Stuff like this just gives credence to the farcical notion that crypto is reputable.
The leadership at stripe should be utterly ashamed.
Stripe Crypto
241–250 of 450 posts
Re: Stripe Crypto
#242Re: Stripe Crypto
#243It's very strange seeing the option near the bottom of the page to donate a fraction of your revenue from Stripe Crypto to carbon recapture efforts. I agree with Stripe that, at this point, the solution to our climate problems must include carbon recapture, but it's not an ideal situation to be in. Businesses entering the crypto space always seem to tout carbon offsets and sidechains that use less energy, but offsets…
While the energy usage of Proof-of-Stake systems like Bitcoin does seem embarrassingly excessive at first glance, I think there's more nuance here than it first may appear. One of the problems with renewables is that they are spike-y and there's a limit to how much you can control the spike. When renewable sources peak, they can put more energy into the grid than the grid can safely handle (too much power can cause d…
If that were the only energy used for blockchains, then that would definitely eliminate the environmental arguments against cryptocurrencies, but I doubt you could run large blockchains on only renewable spikes.
Even then, if battery tech improves enough, I think there's a compelling case to be made that the spike energy is better sent there than to mining rigs.
Re: Stripe Crypto
#244Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not a pyramid scheme in any sense. Pump-and-dump schemes fall under the "get-rich-quick" language, but I don't see what this has to do with the details of this specific announcement.
‘A pyramid scheme is a fraudulent system of making money based on recruiting an ever-increasing number of "investors." The initial promoters recruit investors, who in turn recruit more investors, and so on. The scheme is called a "pyramid" because at each level, the number of investors increases. The small group of initial promotors at the top require a large base of later investors to support the scheme by providing…
That's a bad definition.
The key characteristic of a pyramid scheme is that each person gets paid by the people they recruit.
If there is a global FIFO, that's a Ponzi scheme.
A pump and dump is something else entirely. It doesn't depend on an infinite series of investors, just one wave.
Re: Stripe Crypto
#245Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yep. Until very recently, we weren't able to support businesses selling crypto. (The regulatory details are complex.) We're now rolling out support and this page is basically about that change.
To be honest, I thought your refusal was probably well justified considering the disproportionate levels of credit card fraud involved in anything to do with crypto. I'd love to see your end of year statistics now...
> disproportionate levels of credit card fraud involved in anything to do with crypto
I'm really curious what your source is for this. Anyone legit in crypto who's taking fiat is doing way more KYC than your average ecommerce store.
Re: Stripe Crypto
#246It is important to recognize that Stripe is largely selling well-made shovels for the gold rush here. They have a history of diving more deeply into this market [1] and withdrawing from it before [2], so this is just Take 2. This time around, they are not themselves buying Cube Thingies or similar and don't have any exposure to the volatile world of ETH or other coins. I think there will be decent transfer of money f…
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Re: Stripe Crypto
#247I skimmed the landing page. It looks like a collection of existing products and they are saying here’s how you could build on ramp and off ramp products.
They are basically saying use our product to handle fiat currency and the customers. And once fiat leg of transaction is complete it’s upto you to manage the crypto part.
I don’t see anything Crypto specific product here. For example, custodial Wallet as a solution.
Am I missing something super obvious?
Re: Stripe Crypto
#248Things like this where companies reinvent traditional payment processing “but with crypto” is the antithesis of what crypto used to stand for. As a former believer in the original goal of private p2p digital cash, I am saddened by what crypto has become in practice. Crypto is just centralized as the traditional financial system. Oh and nobody actually uses it as a currency. I feel like I’m one of few who’s actually p…
There are still crypto projects whose primary focus is privacy (eg monero). But unsurprisingly, it's difficult to spend that money without going through a KYC process.
I think the "dream" of truly private transactions was always unrealistic. Governments have many tools at their disposal to get what they want.
Even cash is only so private. In the USA cash purchases over $10,000 require a report to the IRS.
Re: Stripe Crypto
#249Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because if Bitcoin specifically takes off it will force governments to balanced budgets, exposing a lot of hidden corruption. Detractors cherry-pick concerns about energy usage, but never show the energy usage of the existing system for comparison.
Are you for real? Crypto right now, while being used by under 1% of population use, uses 40% of the energy of the global banking system[1]. In other words, if it were to increase to even 10% of the population using it, it would use over 4x the energy of the global banking system. If that increased to 50%, it would be 20x. This would be somewhat mitigated in the case of Proof of Stake, but would simultaneously give ma…
That report says the data used for the banking system is derived from a computer model because they lack sufficient empirical evidence.
Re: Stripe Crypto
#250Earlier quoted context omitted.
> While I largely share your feelings about NFTs, I think the general population outside of HN sphere does not. I don't know. I know a fair number of artists/musicians/photographers and I can tell you that among those artists, the impression of NFTs is almost universally negative. I would bet that more people think NFT is close to a "giant, planet-killing scam", which is hyperbole but on the side of caution.
I think the “planet-killing scam” is very HN-sphere thinking. Most people have no idea. Most non-technical artists I interact with seem very excited about NFTs, often asking me to help them create their own (unfortunately I’m not interested). And what about when ETH2 goes live in some months and the main NFT chain moves to proof-of-stake? The “planet-killing” problem is already solved, that tech is going live this ye…
> I think the “planet-killing scam” is very HN-sphere thinking
It's not, at all. I've heard that phrasing or similar (that it's a pyramid scheme, that cryptocurrencies are wasteful) from people who don't even know how to find HN.
In the photography world in particular, mentioning your NFT is likely to get you laughed out of any forum in which you bring it up.
IMO if you encounter any non-technical artist "excited" about NFTs, tell them to stay the hell away, or risk being seen a bad friend. I tell people I will not help them, that I am very happily uninterested, and urge them not to do it at all.
It would be irresponsible not to.