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Is this the end of crypto?

economist.com

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Re: Is this the end of crypto?

#51

Post by mjburgess »

AtlasBarfed wrote: post #37
mjburgess wrote: post #9

This is just such an awful betrayal of their mission. The Economist should know better, and everyone I have spoken to which is senior in their readership does know better. This is still a pro-crypto-scam article. They repeat the same scam-artist lies, crypto is somehow an innovation in "trust", somehow more "efficient" than existing infrastructure, somehow "smart contracts" are more reliable than actual contracts. Th…

The Economist represents a world viewpoint from the days of the United Kingdom: as in a small island nation with a monarchy exerting centralized economic control over a vast worldwide imperial empire. Why would they like cryptocurrency in any way, unless the Bank of England had monopolistic control over it?

You've misread my comment.

I'm angry that they're repeating pro-cypto ideology. If you read the article, they do not want gov control. They want the scams to play out.

I expect better from the economist. It shares a readership with the FT, and the FT has not fallen victim to this hysteria.

Re: Is this the end of crypto?

#52

Post by Victerius »

rhn_mk1 wrote: post #40
Victerius wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> FTX was the antithesis of cryptocurrency No true scotsman. "The USSR wasn't real communism." What cryptocurrency could be or should be in an ideal world is irrelevant. If cryptocurrency fails to live up to its ideals, it may be because these ideals are impossible to fulfill. That could be due to technological limitations, human nature, or something else. And in this case, we have no choice but to judge crypto for w…

This is a silly criticism, as long as the concepts of "cryptocurrency as a decentralized idea" and "cryptocurrency as many people use it in practice" are described by a single word. If the article is correct about "practicurrency", then you're responding to someone saying that it won't affect "decencurrency". One of them is indeed not a Scotsman. All you're saying is that the word has more than one definition for two…

It is impossible for a monetary system to be decentralized, safe, and have mass adoption. Because security requires either inconvenience or centralization, and inconvenience is a hard barrier to mass adoption.

Re: Is this the end of crypto?

#54

Post by jimpudar »

jonathanstrange wrote: post #24
Laaas wrote: post #10

The mainstream response to this debacle is a bit incomprehensible. FTX was the antithesis of cryptocurrency; it was a centralised exchange, that was also trying to become a bank, and was AFAICT trying to kill DeFi [0]. The failure/success of FTX has no relation to the soundness of cryptocurrency. I do however hope that this crash means fewer people will speculate on the prices such that it can finally stabilise a bit…

Can I still have a local crypto wallet on my hard disk that contains my bitcoins and transfer coins to it from exchanges or when people pay me?

The short answer is yes, but your question implies a fundamental misunderstanding of Bitcoin and blockchains. The coins do not exist "in your wallet" - the wallet just holds your keys that prove you own some of the coins visible to everybody on the public blockchain.

If you want a really great learning aid, search for "Island of Yap Blockchain" and read any of the million articles about it.

Re: Is this the end of crypto?

#55

Post by lupire »

cooljacob204 wrote: post #11

When Crypto was young it was this cool new technology that mostly interesting because of the underlying tech. But even back then it was mostly valuable for buying drugs online and other illegal stuff. Now it's that and a way to scam people of their life savings. I do hope it dies out, it should have been heavily regulated from the get go. Way too many people saw these high production commercials with their favorite c…

Good government is a luxury many lack.

Re: Is this the end of crypto?

#57

Post by biohax2015 »

lupire wrote: post #55
cooljacob204 wrote: post #11

When Crypto was young it was this cool new technology that mostly interesting because of the underlying tech. But even back then it was mostly valuable for buying drugs online and other illegal stuff. Now it's that and a way to scam people of their life savings. I do hope it dies out, it should have been heavily regulated from the get go. Way too many people saw these high production commercials with their favorite c…

Good government is a luxury many lack.

USD is available to anyone

Re: Is this the end of crypto?

#58

Post by legitster »

> Moreover, sceptics should acknowledge that nobody can predict which innovations will bear fruit and which will not. People should be free to devote time and money to fusion power, airships, the metaverse and a host of other technologies that may never come good. Crypto is no different. As the virtual economy develops, useful decentralised applications may yet appear—who knows? The underlying technology continues to improve.

> Instead of over-regulating or stamping out crypto, regulators should be guided by two principles. One is to ensure that theft and fraud are minimised, as with any financial activity. The other is to keep the mainstream financial system insulated from further crypto-ructions.

I know people knock the Economist for pretty superficial analysis, but honestly appreciate their level-headed take here.

Re: Is this the end of crypto?

#59

Post by cooljacob204 »

lupire wrote: post #55
cooljacob204 wrote: post #11

When Crypto was young it was this cool new technology that mostly interesting because of the underlying tech. But even back then it was mostly valuable for buying drugs online and other illegal stuff. Now it's that and a way to scam people of their life savings. I do hope it dies out, it should have been heavily regulated from the get go. Way too many people saw these high production commercials with their favorite c…

Good government is a luxury many lack.

And that's a fair point. But the problem is Crypto is an investment playground by people from rich countries and legitimate uses of it in countries like say Venezuela is an extremely small part of total transactions.

Re: Is this the end of crypto?

#60

Post by lupire »

throwaway743 wrote: post #39
ryanSrich wrote: post #22

If I had a nickel for every time the MSM called the death of crypto I'd probably be able to buy one bitcoin by now.

Seriously. This has been asked and called time and time again, but has been proven wrong each time

Ah yes, the logistic fallacy. There are always new people to rope in, the world's population is not finite.
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