Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies

reuters.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

461–470 of 910 posts

Re: MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies

#461

Post by supersour »

Sargos wrote: post #297
suikadayo wrote: post #121

Everyone on this thread seems to be missing the point that they’ll be working with stablecoins on Ethereum and other smart contracts chains, and not Bitcoin.

Hacker News is still trying to grasp Bitcoin so I feel like Ethereum is going to take another few years to even begin productive discussions.

I think the more productive sentiment would be to try and have a more in depth discussion about Ethereum instead of attacking HN ad-hominem.

So, as someone who doesn't know much about crypto aside from "it's bitcoin!", please tell me, what advantage do stablecoins/Ethereum provide that fixes the problems presented with bitcoin? I actually want to learn more.

I would be interested to know about the volatility specifically and also if these currencies are less susceptible to a 51% attack or a fork.

Re: MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies

#462

Post by [deleted] »

GoblinSlayer wrote: post #454
toomuchtodo wrote: post #426

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What happens to stablecoins when central banks hand out digital wallets [1] to everyone alongside instant payments [2]? [1] https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/econographics/the-rise... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant_payment#Examples_of_in...

Fiat systems impose the risk of opacity, regulatory heuristics and reversible transactions.

[deleted]

Re: MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies

#463

Post by lazide »

sorbits wrote: post #342
tenaciousDaniel wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's sad that this aspect of the conversation so often gets replaced by everything else. This is (IMO) the most important point about digital currency - the promise of providing consumers in unstable economies the chance to convert to a more stable currency without government intrusion. We're still not there, but that should be the north star for crypto (again, in my opinion).

Normally the government leverages its power to keep its currency stable. If a country fails at that, the residents tend to switch to another country’s currency, for example USD is widely accepted in countries with unstable currencies, and this makes sense, since a lot of commodity prices are set in USD. What we have seen with crypto currencies are extreme volatility, not useful to base a country’s economy on, and bec…

Devils advocate - it is possible the large swings are also because it does not have the counterbalancing effect of a large economy on it, and as it gets used more often that will change.

Being able to buy something I want today, because the price went up from yesterday, or saving today when I would have spent, because the price has dropped today causes a regulating effect.

Right now the usage of it is low, small changes in this equation have an outsized effect.

Re: MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies

#464

Post by undefined1 »

vbezhenar wrote: post #255
systemvoltage wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Your view must be skewed by privilege of having stable currency. Currency of my country lost 250% of its value over last 7 years. It's not bitcoin-level volatile, but close to it. Thankfully I have an option to use USD to hoard money, but that option is not something that's given, in many countries you just can't exchange for fair price. I agree that for someone living in US or EU there's no much point using BTC.

> I agree that for someone living in US or EU there's no much point using BTC

at the moment, but we are seeing institutional failure all around. as trust in the institutions fall, the importance and value of crypto/decentralization increases.

Re: MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies

#465

Post by mianos »

globular-toast wrote: post #206
ArtTimeInvestor wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can show up at a bank and demand your balance in central bank money aka cash. The equivalent for Bitcoin would be that Paypal has to send your balance to you on the blockchain. But they do not do that. They will pay you in dollars. How much dollars? However much they like.

> You can show up at a bank and demand your balance in central bank money aka cash. Of course you can. Whether you get it or not is another matter. Have you ever tried it? Do you know anyone who has tried it? Sure, for trivial amounts you can do it. But do you think you can just waltz into your bank and walk out with $50,000 in cash? Good luck.

I did this often. Then I would buy a can of spam. :)

Re: MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies

#466

Post by solosoyokaze »

thehappypm wrote: post #458
solosoyokaze wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a ton of utility in crypto. Here's one scenario I've never seen discussed but is absolutely real: Imagine you're an abused spouse or child who needs money to escape their situation. Opening up a bank account isn't an option for a lot of people, but anyone can instantly open a crypto "account" and start stashing a nest egg away from the prying eyes of their oppressors. Crypto is the only option for this, and…

This scenario is hard to imagine being worth a trillion dollars.

Think of it this way. How many people on earth can't easily get a bank account (people under the age of 18 included)? It's a huge number that suggests massive scale in that use-case alone.

Re: MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies

#467

Post by Jtsummers »

makruiten wrote: post #446
FalconSensei wrote: post #377

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Awesome, go to the supermarket, pay with BTC and wait there for an hour for your transaction to complete. Or try to buy anything time/quantity limited, so you don't get it because the transaction took too long to complete. Meanwhile, in Canada, I just do a money transfer by email without any fees (if sending more than $10), and it's almost instant if the receiver have auto-deposit set up.

How does that email system work? Can’t you just do free instant wire transfers in Canada?

Possibly something like Zelle (in the US, not sure where else). Using someone's contact information (phone or email) you can send money to them quickly and easily. They can set it up with whichever bank and change it as they desire, no banking information never needs to be communicated between the two parties.

Re: MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies

#468

Post by PragmaticPulp »

soheil wrote: post #321
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #279

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand why you're assuming companies would willingly choose to use Bitcoin over banking alternatives. Even companies who transact in Bitcoin generally won't be sending Bitcoin blockchain transactions on the blockchain with all of the associated fees, not to mention risks of keeping your company's money in a computer program where a rogue employee or hacker could simply embezzle the money instantly and irr…

Oh I don't know let me list a few: * International transactions easier than regular currencies * No third-party seizure * Security and control (user autonomy) * Anonymity, privacy and no tracking (just make sure your wallet ID is not to your personal ID) * No risk of chargebacks (better for vendors) * Transparent and neutral (how much did you trust banks in 2008?) You may not value some of the above and indeed some v…

In practice, companies have zero desire to be their own banks.

The liability would be massive, and the risk of a rogue employee walking away with the private keys is just too high. It's a two-edged sword: Those same upsides are just as attractive to potential embezzlers as they are to honest companies.

In an era where we hear about database breaches and security incidents on a daily basis, do you honestly believe that companies would do better by operating their own cryptocurrency wallets?

So what happens in practice? Companies would still use banking services, just like they always have. Banks would "hold" the cryptocurrency and handle transactions for them.

Re: MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies

#469

Post by RealityVoid »

Consultant32452 wrote: post #217

How long will it take before the float on networks like Visa/Mastercard grant them the ability to perform 50% attacks on the blockchain? Note: I don't really understand how this all works, so if my question is silly, I'd love to learn.

There is not _a_ blockchain but multiple and on Bitcoin this would not grant these payment processors any power to perform 51% attacks. I think currently it is out of the power of one single attacker to perform such a feat (maybe China?) And am not sure if they would even want to if they could since they would be very invested in the cosystem by that point. Overall, I think BTC is extremely secure.

Re: MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies

#470

Post by RealityVoid »

zionic wrote: post #254
nikolay wrote: post #248

I am not sure who in their right mind will buy BTC at $48K a piece! There's nothing major that's has happened, yet, the bubble has inflated from $6K to $47K only because it's now harder to steal electricity in China and the rest of the world to mine bitcoins. Every week in Bulgaria we hear for a new electricity thieves who got caught and have stolen electricity for millions - often in the middle of nowhere like in sm…

Mining participation does not change the issuance of new bitcoin. If there was 1 miner in the entire world the issuance would be the same. Please educate yourself more about crypto in general, understanding the core concepts only takes a few minutes of research.

While you are right, I do not think truly understanding it is as easy as a few minutes of research. It was quite mind bending for me the first time I read about BTC.
Post reply on HN