MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies • Hacker News Board

Re: MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies

#591

Post by nexthash » Thu, Feb 11, 2021, 10:43 PM UTC

tboyd47 wrote: post #547

It's important for people to read the actual press release: https://mstr.cd/3tLaPZM There's good info here which will be new info to many. Why did they do this? It turns out that about a third of Nigerians report using or holding cryptocurrency (!). https://www.statista.com/chart/18345/crypto-currency-adoptio... Second place are Vietnam and the Phillipines. For all, the #1 reason was for remittances. Haven't we all h…

Set this chart to "all" and tell me that this price movement is not a bubble. There is no earthly reason for why a "BitCoin" is worth $47,459.66 as of this post.

https://www.coindesk.com/price/bitcoin

Cryptocurrency adoption in 3rd world countries like Nigeria, Vietnam, and the Philippines is not a good thing. It's actually really sad, because it means they cannot rely on or trust their country's currency. Therefore, they are forced to place bets in a volatile and dangerous game to keep their life savings. If Bitcoin or Ethereum or Dogecoin go bust, they will still lose everything, because there is no trust, recourse, or regulation tolerated in a decentralized system. Well, not much worse than their home country's currency, I guess.

Re: MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies

#592

Post by glsdfgkjsklfj » Thu, Feb 11, 2021, 10:44 PM UTC

glsdfgkjsklfj wrote: post #568

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.

Not even that. they will likely implement their own private-ledger-per-country system. The press release mention only one market that is currently trading via informal SMS and WAP bank apps with little access to actual money, so why not remove the money entirely?

here's the "source" (source mentioned on the MC pressrelesed which is the source of the article) of which "cryptocurrencies" they are considering https://www.statista.com/chart/18345/crypto-currency-adoptio...

notice how they clump "cryptocurrency" with "digital currencies" as the same thing.

Re: MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies

#593

Post by deeeeplearning » Thu, Feb 11, 2021, 10:46 PM UTC

LudwigNagasena wrote: post #576

vishnugupta wrote: post #449

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> As long as a country cannot print usd itself, this is a fast shortcut to unemployment, hunger, etc... We don’t even need to make up hypothetical examples. We have a live one in Greece. The Greek citizens went through this exact ordeal for the exact reason you stated. They couldn’t print EUR and the ECB wouldn’t extent monetary support to Greek government.

The Greek citizens went through this because the Greek government has been lying for many years in its financial reports.

Lol found the German

Re: MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies

#594

Post by deeeeplearning » Thu, Feb 11, 2021, 10:48 PM UTC

lottin wrote: post #533

lui8906 wrote: post #522

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Crypto's volatility deters me from using it, simply put. There is stable coins which have held a consistent peg against the US dollar for a couple of years now. You get all the benefit of high APY yield (relative to a bank account) and none of the volatility of a Doge or a BTC.

You can be certain that an investment opportunity is a scam when it promises above-market returns with no additional risk.

Savings Account APY != Market Returns. Fyi

Re: MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies

#595

Post by argvargc » Thu, Feb 11, 2021, 10:49 PM UTC

bmurphy1976 wrote: post #270

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #2

These 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…

Four or five years ago I mined Dogecoin on a lark using a laptop for a month. I converted that to BTC at some point and it's worth more than I ever anticipated. It won't change my life but I could have some fun with the money. I'm not inclined to transfer it to USD, but I'd happily spend some of it were it easy to do so. Maybe buy some stocks, upgrade my PC, or get a PS5 and some games? Sure, why not! I'm only sittin…

200% YoY average return, and you'd move it to index funds?

https://www.casebitcoin.com/images/stories/charliebilello_re...

Re: MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies

#596

Post by jkepler » Thu, Feb 11, 2021, 10:50 PM UTC

mcosta wrote: post #83

hackinthebochs wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's an entirely different beast when everyone is forced to use USD as a medium of exchange.

You are only forced to pay taxes in USD.

If its only taxes that are forced on us, why then do US notes say that they're legal tender for all debts public and private. That sounds like force to me: I may want payment in bitcoin or Swiss francs or whatever, but if the payee wants to pay me in USD in the USA, am I free to refuse their payment as non-valid? Or am I forced to accept Federal Reserve Notes?

