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MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies
91–100 of 910 posts
Re: MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies
#92The game Paypal currently plays with Crypto is the closest thing to printing money I have ever seen: Their users can "buy and sell Bitcoin" and pay "no fees". How does Paypal make money? "From the spread". The difference between bid and ask. And who sets the spread? Drumroll ... Paypal! Since you cannot transfer your bitcoins out, when you sell your bitcoins, Paypal pays you whatever they like. So far, Paypal only of…
I think Binance has the same thing. They have the "Binance pegged BTC" and you have to pay an additional fee to get the "real BTC" which you could put in the "real BTC wallet"
https://www.binance.com/en/blog/421499824684901264/Experienc...
Re: MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies
#93Unclear what this actually means. Can I pay my credit card bill using crypto? That's a taxable event and a pain in the butt to track. Can I buy stuff from merchants using crypto, and they receive crypto? Useful, but most merchants will want fiat currency, so someone on the chain will have to convert it to dollars, which again would be a taxable event.
I don't get it - you're trying to avoid paying tax into the society that you're using, benefitting from? Edit to add: Many replies are acting as if it's difficult to automatically, digitally track conversions and taxes, to then pay your taxes? It's a digital "currency" we're talking about here.
> Edit to add: Many replies are acting as if it's difficult to automatically, digitally track conversions and taxes, to then pay your taxes? It's a digital "currency" we're talking about here.
As someone who has to deal with this every year, yes, even if it is "tracked automatically", it's a huge pita to manage.
Re: MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies
#94The game Paypal currently plays with Crypto is the closest thing to printing money I have ever seen: Their users can "buy and sell Bitcoin" and pay "no fees". How does Paypal make money? "From the spread". The difference between bid and ask. And who sets the spread? Drumroll ... Paypal! Since you cannot transfer your bitcoins out, when you sell your bitcoins, Paypal pays you whatever they like. So far, Paypal only of…
That is outright scam in my view. They never have to hold bitcoin. They may as well sell paypal coin. Robinhood and Revolut do the same thing. If you can't transfer out your bitcoin, you don't have any bitcoin.
When you get paid at the end of the month do you think there is a bloke with a wheelbarrow full of gold, or salt, or even bits of paper running between banks ensuring you get your salary? You've just figured out the entire private banking sector ;)
Re: MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies
#95These stories usually spur more enthusiasm for buying cryptocurrency, but ironically those buyers aren’t interested in spending cryptocurrency using their MasterCard. They’re hoping other people will buy cryptocurrency from these announcements, driving the price up. Or, more likely, they’re just hoping other people will buy cryptocurrency and not use it in these spending systems. Spending cryptocurrency would result…
> They’re hoping other people will buy cryptocurrency from these announcements, driving the price up.
Mostly right.
Re: MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies
#96Earlier quoted context omitted.
It requires a network-effect for it to work, if more and more vendors accept crypto then how is that fundamentally different that fiat currency to buy raw materials and pay employees with?
In a hypothetically pure Bitcoin economy, that could work. But If we all switched to Bitcoin, the speculative upside would be exhausted and we’d be stuck with all of Bitcoin’s flaws and limitations. If you think $8 transaction fees are high now, how bad do you think it will be if every transaction was suddenly a Bitcoin transaction? Trick question, because Bitcoin has hard used block size limitations and it literally…
I don't understand why you're assuming we need a pure Bitcoin economy for there to be a network effect. If sufficient number of vendors accept Bitcoin that will be enough to create a network effect. Once you have a network effect with a size less than the size of the entire economy there will always be upside to own Bitcoin since that size can continue to grow.
Re: MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies
#97These stories usually spur more enthusiasm for buying cryptocurrency, but ironically those buyers aren’t interested in spending cryptocurrency using their MasterCard. They’re hoping other people will buy cryptocurrency from these announcements, driving the price up. Or, more likely, they’re just hoping other people will buy cryptocurrency and not use it in these spending systems. Spending cryptocurrency would result…
What's the point of an unstable, volatile, frantically manipulated currency that is susceptible to social media pump and dump schemes (Elon + Doge)? Currency and its exchange rate needs to be relatively stable for the world to put trust into it. Saying that BTC is stable, but the rest of the world's fiat currency is fluctuating makes no sense. US dollar provides stability and security, I feel confident that a cappucc…
If you live in a situation where the only local fiat currency is even worse, then the “volatility fee” of cryptocurrency may be well worth the money to decouple yourself from that bad fiat currency risk. Maybe you can purchase things directly with the cryptocurrency, or maybe you just wait until you can drive across the border to a place with more stable fiat currency, sell cryptocurrency for that currency, and buy milk. Simple currency exchange or traditional custodial stores of value like precious metals wouldn’t work, since you’re still beholden to the original fiat currency problem.
At any given time, some small slice of world currency demand will be focused on this “protection from unstable fiat currency” and some other small slice would be like a prepper mindset hedging their perceived risk of facing that (eg “but what if the US dollar collapses?” from people with very extreme risk aversion preferences).
That total “market cap” demand for cryptocurrency will surely be way, way lower than traditional fiat currencies, but it may still be much higher than the current total market cap for crypto, which means there is room for completely rational speculative buying and holding of crypto, depending on your outlook and risk preferences, for perfectly sound reasons.
I highly doubt Bitcoin is ever going to become a major direct medium of exchange. But also it does not need to become that. It can offer big value in a lesser role that would still justify speculative buying of crypto today.
Re: MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies
#98These stories usually spur more enthusiasm for buying cryptocurrency, but ironically those buyers aren’t interested in spending cryptocurrency using their MasterCard. They’re hoping other people will buy cryptocurrency from these announcements, driving the price up. Or, more likely, they’re just hoping other people will buy cryptocurrency and not use it in these spending systems. Spending cryptocurrency would result…
Bitcoin is used as a speculative investment today only because it is so underpriced. Once its value stabilizes, its use in day to day transactions will grow. > Should also note that MasterCard crypto transactions almost certainly won’t be settled on the blockchain. And neither are USD transactions. In fact, USD doesn't even have a blockchain! The great thing with Bitcoin is once you want to cash out your Bitcoin, you…
How can it stabilize when it has a fixed amount of BTC?
Re: MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies
#99These stories usually spur more enthusiasm for buying cryptocurrency, but ironically those buyers aren’t interested in spending cryptocurrency using their MasterCard. They’re hoping other people will buy cryptocurrency from these announcements, driving the price up. Or, more likely, they’re just hoping other people will buy cryptocurrency and not use it in these spending systems. Spending cryptocurrency would result…
I wonder what kind of subtle systemic effect will twist the whole crypto thing on its head to the point people will forget what it was in the first place.
Re: MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies
#100These stories usually spur more enthusiasm for buying cryptocurrency, but ironically those buyers aren’t interested in spending cryptocurrency using their MasterCard. They’re hoping other people will buy cryptocurrency from these announcements, driving the price up. Or, more likely, they’re just hoping other people will buy cryptocurrency and not use it in these spending systems. Spending cryptocurrency would result…
Bitcoin is used as a speculative investment today only because it is so underpriced. Once its value stabilizes, its use in day to day transactions will grow. > Should also note that MasterCard crypto transactions almost certainly won’t be settled on the blockchain. And neither are USD transactions. In fact, USD doesn't even have a blockchain! The great thing with Bitcoin is once you want to cash out your Bitcoin, you…
Since bitcoin doesn't produce income and it's not backed by anything there is no way to tell whether it's 'underpriced'.