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Neal Stephenson doesn't seem keen on crypto anymore

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21–30 of 178 posts

Re: Neal Stephenson doesn't seem keen on crypto anymore

#21
Never heard of this guy before, but why would a writer with a career that has no relationship whatsoever with tech (beside fictional writing) reach #1 post on HN for a tech-related topic?

And I'm not saying that to defend crypto, I hate that shit. I'd rather buy a pet rock.

Re: Neal Stephenson doesn't seem keen on crypto anymore

#22
This reads oddly to me. In particular, I don't see what makes any of this narrative different to anything else you can make or sell. Indeed, most folks that are making money are doing it by selling their labor or thought work. That is, any discussion of "intrinsic value" is doomed to be axiomatic. Things have value largely because we agree for them to have value. And indeed, a ton of "wealth" is built up on the value others place on things you own. In the "real world" it gets crazy in the modern finance world, as much of your cash spend will be based on borrowed money. For business, it is common for much of your current inventory to be heavily on financed currency. (Well, I thought it was, having to check that claim.)

This isn't necessarily a praise/defense of crypto currencies. At large, I confess I don't understand what value they have if it isn't reflected outside the chain they are counted in. I just don't understand this take on trying to find intrinsic value of it. There is none. Same as the paper in my wallet.

I do find the artificial scarcity of in game items amusing. The scarcity is, essentially, required for many of the plot points in so many novels. When it starts happening, though, we rightly recoil at the absurdity of it.

Re: Neal Stephenson doesn't seem keen on crypto anymore

#23

We all started off enthused about cryptocurrency and then the Wolf of Wall Street types co-opted it and ruined it for everyone pulling off the most sophisticated Ponzi schemes in history. The only use-case for it now is for the criminal underworld (who have to somehow convert to fiat privately using novel techniques, and that gets harder with regulation and sanctions and outright banning of tumbler systems).

The capitalism was going great until actual capitalists got involved!

Re: Neal Stephenson doesn't seem keen on crypto anymore

#24

We all started off enthused about cryptocurrency and then the Wolf of Wall Street types co-opted it and ruined it for everyone pulling off the most sophisticated Ponzi schemes in history. The only use-case for it now is for the criminal underworld (who have to somehow convert to fiat privately using novel techniques, and that gets harder with regulation and sanctions and outright banning of tumbler systems).

Criminal Underworld was its best value add. It should have been the selling point all along. The idea that it's a store of value, and argument I've heard my smartest friends make, is testament to the adage "Greed makes man blind and foolish, and makes him an easy prey for death."

Re: Neal Stephenson doesn't seem keen on crypto anymore

#25
Unrelated to crypto but I've noticed the libertarian nerds of Cryptonomicon at the time seemed like likable quirky characters. Now that it's a huge and grating subset of the population, it doesn't reread well for liberals, the modern day main character was almost too annoying to read about for me.

Re: Neal Stephenson doesn't seem keen on crypto anymore

#26
post #20
post #7

This isn't about cryptocurrency at all. It's about the obviously bad idea of transferable digital in-game goods [sold for cryptocurrency]. You don't need the crypto part to see why it's not a good idea, although the model described here (selling loot to other players?) is not the extremely silly one I've heard more often (buy a CSGO skin and wear it in other games!).

Once you've crossed the line of purchasable in-game goods, transferable isn't silly.

It certainly is silly, what incentive does a game developer have to let someone transfer in game assets they bought for a different game instead of selling the in game assets themselves? There isn’t any incentive to allow it so it won’t happen.

If you mean transferable as in able to sell an in game asset to another player, Valve has offered that for at least a decade.

Re: Neal Stephenson doesn't seem keen on crypto anymore

#27
post #18
post #11

> "It's not just the currency that sets the value of the goods. It's the goods in the aggregate that set the value of the currency." The currency would ideally facilitate trade. Even if it's not baked in it evolves. I remember Diablo 2 people would trade using a particular rare ring (Stone of Jordon). It was essential as you might find rare items that don't fit your character configuration Ideally crypto would facili…

WUG? SOJs

That brought me back. I miss Diablo 2. Learned a lot about the market and even got my account nuked for using a harvesting bot and getting caught.

Thaught me about specialization, trade, trolls and creativity. I had a buddy research hacks and would just ping me to join a game, watch him drop some items, exits and enters a few times and came back with dup items that he would share. It was one of my first forays in trying to find exploits and the excitement associated with it

Re: Neal Stephenson doesn't seem keen on crypto anymore

#28

We all started off enthused about cryptocurrency and then the Wolf of Wall Street types co-opted it and ruined it for everyone pulling off the most sophisticated Ponzi schemes in history. The only use-case for it now is for the criminal underworld (who have to somehow convert to fiat privately using novel techniques, and that gets harder with regulation and sanctions and outright banning of tumbler systems).

>>"Wolf of Wall Street types"

Not so ironic ; wolf of wall street was funded by the billions stolen from Malaysia's pension funds and they threw huge parties and orgies in Vegas and paid off massive amount of douche-bag celebrities, including DiCaprio (who himself was a victim of trafficking in hollwood as a kid) as well as a bunch of other actors....

The wolf of wallstreet is basically the Inception of fraud IRL.

Re: Neal Stephenson doesn't seem keen on crypto anymore

#29

We all started off enthused about cryptocurrency and then the Wolf of Wall Street types co-opted it and ruined it for everyone pulling off the most sophisticated Ponzi schemes in history. The only use-case for it now is for the criminal underworld (who have to somehow convert to fiat privately using novel techniques, and that gets harder with regulation and sanctions and outright banning of tumbler systems).

The illicit share of all cryptocurrency transaction volume in 2022 was 0.24%.

https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/2023-crypto-crime-repor...

Re: Neal Stephenson doesn't seem keen on crypto anymore

#30

Never heard of this guy before, but why would a writer with a career that has no relationship whatsoever with tech (beside fictional writing) reach #1 post on HN for a tech-related topic? And I'm not saying that to defend crypto, I hate that shit. I'd rather buy a pet rock.

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