Coinbase is launching support for the USDC stablecoin • Hacker News Board

Re: Coinbase is launching support for the USDC stablecoin

#161

Post by ehrtt » Tue, Oct 23, 2018, 6:25 PM UTC

compcoffee wrote: post #137

billions wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"What a strawman." -@wcarron Below is a list of 590+ failed fiat currencies, 150 caused by hyperinflation. Seems the Straw Man argument is yours alone. https://trader2trader.co/tag/historic-graphs/page/3/

> Below is a list of 590+ failed fiat currencies Below is a list 1000+ cryptocurrencies, 99.9% of which no one has heard of, many of which have lost 90%+ of their value in a matter of months. https://coinmarketcap.com/all/views/all/

If no one has even heard of them, how could their prices possibly matter to anyone.

Re: Coinbase is launching support for the USDC stablecoin

#162

Post by omarchowdhury » Tue, Oct 23, 2018, 6:27 PM UTC

School-Cotton wrote: post #127

Fej wrote: post #120

It is obscenely disingenuous, almost fraud, to put "USD" in the name of the coin. That's not what it is. The ability to convert to/from the coin is entirely based on the good graces of the issuer, and any regulators in the relevant jurisdiction(s). People see "USD" and think it's a dollar. Stablecoin authors know this. Unlike more seedy exchanges, Coinbase is based in a state with useful regulators (in this case, the…

The "dollars" in my bank account are not dollars either; they are something like a WellsFargoCoin. (Granted, there's a huge difference, since WellsFargoCoin is backed by the FDIC... (Edit: maybe there is not so much of a difference; see the reply by omarchowdhury. I really don't know.))

I would assume Circle (backed by Goldman Sachs) is keeping the reserve dollars in segregated, FDIC insured bank accounts. Would be out of character and expected policy for a U.S. operation to not to.

Re: Coinbase is launching support for the USDC stablecoin

#163

Post by wcoenen » Tue, Oct 23, 2018, 6:27 PM UTC

gwbas1c wrote: post #77

Permit wrote: post #11

Stablecoins seem like they would achieve most of the goals of the original cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin: - Decentralized transactions - 24/7 access - Low fees - Store of value I suppose the only drawback here is that they're issued from a centralized authority. That said, for practical purposes the vast majority of Bitcoin holders didn't mine their own coins either. Despite this, no one on Twitter[1] seemed excit…

> Despite this, no one on Twitter[1] seemed excited Because most people think that in order to solve the problem of a cryptocurrency, they have to also solve the problem of who gets money when you print it. Far too many people conflate the need for electronic cash versus the need to improve upon how systems like the Federal Reserve and their International equivalents work. Honestly, as a software engineer who underst…

> I think cryptocurrency becomes far more interesting when it's not trying to solve the problem of who gets money when it's printed

This was not the goal of bitcoin. The goal was to remove the need for trusted intermediaries from electronic payments. https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf

Re: Coinbase is launching support for the USDC stablecoin

#164

Post by tim333 » Tue, Oct 23, 2018, 6:28 PM UTC

Permit wrote: post #11

Stablecoins seem like they would achieve most of the goals of the original cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin: - Decentralized transactions - 24/7 access - Low fees - Store of value I suppose the only drawback here is that they're issued from a centralized authority. That said, for practical purposes the vast majority of Bitcoin holders didn't mine their own coins either. Despite this, no one on Twitter[1] seemed excit…

There is a decentralized stablecoin, DAI that's backed by Ethereum holdings and smart contracts. I think if ETH is doing ok you can swap a DAI for $1 worth of ETH. If it ETH crashes I presume you get given the ETH which you can sell. It relies on 'oracles' to give the ETH/USD exchange rate to the smart contracts. https://medium.com/@james_3093/the-dai-stablecoin-is-a-game-...

Re: Coinbase is launching support for the USDC stablecoin

#165

Post by lez » Tue, Oct 23, 2018, 6:29 PM UTC

astrodust wrote: post #71

rayvy wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Stablecoins seem like they would achieve most of the goals of the original cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin Correct me if I'm wrong but Stablecoins sound like the opposite type of thing that Crypto-anarchist(s) behind Bitcoin tried to achieve. > I suppose the only drawback here is that they're issued from a centralized authority This reads in a hilarious way. Kind've like saying "I've found a perfect way to buy a c…

How's my stable coin portfolio going to moon? That's the problem here.

