrentius wrote: post #46

I don't understand this. I don't understand any of it. I don't understand cryptocurrencies. I don't understand what problems they really solve. > "Ethereum is open access to digital money and data-friendly services for everyone – no matter your background or location. It's a community-built technology behind the cryptocurrency ether (ETH) and thousands of applications you can use today." I can do all these things alr…

Hi, here is most simple explanation what it does:

Simple solution for illegal/semi-legal activities. Think some goods, money laundering (try to transfer money to North Korea, Iran) even to your relative.

Also, there are some privacy minded individuals as well who would like to pay for things like VPN, domains, servers who don't want to get their account tied to theirs credit card.

Speaking of Ethereum, think of it like digital money + some js function which can be executed on demand. It allows you to make scams like bitconnect. In other words casino / gambling. Really hard to do legally but very easy to deploy casino function to Ethereum. Those markets are huge.

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#123

Post by sixhobbits » Tue, Dec 01, 2020, 2:20 PM UTC

dsg42 wrote: post #115

dbetteridge wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On a personal level I to have no need or want of cryptocurrencies, but the stated benefits are not for first world, white, city dwellers with ready access to the existing monetary system. - Someone lives somewhere that the U.S refuses to bank with (Sanctions) - Someone who lives somewhere that simply has no financial infrastructure readily accessible and relies on prepaid cards for things like water and electricity (…

Just to be clear, these reasons are: - To commit a crime - Not a real use case (If someone has no access to normal financial infrastructure, including Venmo and similar, how would they ever use crypto) - To avoid processing fees by paying higher fees?

TIL its a crime to live in Iran

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#124

Post by earthtolazlo » Tue, Dec 01, 2020, 2:21 PM UTC

arcturus17 wrote: post #75

louwrentius wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not looking for links to books. I'm looking for an explanation in plain English that shows why any of this matters.

You will not get a satisfactory answer. Cryptocurrencies will only make sense in cataclysmic scenarios or for very niche use cases. Trust systems (of which money is one) work well (some times very well) 99.99% of the time. It’s certainly been useful to some people for gambling - but that use case could’ve been satisfied with a video game, or a physical casino.

I guess it depends on what you mean by cataclysmic scenarios. I can’t imagine many cataclysmic scenarios with working electricity and internet, to say nothing of mass-produced phones/personal computers.

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#125

Post by markkat » Tue, Dec 01, 2020, 2:21 PM UTC

louwrentius wrote: post #46

I don't understand this. I don't understand any of it. I don't understand cryptocurrencies. I don't understand what problems they really solve. > "Ethereum is open access to digital money and data-friendly services for everyone – no matter your background or location. It's a community-built technology behind the cryptocurrency ether (ETH) and thousands of applications you can use today." I can do all these things alr…

It makes me sad, because I expected a comment like this to be the highest on HN.

In the case of Ethereum, digital scarcity secured by a blockchain enables a turing complete state machine that the world can use. In the most basic terms, this will remove clearing houses for transactions of assets. In the long term this will lead to novel types of assets, and make ownership extremely liquid. Imagine using your phone to buy shares in a recording artist you just discovered, and selling those shares when they win a grammy. Imagine building a stream of passive income based on the shares you've earned in projects you've worked on throughout your life.

As an example, already, anyone in the world can buy property in the US: https://realt.co/

What the web did for infomation, Ethereum will do for value.

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#126

Post by vbezhenar » Tue, Dec 01, 2020, 2:21 PM UTC

bjarneh wrote: post #78

louwrentius wrote: post #46

I don't understand this. I don't understand any of it. I don't understand cryptocurrencies. I don't understand what problems they really solve. > "Ethereum is open access to digital money and data-friendly services for everyone – no matter your background or location. It's a community-built technology behind the cryptocurrency ether (ETH) and thousands of applications you can use today." I can do all these things alr…

> What problem / which problems are being solved here? I guess all crypto-currency is an attempt at digital cash. I.e. the ability to send "money" between people who do not trust each other digitally; with secrecy/privacy in manner which cannot be taken away by states/governments/banks etc. Why people want to solve this problem through a scheme of chained hash-values and mining (which I guess is just padding the data…

There were many attempts at solving that problem. Bitcoin was the first successful one. If you would develop better scheme, world will thank you.