Re: MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies

#597

Post by SailingSperm » Thu, Feb 11, 2021, 10:50 PM UTC

xirbeosbwo1234 wrote: post #380

vbezhenar wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Bitcoin, at least, absolutely does not solve this problem. Let's leave aside its volatility for now and assume it magically stays at exactly the same price. You are then left using a currency where each transaction costs several dollars and takes a half an hour, and that's the present state of affairs when no one is using it . So you would keep your cryptocurrency in a bank and transfer it through the normal channels…

30 mins for FINAL international settlement of arbitrary $ amounts between $0.001 - $100B IS fast - and the uptime for the BTC network is 100% since inception ~2011.

If you're really wanting to compare apples to apples - For traditional banks doing cross border transactions, it takes up to five days at most global banks, not counting weekends or bank holidays to actually settle with a lot more intermediaries involved.

Re: MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies

#598

Post by nexthash » Thu, Feb 11, 2021, 10:51 PM UTC

randomopining wrote: post #32

Bitcoin = store of value. Network effect is reducing the chance of government intervention, as well as blockchain tail risks. Getting 1 of the 21 million bitcoins is like decentralized proof of saying "I had 48k worth of value in Feb 2021!" It locks in the value that you created forever. Otherwise governments will just keep printing money, and your value gets diluted arbitrarily. Assuming the mechanisms of protection…

Sorry to burst your bubble, but if a government wants to prevent you from using a cryptocurrency it has many tools at its disposal. Firstly, they control the ground upon which you stand. If they don't like that you are using crypto, they will simply arrest you and charge you with a newly-formed crime like 'digital tax evasion'. Secondly, if they can't find who is using crypto, they have the power to shut down the Internet or simply censor requests. No ISP has the military force to prevent a government from walking through the door and cutting the cable.

Point is, as long as you are on their turf, you will follow their rules. Unless you want to make your own rules, in which case you will have to fight the government, become the government, and realize that having no control over a currency being used in your turf can be really bad for you and your citizens. You have no control over its value to at least try keep the economy stable, and they will have nowhere to turn in event of a financial crime or scam. No courts, no recourse, no trust.

Re: MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies

#599

Post by panarky » Thu, Feb 11, 2021, 10:52 PM UTC

edgyquant wrote: post #278

panarky wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I prefer to own an asset with high volatility that gets more valuable over time than an asset with low volatility that gets less valuable over time.

We aren’t talking about assets and what you’ve just said is the reason we have controlled inflation. Currency isn’t supposed to incentivize hoarding it, quite the opposite in fact.

Inflation is only "controlled" for some baskets of goods.

If your basket of goods consists of salty snacks and consumer electronics, then yes, inflation is controlled.

But if your basket of goods consists of Hamptons real estate and fine art, then your inflation rate feels a lot steeper.

Investors are finding it very difficult to discover investments that don't depreciate with respect to that second basket of goods.

That's why institutions, family offices and high net worth individuals are shifting single-digit percentage allocations into Bitcoin.

Re: MasterCard to open up network to cryptocurrencies

#600

Post by tw04 » Thu, Feb 11, 2021, 10:53 PM UTC

tgraves83 wrote: post #567

tw04 wrote: post #384

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>it's liquidity, which bitcoin has far more of then any other cryptocurrency. "Far more of than any other cryptocurrency" is kind of a moot point. Does "bitcoin" (the people converting it to cash) have enough reserves in any real currency to cover even 10% of its value? There's no federal government backing it, and as best I can tell nothing to prevent the proverbial "run on the bank". I still struggle to see how bit…

It doesn't sound like you bothered reading the link I posted. Price volatility caused by a "run on the bank" doesn't really matter if you are sending payments between two people using different currencies. The link I posted describes an app that as an example allows a payment to be sent from someone in the US to someone in Europe and have it settled instantly. Bitcoin is only used on the end of each transaction and c…

I DID read the link. As with everything bitcoin related, the actual meat of the problem is hand-waved away with marketing BS.

>Strike then takes the bitcoins and automatically converts them back into Euros using its real-time automated risk management and trading infrastructure.

Really, they convert Bitcoin into Euros with a "real-time automated risk management and trading infrastructure"? That explains literally nothing. Who owns the Euro currency that is willing to sell it for bitcoin? Where is the liquidity coming from?