Look at MKR token, which is the governance token of Dai. It more than doubled in price during the last months. Because it's sparse and used up when making new Dai's (by collaterizing crypto assets).

Buying MKR and supporting Dai might be a good strategy.

Re: Coinbase is launching support for the USDC stablecoin

#166

Post by QML » Tue, Oct 23, 2018, 6:30 PM UTC

jatsign wrote: post #133

jessepollak wrote: post #107

Hi all — head of engineering for the consumer product at Coinbase here (iOS, Android, coinbase.com). Happy to answer any questions that people have — also, just wanted to make a plug that we're hiring. If you're interested in building an open financial system for the world, shoot me a note at jpollak@coinbase.com. Especially interested in iOS & Android engineers!

Have you published the USDC contract to the network?

I believe this is it: https://etherscan.io/address/0xa0b86991c6218b36c1d19d4a2e9eb....

Re: Coinbase is launching support for the USDC stablecoin

#167

Post by skybrian » Tue, Oct 23, 2018, 6:32 PM UTC

rayvy wrote: post #59

Permit wrote: post #11

Stablecoins seem like they would achieve most of the goals of the original cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin: - Decentralized transactions - 24/7 access - Low fees - Store of value I suppose the only drawback here is that they're issued from a centralized authority. That said, for practical purposes the vast majority of Bitcoin holders didn't mine their own coins either. Despite this, no one on Twitter[1] seemed excit…

> Stablecoins seem like they would achieve most of the goals of the original cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin Correct me if I'm wrong but Stablecoins sound like the opposite type of thing that Crypto-anarchist(s) behind Bitcoin tried to achieve. > I suppose the only drawback here is that they're issued from a centralized authority This reads in a hilarious way. Kind've like saying "I've found a perfect way to buy a c…

Advocates of cryptocurrency tend to promote applications of it, not just promote decentralization as a platonic ideal.

Supposedly this should make it more desirable to regular users. But for users attracted to applications who don't actually care about decentralization, a stable coin will seem better and will be hard to compete with.

So, it seems like the true believers should be worried about having fewer persuasive arguments for adoption?

Re: Coinbase is launching support for the USDC stablecoin

#168

Post by mateuszf » Tue, Oct 23, 2018, 6:33 PM UTC

bduerst wrote: post #93

jabits wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok, here’s a twenty in the palm of my hand...take it...oh wait...

Mail it. And if you're going to split hairs by saying DHL, USPS, and FedEx are considered third parties, then so are Comcast, Verizon, and other ISPs who provide you the means to transact.

Comcast, Verizon, etc. can't intercept your Bitcoins, but DHL, USPS can intercept your cash.

Re: Coinbase is launching support for the USDC stablecoin

#169

Post by celticninja » Tue, Oct 23, 2018, 6:34 PM UTC

jf- wrote: post #108

jatsign wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An ordinary consumer wouldn't. For me, likely use cases are: - Transmitting money overseas. This should be way cheaper. - Vendors who are tired of paying 2.5% to credit card companies giving a discount to using crypto.

That seems more like an argument for a cheap foreign exchange service, of which I believe there are several now.

But they are no where near as easy to use as cryptocurrency. Back in 2010/2011 I used bitcoin to buy stuff from China, I was paying something ridiculous to do the same thing via traditional banks in fees and poor exchange rates. Even now these foreign exchange services make it better but only for larger transactions. Small/medium transactions still pay a ridiculous rate/fee compared to cryptocurrency. Further exacerbated if the recipient has difficulty obtaining banking facilities.

Re: Coinbase is launching support for the USDC stablecoin

#170

Post by ehrtt » Tue, Oct 23, 2018, 6:35 PM UTC

mactrey wrote: post #54

cheeseomlit wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if I want to save? Certainly seems kinda bad when my savings keeps losing value

Are you holding cash? The S&P500 is up something like 200% since 2008 so it's hard to understand how anyone's savings could have lost value in the past decade.

What you're talking about is investing+speculating, not saving. By the same logic investing in the S&P500 over the 1999-2009 decade would have been worse than cash. You save money, you invest/speculate to earn a return -- which requires taking on downside risk.