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#127

Post by wilde » Tue, Dec 01, 2020, 2:22 PM UTC

louwrentius wrote: post #46

I don't understand this. I don't understand any of it. I don't understand cryptocurrencies. I don't understand what problems they really solve. > "Ethereum is open access to digital money and data-friendly services for everyone – no matter your background or location. It's a community-built technology behind the cryptocurrency ether (ETH) and thousands of applications you can use today." I can do all these things alr…

How might we create a digital commodity that is:

1) Consistent with a specific set of ideals (anyone can issue, what happens on the network is a matter of individual responsibility, establish economic incentives to funnel people into good behavior, finders keepers, etc.)

2) Obfuscated enough that it’s not immediately regulated into oblivion by the existing financial system

Many people on this site subscribe to the ideals in #1, thus the fervor. The CFTC has decided to do away with #2 (in the states) but it took them over a decade.

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#128

Post by worldsayshi » Tue, Dec 01, 2020, 2:22 PM UTC

RikNieu wrote: post #49

louwrentius wrote: post #46

I don't understand this. I don't understand any of it. I don't understand cryptocurrencies. I don't understand what problems they really solve. > "Ethereum is open access to digital money and data-friendly services for everyone – no matter your background or location. It's a community-built technology behind the cryptocurrency ether (ETH) and thousands of applications you can use today." I can do all these things alr…

I feel that no one is using crypto currency for it's original intended purpose, and in the way it would benefit the citizens of the world the most - as liquid currency for regular & cross-border transactions. Everyone just seems to want to use it like gold, to store wealth or speculate with. This is stupid. But alas.

> Everyone just seems to want to use it like gold, to store wealth or speculate with. This is stupid.

Isn't this to be expected when there's no way to balance the currency value by adjusting the supply dynamically?

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#129

Post by louwrentius » Tue, Dec 01, 2020, 2:22 PM UTC

dbetteridge wrote: post #101

louwrentius wrote: post #46

I don't understand this. I don't understand any of it. I don't understand cryptocurrencies. I don't understand what problems they really solve. > "Ethereum is open access to digital money and data-friendly services for everyone – no matter your background or location. It's a community-built technology behind the cryptocurrency ether (ETH) and thousands of applications you can use today." I can do all these things alr…

On a personal level I to have no need or want of cryptocurrencies, but the stated benefits are not for first world, white, city dwellers with ready access to the existing monetary system. - Someone lives somewhere that the U.S refuses to bank with (Sanctions) - Someone who lives somewhere that simply has no financial infrastructure readily accessible and relies on prepaid cards for things like water and electricity (…

> - Someone lives somewhere that the U.S refuses to bank with

Cryptocurrencies won't solve this problem. If that happens, there are much bigger issues.

> - Someone who lives somewhere that simply has no financial infrastructure readily accessible and relies on prepaid cards for things like water and electricity (Rural Africa?)

Let's be honest. The whole blockhain / cryptocurrency was never about that ever.

> - Some industries are forbidden to use the majority of credit card processing facilities without excess fee's (Adult content for example)

I think there are more than plenty online sites where people can pay for that kind of content without any problems.

I just don't understand any of this.

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#130

Post by apexalpha » Tue, Dec 01, 2020, 2:22 PM UTC

prussian wrote: post #97

s_dev wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>What problem / which problems are being solved here? Lets say I want to transfer some assets to a guy without anyone knowing from any internet connection. There is a demand for this global service. Crypto-currency faciliates this. You buy crypto with your normal currency. Transfer. Switch back to normal currency. Yes you've endured some volatility in price but the whole operation was done in an hour or so. So legit…

so basically, we're inefficiently reinventing payment processing with the added tax burden of buying/selling securities?

Well for what's it worth I've only ever needed it once. I was moving out of China and wanted to take my money with me. It was really hard to get this done, there are tons of capital restrictions and the banks literally wouldn't help me out.

So I put all my money in the BTC blockchain in China and pulled it out in the EU. The other option was to get it in cash and physically bring it over the border, which I considered riskier.