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Signal adds a payments feature with a privacy-focused cryptocurrency

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Re: Signal adds a payments feature with a privacy-focused cryptocurrency

#211

Post by hiq »

stonesweep wrote: post #189
hiq wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> distributed only in an unsigned insecure form or in a signed/verified manner only if you give up your privacy to install with Google Play or the Apple store. > Those that only run open source software like myself have no secure way to run Signal short of compiling every release by hand which is impractical. Nope: https://signal.org/android/apk/

You may be missing the subtle point - the APK provided is the same one from Google Play, which includes the Google SDK encumbered libraries (links? hooks? features?). If you run a libre device without the Google Play store (non-Google android build) then the software cannot function. The code for the client is open source, but the act of compiling it against the required Play store libraries encumbers the final binar…

> If you run a libre device without the Google Play store (non-Google android build) then the software cannot function

I think you mean either of two things:

1. running the APK they build on a device without Google Service does not work

2. running the APK they build on a device means it's no longer running only libre software

1. is not true, so I assume you mean 2. I guess that's true, but in practice I think that the compiled dependency doesn't do anything if you don't have the services on your phone (don't quote me on that). It's not free software, but it's still better than the competition.

Re: Signal adds a payments feature with a privacy-focused cryptocurrency

#212

Post by rOOb85 »

tradertef wrote: post #124
fourstar wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IMO Signal/Moxie "advises" this project, so to me this seems like their way of cashing out (I'm assuming they hold the majority of coins), given that Signal itself is a not-for-profit organization. At least that's what I'd do if I were Moxie.

They hold majority.. Geee 1 hour ago | unvote [–] There are 250 million units of mobilecoin, and majority of them are owned by the founders. Only 37.5 million have been distributed. With current price ($65), they're worth $14B already. This makes the project a scam and impossible for it to work as a reliable money that holds value. Bitcoin had no pre-mine and has been fairly distributed from the start.

I haven't seen any sources to back that up. Just that one comment claiming those facts.

Re: Signal adds a payments feature with a privacy-focused cryptocurrency

#213

Post by adamsvystun »

bilal4hmed wrote: post #103

With Signal not releasing their server code and now this, I regret using and asking a good chunk of my base to move to Signal.

This is not entirely true. There has been a delay (11 month) in the sync of the server code with a public GitHub repo. Currently all commits are there: https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Server/commits/master

Re: Signal adds a payments feature with a privacy-focused cryptocurrency

#214

Post by PragmaticPulp »

matheusmoreira wrote: post #138
raspyberr wrote: post #131

Super sad that they didn't choose Monero.

That was my first thought as well. Why didn't they pick Monero? I don't see how any other coin could be better.

Using an established cryptocurrency doesn’t provide a good way for them to profit.

MobileCoin is pre-mined and the majority of coins are held by founders and the MobileCoin organization. They want to sell you coins, so partnering with Signal to force you to buy their coins to transact on the app gives them a revenue stream.

If they simply added Monero, they wouldn’t be able to sell you coins.

Re: Signal adds a payments feature with a privacy-focused cryptocurrency

#216

Post by CynicusRex »

troquerre wrote: post #187
CynicusRex wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can late MobileCoin adopters buy the same amount of coin for the same price as early adopters or is it a multi-level marketing pyramid scheme like the rest of the crypto“currency” greed and spam inducing cesspool? https://www.cynicusrex.com/file/cryptocultscience.html

MobileCoin is already liquid on multiple exchanges so the coins would just be purchased at whatever the market price is. It also doesn't make sense for late adopters to get the same price because there's a lot more risk associated with being an early adopter than a late adopter. This works both ways — if something bad happens to MobileCoin that tanks the price late adopters would be able to buy at a cheaper price bec…

>“It also doesn't make sense for late adopters to get the same price because there's a lot more risk associated with being an early adopter than a late adopter.”

Often repeated but false. Early adopters mine or buy large proportions at negligible prices while late adopters mine or buy negligible proportions at large prices.

Re: Signal adds a payments feature with a privacy-focused cryptocurrency

#217

Post by hiq »

codethief wrote: post #199
hiq wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You missed the point. You're making a different point now though, you're saying that people will associate it with scams which will hurt adoption. You initially wrote that the UX would be so bad that you'd have to convince users to bear with it anyway. I don't know how they implemented it on the client side, but it's possible they kept it light, as they've been doing since the beginning. We'll see soon enough. In t…

> You initially wrote that the UX would be so bad that you'd have to convince users to bear with it anyway. I don't know how they implemented it on the client side, but it's possible they kept it light, as they've been doing since the beginning. We'll see soon enough. I think you're confusing UI and UX. Yes, the UI could be kept light but the user experience can still be confusing because a payments feature is… surpr…

OP wrote:

> just click through the scam marketing, ICO offers and "airdrops"

That's what I meant by UX.

> user experience can still be confusing because a payments feature is… surprising

Everything new is "surprising", that's a low bar. Chat apps in China have had this feature for years now, and it's also a feature in WhatsApp, a direct Signal competitor.

Re: Signal adds a payments feature with a privacy-focused cryptocurrency

#218

Post by takenpilot »

meowfly wrote: post #195

The comment from the article echos my own sentiments: > Speaking solely as a person who is really into encrypted messaging, it terrifies me that they're going to take this really clean story of an encrypted messenger and mix it up with the nightmare of laws and regulations and vulnerability that is cryptocurrency. Moreover, there are three other points I'd add: 1. I don't like "do everything" apps like WeChat or Line…

In a lot of ways, the transfer of cryptocurrency is the same as the transfer of generic messages.

It's only when you're transferring them back to dollars/yuan/yen/etc. that it's suddenly currency from a government.

Re: Signal adds a payments feature with a privacy-focused cryptocurrency

#219

Post by sequoia »

meowfly wrote: post #195

The comment from the article echos my own sentiments: > Speaking solely as a person who is really into encrypted messaging, it terrifies me that they're going to take this really clean story of an encrypted messenger and mix it up with the nightmare of laws and regulations and vulnerability that is cryptocurrency. Moreover, there are three other points I'd add: 1. I don't like "do everything" apps like WeChat or Line…

> Early in Signal's development they would add privacy features. Lately they have been adding social features.

This is intentional and relates to Signal's growth in the past few years. It's not "a hacker tool for nerds" it's "a friendly, easy to use chat app with stickers & voice messages (also strong encryption)."

IRC does one thing and does it well, and barely anyone uses it. The "clean technical vision" story isn't enough on its own.

Re: Signal adds a payments feature with a privacy-focused cryptocurrency

#220

Post by rapnie »

rvz wrote: post #97

So when Keybase added Stellar support for payments, this was met with lots of hostility and disappointment, such as 'cryptocoin bullshit' [0] or 'Yeah, I am not going to use any product associated with anything cryptocurrency. Just smells bad. [1] Now the same thing has happened on Signal; HN's favourite messaging app. So why is this met with warm welcoming arms especially when they are also going into cryptocurrenci…

No warm welcome by me.. on the lookout for something different again. Btw, for people using Keybase and considering an alternative, have a look at https://keyoxide.org .. project still young, but very promising plus they intend to only focus on the core features. No chat or other stuff mixed in.
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