Yet another rant about a free for use, centralized app/protocol with no business model.
Expecting it to achieve world domination for journalists and grandmas alike is just misplaced expectations.
Et Tu, Signal?
41–50 of 459 posts
Re: Et Tu, Signal?
#42> of which the issuing organization controls 85% of the supply. [citation needed] > This token then floats on a shady offshore cryptocurrency exchange hiding in the Cayman Islands or the Bahamas, where users can buy and exchange the token. The token is wash traded back and forth by insiders [citation needed] > insiders are free to silently use information asymmetry to cash out on the influx of pumped hype-driven buys…
> of which the issuing organization controls 85% of the supply.
> [citation needed]
This is based on the original whitepaper which says they pre-sold 15% of the tokens (to investors) and still own the rest. They claim to have not followed that whitepaper but the new one only says they start with 100% ownership and will not answer questions of how much they still own. So all we can go on is their original plan which was to hold onto 85% of the supply as long as possible.
Re: Et Tu, Signal?
#43And drawing on my one semester of Latin from Wheelock just for fun here: Quid facis, Signal? Quid cogitas?
Aha; I'm working through it right now. This quote is from Cicero's speech to the senate condemning Catiline for trying to overthrow the Roman republic for the second time
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catiline#Second_Catilinarian_c...)
"Quid facis, Catilīna? Quid cōgitās? Sentīmus magna vitia īnsidiāsque tuās. Ō tempora! Ō mōrēs! Senātus haec intellegit, cōnsul videt. Hic tamen vīvit."
"What are you doing, Catiline? What are you thinking? We know your great treachery and plans. Shame on the age and on its principles! The senate is aware of these things, the consul sees them, and yet this man lives."
(I like the gentle reprimand of the 'and yet this man lives' line)
Re: Et Tu, Signal?
#44I'm baffled how tech-savvy people like the author are surprised when a seemingly free product suddenly introduce ways to monetize its service. There is no free lunch or to put it in another way, if you're not paying for the product, you are the product.
Yes. This is the sad truth.
Cryptocurrency is about network effects; more users, more value^2.
Today it is really the way to monetize a large collection of users, whereas it in the past perhaps was advertisement.
Perhaps it should be illegal in the same way a chain letter or pyramid scheme is illegal. However right now it is not.
Re: Et Tu, Signal?
#45> of which the issuing organization controls 85% of the supply. [citation needed] > This token then floats on a shady offshore cryptocurrency exchange hiding in the Cayman Islands or the Bahamas, where users can buy and exchange the token. The token is wash traded back and forth by insiders [citation needed] > insiders are free to silently use information asymmetry to cash out on the influx of pumped hype-driven buys…
I agree that if it's true it's incredibly damning and probably warrants some hard evidence.
That being said it's still a strange move by Signal, given that it's still a rather niche messenger that's now integrating with an even more niche payment system. The only ones that really stand to benefit from this are people holding this cryptocurrency.
It's just a super strange move by Signal, regardless of your stance on cryptocurrencies. Did anybody really think "you know what's missing from Signal compared to the competition? First party cryptocurrency payment support".
Re: Et Tu, Signal?
#46Shit. Just as I convinced all my family and friends to move out from whatsapp and I uninstalled the stupid green app. What do we get to do now?
If you are looking for e2e encryption, it all depends on which features you need (like voice messages) and how good usability and UX needs to be for your family and friends to adopt the new tool. Some candidates are * GNU Jami: https://jami.net/ * Matrix with Element: https://element.io/
second the recommendation for Element. At least you can rehost it on your own.
Re: Et Tu, Signal?
#47> of which the issuing organization controls 85% of the supply. [citation needed] > This token then floats on a shady offshore cryptocurrency exchange hiding in the Cayman Islands or the Bahamas, where users can buy and exchange the token. The token is wash traded back and forth by insiders [citation needed] > insiders are free to silently use information asymmetry to cash out on the influx of pumped hype-driven buys…
>> of which the issuing organization controls 85% of the supply.
There's this interesting comment chain from yesterday's thread (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26717253), where a commenter says the source is the coin's whitepaper, which states there will be 250 million tokens and they pre-sold 37.5 million. However, the creator (josh2600) says the whitepaper is out of date, but stops short of saying the 250/37.5 million token figure is incorrect.
Re: Et Tu, Signal?
#48> of which the issuing organization controls 85% of the supply. [citation needed] > This token then floats on a shady offshore cryptocurrency exchange hiding in the Cayman Islands or the Bahamas, where users can buy and exchange the token. The token is wash traded back and forth by insiders [citation needed] > insiders are free to silently use information asymmetry to cash out on the influx of pumped hype-driven buys…
I don't think FTX is a big investor in MobileCoin or located in the Cayman Islands or the Bahamas.
Re: Et Tu, Signal?
#49Yeah ... well the update that includes MOB will be the uninstall event trigger for me.
I remember skimming that article from 2018 before I'd switched myself and all my friends (the shame!) to Signal and counted it as a negative for that platforms reputation. I guess my honeymoon is over. On to the next chat platform!
Re: Et Tu, Signal?
#50The piece doesn't note the additional fun fact that the website to buy the tokens is blocked in the US presumably to avoid an SEC investigation. edit: Blocked at the cloudflare level without even an explanation of why if you go there.
They have to. If they allow even the possibility of a monetary transaction to a United States citizen, they fall under SEC, FINRA, and FINCen, which among other things, requires compliance with AML/a KYC process.
This kills the Signal value proposition.
You can move money electronically legally, or you can be anonymous in the U.S. It us incredibly difficult if not nigh impossible to do both.
It's part of the U.S. soft power projection scheme. If you want access to American markets/easy movement of financial assets, you leave audit trail.