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Ethereum 2.0 launches

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Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#331

Post by TearsInTheRain »

bhaak wrote: post #291
flixic wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Migrating from PoW took about 2-3 years for Ethereum, required massive changes to economic model, and developing all new clients. Ethereum leadership is still somewhat centralized, so this did not lead to multiple competing forks. Doing the same for Bitcoin would be very hard, and if it simply follows Ethereum's footsteps, then it is unclear why even use Bitcoin. But -- I hope we see this fork sooner rather than late…

I disagree that it would be (technologically) hard for Bitcoin to transition to a PoS (disregarding that we don't have yet conclusive proof if any PoS model actually works long time). Ethereum is built to a spec. That's why the different client developers had to coordinate their work. This is not the case with Bitcoin. There, the official client is the de-facto spec you have to comply with if you develop another clie…

Its a social task they already failed with the segwit fiasco. PoS would probably be worse

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#332

Post by nkrebs13 »

nikolay wrote: post #330

One question - why didn't Bitcoin drop to zero? I know, VHS survive and Betamax didn't, but unlike Betamax, Ethereum is pretty popular for everything, not just for low-class commodity speculation.

This ecosystem is rapidly developing and changing; I think there's still plenty of time for BTC/ETH/LTC/XRP/etc to all exist anywhere from [0,∞).

The narrative that is often pushed forward is that they have different use cases. Bitcoin is a limited-supply store of value (analogous to precious metals). BTC blockchain isn't well suited for quick transactions, but it is the blockchain that is the most robust and secure. Ethereum, being Turing complete, provides an ecosystem on which other applications can be built.

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#334

Post by deeeeplearning »

wruza wrote: post #287
WnZ39p0Dgydaz1 wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's fine to criticize a technology and saying that you don't understand what problem it solves, but responding to every comment, even those that make clearly valid points, with "means nothing to me" and "not a problem for me" without any counterarguments is quite rude. These people are taking the time to answer your questions. For example, intermediaries such as brokerages and banks taking money from your investment…

They make a pretty common point. Nobody around e.g. me has an ability to have even a glimpse of understanding what eth/crypto is except for speculation and low-tech fraud, and then for me "sharing value like art and album via crypto as a futuristic mean to share digital values" is bird-gibberish nonsense. General population will never be too smart on average to benefit from this "whatever".

The same is true about the majority of the workings of the internet, or the electrical engineering that built their phones or dozens of other things people use everyday without understanding. How is that relevant in this case?

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#335

Post by deeeeplearning »

louwrentius wrote: post #165
pavlov wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> ”Does this sentence actually mean anything?” In more traditional software engineering language, it means “you can run stored procedures on an incredibly slow and limited distributed database.” Also those stored procedures are immutable, written in a language with more holes than Swiss cheese, and you have to use a scammy cryptocurrency to pay for the privilege of running these unsafe programs. The adherents call th…

Hmm, this reads like something I do understand, thank you.

You clearly aren't interested in learning anything, just on "dunking" on cryptocurrencies.

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#336

Post by deeeeplearning »

pavlov wrote: post #319
joosters wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't have to go back that far in time, 'hacks' and bugs in 'smart' contracts happen almost every day. Here's a recent $7M loss: https://cointelegraph.com/news/yield-generating-stablecoin-p... and here's a $89M loss less than a week ago: https://decrypt.co/49657/oracle-exploit-sees-100-million-liq... It's not even the first time that the 'Compound' smart contract has been 'hacked', but that doesn't stop fools fro…

"I'd like my investment bank to be an immutable, unfixable piece of code that's a sitting duck target for hackers" -- nobody ever (except Ethereum ideologists)

Because no code in the financial sector has ever screwed up. Oh wait...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_flash_crash

Oh Oops...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight_Capital_Group

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#337

Post by TearsInTheRain »

joosters wrote: post #259
The_Colonel wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Also those stored procedures are immutable, written in a language with more holes than Swiss cheese... You're probably referencing this fuck up: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_DAO_(organization) The huge advantage of smart contracts is that they are supposed to be trustless - you don't need to necessarily trust your business partners because contract is set in stone ... code and will be executed exactly as agree…

You don't have to go back that far in time, 'hacks' and bugs in 'smart' contracts happen almost every day. Here's a recent $7M loss: https://cointelegraph.com/news/yield-generating-stablecoin-p... and here's a $89M loss less than a week ago: https://decrypt.co/49657/oracle-exploit-sees-100-million-liq... It's not even the first time that the 'Compound' smart contract has been 'hacked', but that doesn't stop fools fro…

That doesnt sound like an $89 million loss just unexpected liquidations in loan contracts governing that amount of money

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#338

Post by deeeeplearning »

louwrentius wrote: post #149
joeblau wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

> 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. Maybe because it's not a need most people have? > The problem is that money (paper money/currency) is not the only thing that has value which human beings transfer among each other. We…

>Maybe because it's not a need most people have?

There was no internet before 1969, clearly that's because no one needed it.

>This still means nothing to me. I can't relate to this.

This is clearly a difficult subject but its ok, not everyone is smart enough to understand

>So it's about not wanting to pay transaction fees for buying stock. Hmm, doesn't really sell it to me, quite frankly.

Now you're just trolling.

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#339

Post by 1996 »

seibelj wrote: post #84
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…

Ethereum is a platform for decentralized computing. It's like a web server that is always on, never goes down, and you only pay for exactly what services you use (and no more). It is also uncensorable and perfectly immutable - which as a consequence is very useful for money. So one of the high-value services Ethereum supports is moving money and applications around money. This "money" is sometimes referred to as "tok…

> Many, especially on HN, quickly lose their Hacker ethos and revert to being state worshippers when it comes to the monetary system, for reasons I don't fully understand.

Neither do I.

I believe it's sour grapes: they missed up on crypto following the advice of people/websites they trusted (given the negative outlook on HN since 2009), and it's becoming harder and harder to justify their past mistakes.

So it turns into cognitive dissonance.

Said differently, just like how it's hard for someone to understand something when them making a living depends on NOT understanding it, they must keep not understanding to justify their past mistakes.

Eventually, I think it will turn into a Ballmer-esque throwing chairs, and calling it a cancer, before coming to terms with reality.

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#340

Post by thomasrognon »

louwrentius wrote: post #129
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 (…

> - 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 i…

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

I'm not sure why you think this. "Banking the unbanked" was a huge Bitcoin mantra back in the day. If anything, it's disappeared more recently as speculation has taken over and the narrative has moved from "p2p cash" to "store of value".

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