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Crypto lobbying is going ballistic

economist.com

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Re: Crypto lobbying is going ballistic

#21

Post by BoxOfRain »

andruby wrote: post #15
voz_ wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's not a single problem it solves. A technical solution in search of a problem is a hilariously poor investment, esp when any distributed system will do the same work - but better. And all the "value" stuff on it like NFTs is just a giant ponzi scheme from any way you look at it.

I do think there is at least one problem that crypto currencies solve better than the status-quo: sending money internationally. It has less regulation than the official channels. Can have better privacy. Can be cheaper. Can be faster. Compared to Western Union, international wire transfers and the likes, sending money home for foreign workers (remittance), seems to be much better with Stellar, or other low-fee crypt…

>I bought some crypto early on as a hedge against global politics going to shit (US, Russia or China going into proxy wars) or economics taking a dive (and governments/central banks deciding to devaluate, ...).

Genuinely asking as a newbie to this kind of thing, what's the advantage of using crypto over assets more traditionally used for this purpose such as gold?

Re: Crypto lobbying is going ballistic

#22

Post by toyg »

andruby wrote: post #15
voz_ wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's not a single problem it solves. A technical solution in search of a problem is a hilariously poor investment, esp when any distributed system will do the same work - but better. And all the "value" stuff on it like NFTs is just a giant ponzi scheme from any way you look at it.

I do think there is at least one problem that crypto currencies solve better than the status-quo: sending money internationally. It has less regulation than the official channels. Can have better privacy. Can be cheaper. Can be faster. Compared to Western Union, international wire transfers and the likes, sending money home for foreign workers (remittance), seems to be much better with Stellar, or other low-fee crypt…

Thing is, your quality judgement is questionable by society as a whole.

Less regulation -> more crime.

Better privacy -> more crime.

Cheaper -> more unstable currency markets.

Faster -> more unstable currency markets.

There is a balance to be found, but at the moment most cryptocurrencies are a nightmare from the perspective of people who value stability and order in social arrangements. And none of the current players seem particularly interested in finding that balance, because they know very well that most of their customers are interested in keeping it wild.

Re: Crypto lobbying is going ballistic

#23

Post by stavros »

BoxOfRain wrote: post #21
andruby wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do think there is at least one problem that crypto currencies solve better than the status-quo: sending money internationally. It has less regulation than the official channels. Can have better privacy. Can be cheaper. Can be faster. Compared to Western Union, international wire transfers and the likes, sending money home for foreign workers (remittance), seems to be much better with Stellar, or other low-fee crypt…

>I bought some crypto early on as a hedge against global politics going to shit (US, Russia or China going into proxy wars) or economics taking a dive (and governments/central banks deciding to devaluate, ...). Genuinely asking as a newbie to this kind of thing, what's the advantage of using crypto over assets more traditionally used for this purpose such as gold?

Much easier to buy, transfer, secure, etc.

I don't think it has much use other than speculation either, but it does have advantages over gold.

Re: Crypto lobbying is going ballistic

#25

Post by lottin »

andruby wrote: post #15
voz_ wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's not a single problem it solves. A technical solution in search of a problem is a hilariously poor investment, esp when any distributed system will do the same work - but better. And all the "value" stuff on it like NFTs is just a giant ponzi scheme from any way you look at it.

I do think there is at least one problem that crypto currencies solve better than the status-quo: sending money internationally. It has less regulation than the official channels. Can have better privacy. Can be cheaper. Can be faster. Compared to Western Union, international wire transfers and the likes, sending money home for foreign workers (remittance), seems to be much better with Stellar, or other low-fee crypt…

> It has less regulation than the official channels.

If the way it "solves the problem" is by not following the regulations that everybody else has to follow, I don't know if it's actually solving a problem so much as cheating the system.

Re: Crypto lobbying is going ballistic

#26

Post by MadSudaca »

voz_ wrote: post #4

I can't wait for this bubble to burst so I never have to hear about these tulips again.

Maybe it’s be like the dotcom bubble. It’ll burst in a big way, leaving many people broke, then from the aftermath good projects will emerge and will come to redefine the world.

Re: Crypto lobbying is going ballistic

#27

Post by PeterisP »

another_story wrote: post #17
andruby wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do think there is at least one problem that crypto currencies solve better than the status-quo: sending money internationally. It has less regulation than the official channels. Can have better privacy. Can be cheaper. Can be faster. Compared to Western Union, international wire transfers and the likes, sending money home for foreign workers (remittance), seems to be much better with Stellar, or other low-fee crypt…

Is it cheaper factoring in the cost of transferring to crypto and then back again from a currency you can actually use most places?

It depends on how limited the international payments are for your particular country.

Bank payment from Spain to Poland is cheaper than cryptocurrency; bank payment from Nigeria to Peru is likely to be more expensive than cryptocurrency; and a bank payment from USA to Iran is effectively impossible while cryptocurrency can work.

Re: Crypto lobbying is going ballistic

#28

Post by nomercy400 »

throwaway55421 wrote: post #7

The entire point of cryptocurrency is to bypass this stuff. If you're using a regulated exchange, just go and buy Apple shares or use a bank instead. It really is almost completely pointless.

I think it is less about not having regulations and more about bypassing the current establishment of banks and exchanges.

It feels more like a union of those shunned by the current establishment, trying to get a piece of the money pie.

Re: Crypto lobbying is going ballistic

#29

Post by naruvimama »

My biggest fear is that institutions & governments jumping into this pyramid scheme, throwing our hard earned money to make billionaires out of snake oil men.

Bitcoin was fine as long as it was a small geeky fun currency with actual small transactions. It became a pyramid scheme once speculators jumped in.

I am open to government or industry backed crypto or digital currency.

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