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Ethereum 2.0 launches

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Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#171

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I don't even understand if they even provide a real service. But - for the sake of argument - if they do, I don't see the unique selling points.

Crypto is easy to transfer and keep and has more lasting value in countries that are facing hyperinflation, often moreso than USD. This particularly applies to Venezuela, which is exerting extra pressures and taxes in foreign currencies.

So it's basically irrelevant for the USA and Europe. Then why is it such a hot topic on Hacker News?

I have some ideas, but they are not kind.

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#172

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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.

Only in cataclysmic scenarios? I'm sorry to inform you, but in such scenarios most probably cryptos won't work either, as they all depend on proper working of the internet. It doesn't even need to be a Madmax situation: just imagine a war between the US and China, with one of the involved causing an prolonged interruption in the communications between the two countries, as they have significant numbers of nodes/miner…

The US and Canada could block each other and it wouldn't affect Ethereum at all. Everyone in the world including those two countries could still use it.

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#173
post #152

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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 (…

Tell me how someone living in Rural Africa can get any useful access to the Ethereum blockchain, without accepting a significant loss of expected benefits. Frankly, if we're going to be broadly racist and otherwise discriminatory about this, I would say that Ethereum and other blockchain systems are vanity projects for first world, white, city dwellers, with very little relevance for the rest of the world.

Well I have plenty of friends in Argentina, and Ethereum is helping them live through hyperinflation.

Their currency is plunging, their banking system is corrupt, so these are their options:

1. Trade Pesos for USD on black market exchanges. Hide cash in safes & under mattresses 2. Purchase Dai or other stablecoins. Keep money in multi-signature vaults, earning interest through lending protocols.

Plus, cryptocurrencies allow many of them to work for foreign companies and get paid directly in stablecoins.

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#174
post #71

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> The world needs a form of money that is not under the control of any one sovereign power or group of sovereigns. Why? Why can't you explain this in simple, easy terms?

Simple is going to be a caricature: Diversification of risk.

Have you bought a loaf of bread with Ethereum or Bitcoin? And internet is shut down btw...

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#175

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…

So, I believe you're thinking about this in the classic sense of security, transactions, and decentralizations. It's actually better to think of Ethereum as an ATM that replaces bank tellers - i.e. a fundamental technology shift.

Forget about decentralization/transactions for a second and let's take an example of your company transitioning your 401k to another plan. Think of all the people moving this money, all the legal process that it has to go through, all the find print that must be followed, etc. There's a TON of work to move a 401k and the process typically takes months. What if I told you that you could transfer your 401k plan, without the additional overhead of people, and you could do it in seconds? That's Ethereum.

Let's take another example of buying a house. If you've ever gone through this process it takes months to finish, theres tons of middlemen (bank loan process, approval, selling the loan, lawyers to secure the property, real estate agents, etc). What if I told you that you could buy a house, without this overhead, in seconds? That's Ethereum.

The bottom line is our current financial system is based on an army of lawyers, middlemen, banks etc. and large transactions take time and money to solve. With a concept like Ethereum you just don't need any of that, you can transfer large amounts of value instantly and you don't need this army of people.

It is frankly the difference between horses and cars. It's a technological shift that makes previously impossible actions possible.

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#176

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 can do all these things already. You're absolutely right, but just like you can send a letter in the mail, email does the same thing but is digitally native to the internet. Up until the invention of Bitcoin, there was ZERO scalable way for me @joeblau to send you @louwrentius money the way I send an email. By that, I mean the only thing I need to rely on is a protocol (like SMTP) and you'll receive it. What proble…

In your example, that middle-person verifies that what you are purporting to sell, TSLA stock, is in fact TSLA stock. They provide value by way of quality assurance and recourse if fraud is involved.

How can I be sure what you're selling me is in fact what you say it is? And if it's not, what recourse do I have?

If I buy something directly from another person on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist, I'm not going to pay full retail price, even if the item is unused, because I'm giving up any form of recourse if the item is defective that I would have received had I purchased directly from the manufacturer.

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#177

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> in the way it would benefit the citizens of the world the most - as liquid currency for regular & cross-border transactions. Hawala has succeeded in performing that role for centuries.

Yes but Hawala it is the anti-thesis of crypto. Crypto is born out of the dream of cyberpunks to have a trustless society.

That's funny, Bruce Schneier has written something on that topic.

https://www.schneier.com/essays/archives/2019/02/theres_no_g...

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The world needs a form of money that is not under the control of any one sovereign power or group of sovereigns. Understanding this may necessitate reading some books, but in short, sovereigns have historically proven to be untrustworthy, so a trust-free form of money is a powerful notion.

Of all the world ills I can think of, none are caused by money as means of exchange or by trust systems more broadly. Crypto isn’t going to do anything for global warming or for rampant inequality caused by the unstoppable compounding growth of big capital (in fact it may do the opposite). The premise that trust systems have failed humanity is flawed. I am willing to be persuaded otherwise but I doubt this will come…

> Crypto isn’t going to do anything for global warming

Actually this is a pretty good example of a problem that quadratic funding has a good chance of helping with. It's really hard to coordinate all nations on Earth but not actually that hard to coordinate people from all over the Earth. https://wtfisqf.com/

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#179

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 can do all these things already. While I understand why you are confused you must understand that many people can't do what you can do and it's not guaranteed you will be able to do it in the future either. Just look at the situation in Venezuela for example. Even in SE Asia loads of people are still unbanked with no way of changing that.

Then I don't understand this keen interest in crypto by Americans and Europeans.

I think this is not why there is such a hype around cryptocurrencies.

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Crypto is easy to transfer and keep and has more lasting value in countries that are facing hyperinflation, often moreso than USD. This particularly applies to Venezuela, which is exerting extra pressures and taxes in foreign currencies.

So it's basically irrelevant for the USA and Europe. Then why is it such a hot topic on Hacker News? I have some ideas, but they are not kind.

Forget about the developing world.

I'm an American living in Europe. My money is in the US banking system and in crypto.

There's no easy way for me to "Venmo" money to my friends here, I'd have to use an international bank transfer which would take over a week and cost high fees.

But with my friends in crypto: I can just transfer them Dai. It takes about 15 seconds and costs less than a dollar (and will get cheaper with things like Eth2)

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