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Coinbase from YC to DPO

blog.ycombinator.com

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Re: Coinbase from YC to DPO

#71

Post by bko »

Tenoke wrote: post #45
Fede_V wrote: post #35

I'm horrendously worried about crypto gaining more marketshare as long as proof of work crypto remains mainstream. It has significantly worse externalities than just about any company I can think of (including defense contractors/vaping companies), and, if it grows larger before we have clean energy, then we virtually guarantee we won't be able to tackle global warming. We are going to bestow a world that will be sig…

>I'm horrendously worried about crypto gaining more marketshare as long as proof of work crypto remains mainstream. It's not really remaining mainstream. Bitcoin is soon going to be the only big project (in terms of electricity used) with it. The industry as a whole is moving away from it quite fast at this rate, with ETH (second biggest) moving to PoS within a year, and almost every new project being a or on a non-P…

Bitcoin and Ethereum are two entirely different value propositions. Ethereum is a lot more controlled by a central body, moves a lot faster and is optimized for entirely different things (flexibility, scale, building apps, etc).

You can't substitute one for the other. Both will likely continue to exist indefinitely.

Re: Coinbase from YC to DPO

#73

Post by delaaxe »

kolinko wrote: post #52
Fede_V wrote: post #35

I'm horrendously worried about crypto gaining more marketshare as long as proof of work crypto remains mainstream. It has significantly worse externalities than just about any company I can think of (including defense contractors/vaping companies), and, if it grows larger before we have clean energy, then we virtually guarantee we won't be able to tackle global warming. We are going to bestow a world that will be sig…

PoW is on it’s way out - Ethereum is moving away from it and there is no reason for other cryptos to not follow. The major player in PoW will remain Bitcoin, which won’t change. But as soon as solar/wind become cheaper than coal, it will switch to green without a blink of an eye. A random thought - I’m genuinely surprised Bitcoin folks didn’t yet crowdfund building a nuclear reactor for mining purposes ;) They crowdf…

BTC is already mostly powered by green

Re: Coinbase from YC to DPO

#74

Post by themariner21 »

Fede_V wrote: post #35

I'm horrendously worried about crypto gaining more marketshare as long as proof of work crypto remains mainstream. It has significantly worse externalities than just about any company I can think of (including defense contractors/vaping companies), and, if it grows larger before we have clean energy, then we virtually guarantee we won't be able to tackle global warming. We are going to bestow a world that will be sig…

Well, I’ll tell ya, and this is just me.

But last night, I re-watched Waterworld. It was the first time in quite a while.

And I found myself thinking, “Man, that life would be pretty cool. Global warming would be pretty cool. Why haven’t the ice caps melted yet?”

Honestly, I remember they were supposed to be totally melted by 2007. And then it got pushed up to 2014. And then 2018. And now here we are in 2021 with the same thick, boring ice caps, and Dryland is still not a myth.

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting tired of our boring pre-apocalyptic world.

If Bitcoin is now what will bring about the Waterworld, then I’ll tell you what: I’m all for it.

Just call me “The Mariner.” ‘Cause I’ll be marinatin’ in BTC awaiting the end of this world, and the dawning of a far more watery one.

Re: Coinbase from YC to DPO

#75

Post by dehrmann »

JohnJamesRambo wrote: post #42
Fede_V wrote: post #35

I'm horrendously worried about crypto gaining more marketshare as long as proof of work crypto remains mainstream. It has significantly worse externalities than just about any company I can think of (including defense contractors/vaping companies), and, if it grows larger before we have clean energy, then we virtually guarantee we won't be able to tackle global warming. We are going to bestow a world that will be sig…

Proof of stake is here in Ethereum 2.0 and it works great. Invest in that because this is the last hurrah for Bitcoin. The next cycle will be the “Ethereum is the new better Bitcoin” cycle. I say that as someone with almost all my net worth in Bitcoin but it has miserable transaction speed and energy usage. History has shown us that not innovating has never worked out for any company I can think of.

If all you care about is energy usage and transaction speed, the traditional finance system still wins.

Unless people are actively trading bitcoin enough where the transaction cost because an issue, there's little reason to trade in their tulip bulbs for iris bulbs. A bet on a cryptocurrency is a bet that people will think it's worth more money, not an investment in the underlying technology.

Re: Coinbase from YC to DPO

#77

Post by _u »

thefourthchime wrote: post #36
tenaciousDaniel wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fidelity doesn't have it yet either. It gives an error, something about not being able to purchase it until its on the secondary market.

I came here with the same question. When is this thing actually going live?

Precise timing isn't clear yet. MarketWatch hints to 1:30PM Eastern Time as a possibility

Re: Coinbase from YC to DPO

#78

Post by cbhl »

unreal37 wrote: post #61
throwawaybbqed wrote: post #51

I was an early user of coinbase. I only bought a fraction of a coin because of Paul Graham and YC's reputation. Well .. I was wrong. I was not an active trader. It seems they have closed by account and liquidated the btc within (if there were actually btc in my name). I am deeply disappointed that they don't have a telephone number I can call to help figure out the situation. Pretty disappointed.

Have you even communicated with them about it? Today might not be a great day to try that. But reach out to them and ask.

I wonder if this is escheat at work, or if it is just them adding new multi-factor and ID requirements and not staying on top of it...

Re: Coinbase from YC to DPO

#79

Post by dehrmann »

purple_ferret wrote: post #23

Coinbase is definitely a success story in how to appeal to the masses. There were always alternatives, but coinbase always came out on top despite the high fees and poor customer service. I think Coinbase as a publicly traded company will be very interesting to follow. Not only is it a massively cyclical industry, but the supposed point of crypto is to reducing the reliance on, and grifting from, companies like Coinb…

> the supposed point of crypto is to reducing the reliance on, and grifting from, companies like Coinbase

That was the pitch of crypto. In practice, people are buying it as a bet that it will go up. I suspect most people are only buying it because the value is going up. If bitcoin actually worked like a currency and traded between $8k and $12 for the past 5 years, no one would care.

Re: Coinbase from YC to DPO

#80

Post by dev_throw »

throwawaybbqed wrote: post #51

I was an early user of coinbase. I only bought a fraction of a coin because of Paul Graham and YC's reputation. Well .. I was wrong. I was not an active trader. It seems they have closed by account and liquidated the btc within (if there were actually btc in my name). I am deeply disappointed that they don't have a telephone number I can call to help figure out the situation. Pretty disappointed.

Coinbase customer service has always been tragic. I remember my BTC being locked up until I could "verify" my identity by submitting a photo of my passport, but their site kept glitching out and zero response from customer service. This went on for months.

Pulled all my coins out and will never use this scummy product again.

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