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Boston Fed releases report, source code of digital currency prototype study

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Re: Boston Fed releases report, source code of digital currency prototype study

#131

Post by tonguez »

6gvONxR4sf7o wrote: post #74
ur-whale wrote: post #37

Many people on HN claim that the rise of crypto-currencies is a social catastrophe. Maybe so (I disagree), but wait until central-bank issued digital currencies become a reality, you'll very quickly learn the real meaning of social catastrophe. Spending 10 seconds thinking about it, I can come up with the following scenarios: - complete and utter "financial deplatforming" if you don't behave as a citizen. This is bas…

> complete and utter "financial deplatforming" if you don't behave as a citizen. We live in a world with prisons. Stopping your spending is nothing compared to literally locking you up.

Paying rent falls under "your spending", so "stopping your spending" makes you homeless. Being homeless is not "nothing".

Re: Boston Fed releases report, source code of digital currency prototype study

#132

Post by chromatin »

wizzwizz4 wrote: post #32
tryptophan wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nothing good has happened after central banking was established either. It's been one financial crisis after another. Also fun fact - back when the US had private currencies, people WILLINGLY preferred to use them despite a gov currency existing. It is only after the government passed high taxes on these currencies(ie having to pay tax for each transaction to exchange them) that they went out of favor. If they were r…

> Also fun fact - back when the US had private currencies, people WILLINGLY preferred to use them despite a gov currency existing. I'm not much of a historian, but are you referring to company stores? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Company_store > Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go // I owe my soul to the company store — Johnny Cash, Sixteen Tons

No, very different than company store (those "currencies" were referred to as "scrip")

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Company_scrip

Re: Boston Fed releases report, source code of digital currency prototype study

#133

Post by pphysch »

notch656a wrote: post #130
brimble wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't seen any real-world evidence that high levels of individual firearm ownership correlate with the preservation of liberty and democracy. Most examples people like to bring out are resistance to a foreign occupation, typically with external assistance from a real military and/or shipments of military arms. And, perhaps tellingly, the result after the occupiers leave is rarely democracy. Meanwhile improvised b…

>I haven't seen any real-world evidence that high levels of individual firearm ownership correlate with the preservation of liberty and democracy. Kurds in Northern Syria.

US military is occupying Northern Syria, it isn't just Kurds fighting the government on their own

Re: Boston Fed releases report, source code of digital currency prototype study

#134

Post by uncletammy »

anm89 wrote: post #31
mjevans wrote: post #7

The mention of blockchain in the summary worries me. We have real world data that shows us this only leads to wasted electricity and fabricated silicon shortages/outrageously expensive computer hardware. The idea of a public ledger and distributed witness signatures is sound though, and that should be the basis of a government approved system of inter-reserve asset tracking.

The concept of a blockchain has ZERO connection to electricity usage. Proof of work is the thing that uses the electricity. blockchains can use or not use proof of work.

Here's an example of an electricity-free blockchain : http://www.righto.com/2014/09/mining-bitcoin-with-pencil-and...

Re: Boston Fed releases report, source code of digital currency prototype study

#135

Post by CrazyStat »

pessimizer wrote: post #110
sgerenser wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even if “the 70s” means 1970, it’s still not 98%, more like about 86% according to: https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/

That's why I said "hyperbole." I should have said "mild hyperbole," but I didn't bother to look up the actual numbers.

86% vs. 98% isn't mild hyperbole, in one case the dollar is worth 7x as much as the other case.

Re: Boston Fed releases report, source code of digital currency prototype study

#137

Post by anm89 »

nabla9 wrote: post #40
anm89 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand what you are saying here if point 1 is that it enables helicopter money, how is the conclusion in point 2 that it enables sound monetary policy?

Sound monetary policy according to Fed mandate and goals is low unemployment rate and average inflation rate 2 percent over medium length period. Many argue that helicopter money is better alternative to quantitative easing (buying bonds). Just give money to the people. Buying bonds is ineffective because bond holders don't consume. The velocity of money just drops and asset prices increase. (you may picture helicopt…

I dont think the term sound is used by many to imply that the fed is simply following its mandate. if so then the fed has been doing "unsound" monetary policy for most of the last 10 years.

Sound is generally used specifically in a connotation of not debasing the currency.

Also gotta strongly disagree that the concept of helicopter money has no connotation of amount.

to each their own I guess.

Re: Boston Fed releases report, source code of digital currency prototype study

#138

Post by logicalmonster »

ur-whale wrote: post #37

Many people on HN claim that the rise of crypto-currencies is a social catastrophe. Maybe so (I disagree), but wait until central-bank issued digital currencies become a reality, you'll very quickly learn the real meaning of social catastrophe. Spending 10 seconds thinking about it, I can come up with the following scenarios: - complete and utter "financial deplatforming" if you don't behave as a citizen. This is bas…

Good list, and I'd add something crazy sounding to the long list of potential nightmare problems with some kind of future centralized digital currency: forced spending through expiring money.

Keynesian economists that dominate a lot of official politics have a hard-on for viewing consumption as the root of all goodness and prosperity. In the midst of a future economic crisis with a central digital currency, it would be trivial for the politicians to start blaming a lack of spending for the problems and to force people to spend received money within X amount of time or it disappears from your digital wallet and thereby incentivize desired behavior. No real saving for the future possible: citizens would be turned into a cattle-like consumption class.

Re: Boston Fed releases report, source code of digital currency prototype study

#139

Post by sterlind »

logicalmonster wrote: post #138
ur-whale wrote: post #37

Many people on HN claim that the rise of crypto-currencies is a social catastrophe. Maybe so (I disagree), but wait until central-bank issued digital currencies become a reality, you'll very quickly learn the real meaning of social catastrophe. Spending 10 seconds thinking about it, I can come up with the following scenarios: - complete and utter "financial deplatforming" if you don't behave as a citizen. This is bas…

Good list, and I'd add something crazy sounding to the long list of potential nightmare problems with some kind of future centralized digital currency: forced spending through expiring money. Keynesian economists that dominate a lot of official politics have a hard-on for viewing consumption as the root of all goodness and prosperity. In the midst of a future economic crisis with a central digital currency, it would…

inflation is literally expiring money. I guess the difference is you could expire some but not all money, but what's to keep me from spending my expiring money on equity or something?

Re: Boston Fed releases report, source code of digital currency prototype study

#140

Post by bhawks »

warabe wrote: post #118

i was wondering ... what if we circulate coin infinitely to harass central system? like keep exchanging coin between A and B. Can we halt entire system down?

There are probably scores of abuse vectors waiting to be exposed. Getting caught exposing or exercising them might land you in a place where you can never have money again or worse.
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