Crypto lobbying is going ballistic • Hacker News Board

Re: Crypto lobbying is going ballistic

#31

Post by nicholasbraker » Wed, Dec 08, 2021, 9:40 AM UTC

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…

That's why a product like Quant Networks is going to survive the bubble which is surely on the horizon.

NFT's like offered by NBA Topshots (basically replacing physical collectibles in a digital form factor) have their appeal if your into collecting sports stuff). 20 pixel unicorns for 1 ETH? Not so much..

Re: Crypto lobbying is going ballistic

#32

Post by sktrdie » Wed, Dec 08, 2021, 9:40 AM UTC

5e92cb50239222b wrote: post #13

voz_ wrote: post #4

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

If climate change is finally taken seriously at some point, I hope they get clamped down on very hard. Unlike meth labs and "terrorists", a large mining farm can be traced by power usage. (Unless you're using solar, then go ahead and mine all you want.) Crypto fanatics are doing nothing of any practical value while greatly helping out with destroying our planet. We've been having rolling blackouts recently because of…

Afaik most % of mining happens close to the energy source where it can't even be transported or where it's already being wasted. At least that would be the most economically viable solution; hence hopefully what everyone will eventually be doing (doing otherwise would not be rewardable).

Actually in a way the market price is not only defined by speculation but also how much "paying for energy" compares to "getting the bitcoin reward". So in a way the market price tells us how much people are willing to pay for energy (globally).

But yeah I agree it all sucks that it's going to mess up our planet even more.

Re: Crypto lobbying is going ballistic

#33

Post by roenxi » Wed, Dec 08, 2021, 9:41 AM UTC

voz_ wrote: post #4

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

Bitcoin have to be worth something in the same sense that a leaf of toilet paper isn't actually free - just very cheap. We don't know what the long term fair price of a bitcoin is and it isn't at all obvious that we are in a bubble.

For all the naysayers and the evangelists, at this point it is clear that cryptocurrencies have staying power and the broader market (not going to pick out bitcoin specifically) seems likely outlive the US dollar. Decentralised protocols are more reliable than the US government.

Re: Crypto lobbying is going ballistic

#34

Post by netcan » Wed, Dec 08, 2021, 9:44 AM UTC

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.

Who's point?

The whole point of Google, to some people at Google, might have been "don't be evil" at one point in time. Decentralisation was the whole point of the WWW.

Different people have different goals. Largely, it's just about making money.

Re: Crypto lobbying is going ballistic

#35

Post by heurisko » Wed, Dec 08, 2021, 9:45 AM UTC

bellyfullofbac wrote: post #14

voz_ wrote: post #4

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

I guess it'll never go to zero without legislation... but the Internet's power to make communities from far-flung people mean nowadays we have a community of flat-earthers, as well as a community of rubes, and they'll continue to believe in it as it bubbles up and bursts again and again. The number of rubes you could convince about tulips in Amsterdam was finite, but on the Internet...

> The number of rubes you could convince about tulips in Amsterdam was finite, but on the Internet...

I think a lot of "investors" (gamblers) know it is mostly a scam, but are hoping they're not going to be the ones left without a chair when the music stops.

Re: Crypto lobbying is going ballistic

#36

Post by high_5 » Wed, Dec 08, 2021, 9:47 AM UTC

naruvimama wrote: post #29

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.

I think it's a bait and switch scenario where the institutions build something bitcoin like infrastructure but in reality it's just centralized infrastructure for credit cards 2.0.

Re: Crypto lobbying is going ballistic

#37

Post by donatj » Wed, Dec 08, 2021, 9:47 AM UTC

5e92cb50239222b wrote: post #13

voz_ wrote: post #4

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

If climate change is finally taken seriously at some point, I hope they get clamped down on very hard. Unlike meth labs and "terrorists", a large mining farm can be traced by power usage. (Unless you're using solar, then go ahead and mine all you want.) Crypto fanatics are doing nothing of any practical value while greatly helping out with destroying our planet. We've been having rolling blackouts recently because of…

> doing nothing of any practical value while greatly helping out with destroying our planet

Serious question, where does this line of thinking end? Gaming rigs use upwards of a thousand watts, no practical value in gaming. Watching sitcoms on a television has no practical value. Phones capable of doing things other than making calls have no practical value, but we charge them all the time.

Honestly I think providing an alternative financial system is more practical than most of the other energy intensive things we do these days.

The idea that we should do less stuff and be miserable because climate change is fatalist and just silly. We should be building nuclear power plants at a drastic rate to meet supply.

Re: Crypto lobbying is going ballistic

#38

Post by JanisL » Wed, Dec 08, 2021, 9:48 AM UTC

stefanve wrote: post #30

total privatisation of the money system, sold as democratization

The monetary system in many places was already mostly private, most money is created by commercial banks and we have institutions like central banks with private ownership in many countries.

Re: Crypto lobbying is going ballistic

#39

Post by user-the-name » Wed, Dec 08, 2021, 9:51 AM UTC

5e92cb50239222b wrote: post #13

voz_ wrote: post #4

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

If climate change is finally taken seriously at some point, I hope they get clamped down on very hard. Unlike meth labs and "terrorists", a large mining farm can be traced by power usage. (Unless you're using solar, then go ahead and mine all you want.) Crypto fanatics are doing nothing of any practical value while greatly helping out with destroying our planet. We've been having rolling blackouts recently because of…

If you're using solar, you're still wasting energy that could go into replacing coal or gas elsewhere. Fully green bitcoin mining is still hampering our efforts to tackle climate change.

Re: Crypto lobbying is going ballistic

#40

Post by kazen44 » Wed, Dec 08, 2021, 9:51 AM UTC

roenxi wrote: post #33

voz_ wrote: post #4

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

Bitcoin have to be worth something in the same sense that a leaf of toilet paper isn't actually free - just very cheap. We don't know what the long term fair price of a bitcoin is and it isn't at all obvious that we are in a bubble. For all the naysayers and the evangelists, at this point it is clear that cryptocurrencies have staying power and the broader market (not going to pick out bitcoin specifically) seems lik…

Are decentralised protocols really more reliable? I highly doubt it.

The reason the dollar is so strong is because it is backed by a goverment which will use its power to guarantee the dollar does not collapse. The same goes for the Euro, yen, RMB etc.

When hyperinflation kicks in, will a decentralised protocol step up and try to curtail it?