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On anti-crypto toxicity

blog.mollywhite.net

481–490 of 734 posts

Re: On anti-crypto toxicity

#481

Unfortunately, given: "How can we create a more equitable financial system, where everyone has access to banking services? How can we reduce the power that a small few currently hold over the web? How can we improve data privacy and ensure that people have control over their personal information? How can we create reasonable privacy in the financial system? How can we make information more available to everyone? How…

Just to add a bit. This one:

> How can we create a more equitable financial system, where everyone has access to banking services?

Is a government mandate away. If you want it, got to the streets or call your representatives. In most countries, a simply executive decree is enough to get it.

Re: On anti-crypto toxicity

#482

Unfortunately, given: "How can we create a more equitable financial system, where everyone has access to banking services? How can we reduce the power that a small few currently hold over the web? How can we improve data privacy and ensure that people have control over their personal information? How can we create reasonable privacy in the financial system? How can we make information more available to everyone? How…

Underlying all of our financial transactions is debt. Even an ACH transfer is a very temporary debt in a network of trust. That's why people with "bad credit" can't get accounts at traditional banks. This hurdle does not exist in crypto.

I'm not suggesting crypto is some panacea, but it does eliminate this very important problem for people on the bottom of the economic ladder.

Re: On anti-crypto toxicity

#483

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More like that's how democracies fail. Our current method of "fixing" failures of the state involves layering more and more legislation and regulation on top of the broken legislation and regulation. We do nothing to address the root causes of those failures because that would mean closing a lot of the loop holes that allow politicians to get rich by leveraging their positions aka corruption. Why else would we need b…

Allowing politicians to get rich by leveraging their positions is still better than the alternative. What's the alternative, by the way? What do you suggest we replace democracy with?

You can have democracy with less corruption. There is no reason why politicians should be in politics for the money.

Re: On anti-crypto toxicity

#484

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bitcoin will only be "sound money" when I can pay my taxes in it. Or at least pay for my oil change. Sure it's artificially limited in quantity. Great! Doesn't make it money. It's a commodity like any other.

In addition to that I would add it needs to be a real store of value. Over any moderate timescale (a few years, say), it should reasonably maintain its value over that period. Swings of 40% purchasing power are unacceptable for a useful currency. Sure, bitcoin maximalists love to point out that if you bought it a year ago, it's up XXX%. But what if I bought near its high value? Not so good a proposition then.

Is the money in your bank account a real store of value?

Do you not notice what’s been happening to it at an accelerated pace over the last 30 years?

I’m not arguing for bitcoin either way. But I implore you to take a hard look at your definition of real value in a system with inherent inflation that forces you to speculate in order to preserve any “real value.”

Re: On anti-crypto toxicity

#485
post #301

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it's clear that cryptocurrencies try to live outside of governmental control As a species, we have developed government control because in general, large-scale anarchy doesn't work well.

But that's in the vacuum of some other kind of authority. In the case of crypto, there's still authority. It's just algorithmic instead of human.

Or rather, it's given into the hands of those few who understand and control the algorithms.

Re: On anti-crypto toxicity

#486

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So using Fiat that corrupt governments worldwide print as a hidden means of taxation and control has noting to do with inequality? Avoiding that is the original and prime goal of crypto currency. Like anything new get rich quick schemes exist, but that's not Bitcoin and it's not Monero.

Wait, am I reading this right? Are you saying tax evasion is the original and prime goal of cryptocurrency? If so, excuse my lack of respect for your goals, but they strike me as dishonest/villainy. If not, well then I just have no idea what you were trying to say but apologise for misinterpreting.

They're describing the printing of fiat as "taxation." While I'm not sure how that differs from cryptocurrencies minting coins, GP isn't talking about direct tax evasion.

Re: On anti-crypto toxicity

#487

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the government told you you're not a person, would that hold? To me you're saying nothing's money unless the government says it is. In my community there's a whole ecosystem of people trading goods and services in Bitcoin, silver, and Monero.

> If the government told you you're not a person, would that hold? Governments have always had the ability to dictate who is a citizen and who isn't. Someone born in Angola is not protected by or subject to the US Constitution. > To me your saying nothing's money unless the government says it is. Now you're learning! Granted in a democracy the people have a say in what governments do, so if you convince enough people…

No post body was provided.

Re: On anti-crypto toxicity

#489

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The law isn’t magic though. It’s a system we designed for this purpose and we know how it works.

Except that's not what I'm saying at all. What I'm saying is: 1. Bad laws got us into this place 2. There's a lot of inertia in government 3. There's a lot of stake holders in government who don't have citizen's interests at heart 4. It's illogical to think you can, in light of this, just pass a law and fix it. Yeah, we designed the law, and we know how it works. Sadly, we know also that the way it works is generally…

I agree with your points 1-3 but I don't think your conclusion in 4 follows logically. It misses important historical context of where passing laws did in fact create more equitable access to important civic resources. Take for instance the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. You could have made the same argument you are making now to dissuade people from passing those laws.

Re: On anti-crypto toxicity

#490

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Crypto has addressed real problems for Ukraine's military. > “In a situation like this, where the national bank is not fully operating, crypto is helping to perform fast transfers, to make it very quick and get results almost immediately,” https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/11/technology/bitcoin-ukrain... Is this BS and marketing?

> Crypto has addressed real problems for Ukraine's military. >> “In a situation like this, where the national bank is not fully operating, crypto is helping to perform fast transfers, to make it very quick and get results almost immediately,” >> https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/11/technology/bitcoin-ukrain... > Is this BS and marketing? Here are the next two paragraphs after your quote: > But Mr. Bornyakov [Ukraine’s…

You're moving the goalposts. I responded to:

> But cryptocurrency doesn't address any real problems.

Nobody was comparing the market share of different forms of currency or anything like that. We can discuss the viable rate of market share growth for new forms of currency some other time.

This is a high ranking government official saying that bitcoin is helping solve a real problem. Can you at least acknowledge that maybe he's telling the truth? Or when the next bitcoin thread rolls around will you just repeat the same tired old complaint about no use cases?

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