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Bitcoin is a disaster

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Re: Bitcoin is a disaster

#781

Post by valzam »

newbie789 wrote: post #198
sunshinerag wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I buy computer hardware (SSDs, network switches etc.), recently bought t-shirts and etsy like stuff on gethaven.app Bitcoin has always been pseudoanonymous and its perma history is something that I am aware off and not that bothered off. Though looks like the bitcoin devs are working towards something to improve privacy called taproot and schnorr. The thing that it solves for me compared to traditional fiat currencie…

I think you might be one of a small handful of people that I've heard from that continue to use BTC as a currency for goods over the past few years. It's good to know that this still happens! Out of curiosity, you mention depreciating value for fiat being a liability, which is absolutely true. That being said, doesn't appreciation also create a different sort of liability? For example, let's say I buy a 1TB SSD for $…

What you are describing is basically how any fiat currency is used, so it's definitely possible to live in bitcoin land. The issue is that price fluctuation for bitcoin is so extreme, not that you can buy other currencies with it.

If on Monday 1 USD buys 1 EUR and on Friday it buys 2 EUR you would have "overpaid" as well for many goods that you could have imported and maybe more directly if you had invested in EUR denominated securities etc..

Re: Bitcoin is a disaster

#782

Post by ashconnor »

tryptophan wrote: post #18

> The pseudonymity of coins being owned by the bearer of some > cryptographic key is a failure; People have been eavesdropping and > aggressively analyzing the block chain from day 1. And the block chain > will always be there, it will always be public, and it will always be > subject to further analysis. And we are learning that analysis of that > record is sufficient to destroy any pretense of anonymity or > pseudo…

I honestly expected Monero or Zcash to take off because it they both progressed on this issue but that just hasn't happened.

Re: Bitcoin is a disaster

#783

Post by tluyben2 »

jiggawatts wrote: post #769
55555 wrote: post #751

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IME, the real fees charged by WU often add up to 10-20%.

How? The pricing calculator literally says $0.00 fees for me, the only charge is the 1% spread on the exchange rate.

I know WU from the dropoff points where cheap labour bring their money to send home; they use an extremely bad conversion rate. Like paypal but even worse. Sources: official WU dropoff points in HK, SG, TH, NL and ES. The exchange rates + fees are indeed 10-20% removed from what they really are. Maybe if you send online it is 1%, but most use it to bring cash (from cleaning houses etc) to families abroad.

Edit:

> The pricing calculator literally says

Please go to a meatspace WU point and compare the conversion rates with the inter bank rates.

Re: Bitcoin is a disaster

#784

Post by alexknvl »

svara wrote: post #54

There does seem to be a fundamental design issue in bitcoin and proof of work in general: Mining has economies of scale and therefore winner takes all mechanics leading to centralization. At that point the mechanism that ensures ledger integrity is the calculation that if the miner tampers with the ledger, that would destroy trust in the coin and hurt the miner in that way. But 1) that's exactly how conventional curr…

A miner can not tamper with the ledger. A miner can prevent certain transactions from coming through if they are the only miner on the network, but they can't forge transactions.

Re: Bitcoin is a disaster

#785

Post by qwantim1 »

cpursley wrote: post #672
Andrew_nenakhov wrote: post #400

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personal experience: not only bitcoin was the only practical way I was able to receive funds in Russia from an Indonesian client, it was cheaper than just one leg of converting Indonesian currency (to USD). Think of it. Buying bitcoin, sending and selling resulted being cheaper than just buying USD. The spread was that much lower. (It was in a relatively static price period in summer 2016) And regular banks just didn…

What's the easiest, cheapest and legal way to convert Bitcoin into rub?

Since “find a geeky massage therapist” is not helpful, my guess would be to convert BC -> USD -> RUB.

Re: Bitcoin is a disaster

#786

Post by mythrwy »

arcticbull wrote: post #725
chris_wot wrote: post #717

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That bastion of great economic management and economic growth...

Indeed however Bitcoin is positioned as a way of fighting back against these administrations. However it helps literally nobody in North Korea because they just shut down their internet.

I think Bitcoin does help people in North Korea though. Just not the average citizen.

Re: Bitcoin is a disaster

#787

Post by wsc981 »

newbie789 wrote: post #198
sunshinerag wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I buy computer hardware (SSDs, network switches etc.), recently bought t-shirts and etsy like stuff on gethaven.app Bitcoin has always been pseudoanonymous and its perma history is something that I am aware off and not that bothered off. Though looks like the bitcoin devs are working towards something to improve privacy called taproot and schnorr. The thing that it solves for me compared to traditional fiat currencie…

I think you might be one of a small handful of people that I've heard from that continue to use BTC as a currency for goods over the past few years. It's good to know that this still happens! Out of curiosity, you mention depreciating value for fiat being a liability, which is absolutely true. That being said, doesn't appreciation also create a different sort of liability? For example, let's say I buy a 1TB SSD for $…

Well, instead of a liability, it could also be a feature. A mechanism that allows people by choice to reduce consumption, thus lowering their ecologic footprint.

Re: Bitcoin is a disaster

#788

Post by jiggawatts »

tluyben2 wrote: post #783
jiggawatts wrote: post #769

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How? The pricing calculator literally says $0.00 fees for me, the only charge is the 1% spread on the exchange rate.

I know WU from the dropoff points where cheap labour bring their money to send home; they use an extremely bad conversion rate. Like paypal but even worse. Sources: official WU dropoff points in HK, SG, TH, NL and ES. The exchange rates + fees are indeed 10-20% removed from what they really are. Maybe if you send online it is 1%, but most use it to bring cash (from cleaning houses etc) to families abroad. Edit: > The…

I don't think you'd be able to convert some weak currency from cash to cash in another weak currency efficiently with Bitcoin either. Last time I checked, its API didn't extend to collecting wads of bills!

I know a lot of immigrants that send money home, they all use bank-to-bank transfers. Whether they use WU or not, the overheads seem to be in the 1% range...

Re: Bitcoin is a disaster

#789

Post by WhoCaresLies »

when emotions speak, you loose credibility

people mad at bitcoin are the jealous people who didn't buy when it was only just $30

it's fine, you missed an opportunity

NOW, what's bad about bitcoin is just what's bad about our society

You can make money from nothing, you don't even need to work, we reward the wrong people with a better life

While the normies have to break their back at work to make sure they can feed their kids and pay the bills, that's stressful

2021, hopefully the year of the big collapse, and a healthly reset

Re: Bitcoin is a disaster

#790

Post by sangnoir »

Andrew_nenakhov wrote: post #608
gruez wrote: post #411

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>And PayPal was somehow banning the client for some reason. Maybe the russian was on OFAC's sanctioned entities list? (only half joking)

The banned person was Indonesian. Something something his bank account. (One more reason for me why payment system of the future must be permissionless. Like, you know, bitcoin)

> One more reason for me why payment system of the future must be permissionless. Like, you know, bitcoin

That's not possible with a public ledger and current state of analysis - instead of proactive cancellation of the transaction on the legacy banking system, you'll get a delayed reaction from the authorities. When you file your tax return you'll get a notice to explain transaction ID 0x...34 to a certain banned individual. So it will be about as "permissionless" as tax-fraud: you will only be able to get away with it for a while, and I don't doubt there will be future analytical tools (and laws) that will make tracing payments even easier. It is politically untenable for bitcoin payments to be opaque when "Funding Terrorism" is a high-priority security issue.

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