Ethereum 2.0 launches • Hacker News Board

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#181

Post by earthtolazlo » Tue, Dec 01, 2020, 2:42 PM UTC

joeblau wrote: post #118

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 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…

Bitcoin wastes an obscene amount of energy for a theoretical maximum of seven transactions per second globally. How is that even remotely scalable?

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#182

Post by pmachinery » Tue, Dec 01, 2020, 2:42 PM UTC

joeblau wrote: post #118

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 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…

Why am I paying fees if there's no middle-person?

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#183

Post by deathcakes » Tue, Dec 01, 2020, 2:43 PM UTC

markkat wrote: post #125

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…

"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."

I'm sorry but I really totally fail to see what is appealing about this future hellscape where literally every aspect of our lives is transacted, monetised and profitable. What is good about this? Why is this something to aim for?

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#184

Post by dmihal » Tue, Dec 01, 2020, 2:43 PM UTC

louwrentius wrote: post #61

speeder wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As for Ethereum itself: It is basically a distributed computing platform designed to handle money, idea is you make a program that handles money, and it runs in a decentralized manner, this way noone can interfere with it, for example you could make a program that tells the users the password to login on a dissident newspaper if they donate something, since it is decentralized the government would have a harder time…

I read a lot of difficult words that I can't relate to. What does this mean for the average citizen in America or Europe? Also, I read this: > Ethereum clients use a listener (TCP) port and a discovery (UDP) port, both on 30303 by default. > If you need to run JSON-RPC, you'll also need TCP port 8545. Note that JSON-RPC port should not be opened to the outside world, because from there you can do admin operations. So…

Now route your Ethereum node through the Tor network

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#185

Post by louwrentius » Tue, Dec 01, 2020, 2:44 PM UTC

3np wrote: post #95

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…

The main thing that's being enabled by "blockchain" is a way for mutually distrustful parties to agree on a timeline of events. That's it. But it has huge implications. The trust factor requirement is removed from the physical infrastructure and operators. For bitcoin and most cryptocurrencies, this is used for a ledger of value transactions. Now we have an way to transfer ownership and value. What the internet did f…

> I hope more people get it.

I really didn't.

Why should I care about any this?

How can you explain this to an average person in the street?

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#186

Post by dmihal » Tue, Dec 01, 2020, 2:44 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.

I get paid in stablecoins on Ethereum.

Then, I deposit them in lending protocols like Aave to earn ~6% interest.

Would you say that I'm using them for their original intended purpose?

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#187

Post by AnIdiotOnTheNet » Tue, Dec 01, 2020, 2:45 PM UTC

louwrentius wrote: post #171

anonymousab wrote: post #106

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.

- I imagine that some HN users are not from USA or Europe.

- A lot of them are very into get-rich-quick-by-"disruption".

- A lot of them are complexity fetishists.

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#188

Post by louwrentius » Tue, Dec 01, 2020, 2:45 PM UTC

speeder wrote: post #83

louwrentius wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read a lot of difficult words that I can't relate to. What does this mean for the average citizen in America or Europe? Also, I read this: > Ethereum clients use a listener (TCP) port and a discovery (UDP) port, both on 30303 by default. > If you need to run JSON-RPC, you'll also need TCP port 8545. Note that JSON-RPC port should not be opened to the outside world, because from there you can do admin operations. So…

"Just cut off internet" indeed would work... but it would work for a lot of things. But saying that is same saying that a normal bank is useless because the government can just "just cut off the power" and thus the bank servers would be down. And indeed in some siege situations, that would be possible, but Ethereum never promised to be siege-proof. As for what it means to the average citizen in America or Europe? Wel…

> Well, one of the popular uses of Ethereum is gambling,

You are really selling this to me...

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#189

Post by dmihal » Tue, Dec 01, 2020, 2:45 PM UTC

s_dev wrote: post #80

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? 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…

> Yes you've endured some volatility in price

Not if you use stablecoins like Dai :)

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#190

Post by konschubert » Tue, Dec 01, 2020, 2:46 PM UTC

lekevicius wrote: post #39

I am incredibly happy about this. It's the first step for a major cryptocurrency towards ledger security that does not damage the environment via mining. I always hated how wasteful and energy-inefficient mining is. Staking reduces energy costs by many, many orders of magnitude. With lightweight clients in development, it is possible to validate chain using Raspberry Pi. I hope (but don't expect) that some time in th…

Eventually Proof of Work WILL kill Bitcoin - but I have to admit this may be decades out in the future.

Right now, most of the mining is financed via inflation. But as this comes to an end, eventually, the cost of mining will be borne by anyone making transactions on the network through tx fees.

Somebody has to pay the electricity bill on all these ASICs.

EDIT: One could try to argue that high transaction costs are not a problem because nobody wants to trade bitcoin, people just hodl it. Cool. But if that's what people will do, then the money raised through transaction fees will not be enough to support a sufficient hash rate to protect the network.

I wrote about all this two years ago already: https://www.konstantinschubert.com/2018/11/28/proof-of-stake...