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Stripe Launches L1 Blockchain: Tempo

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Re: Stripe Launches L1 Blockchain: Tempo

#401

Post by idontwantthis »

SR2Z wrote: post #368
dperfect wrote: post #348

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It sounds great, but every time I see this argument, I end up going down the rabbit hole of actually studying how stablecoins operate. And every time, I come to the same conclusion: they always rely on trust in an off-chain oracle or custodian. At that point, a shared ledger implemented with traditional databases / protocols would be faster, easier, and more transparent. Bitcoin (and possibly a few others) is one of…

> At that point, a shared ledger implemented with traditional databases / protocols would be faster, easier, and more transparent. Except they are frequently _not_. I dislike crypto on principle, but you can't look at the exorbitant transfer fees and latency that a lot of banks charge for common transactions (Visa/MasterCard are especially bad) and say that crypto has no potential. Yes, it would be easier if we could…

> Yes, it would be easier if we could just trust our banks to offer instant settlement and very low fees, but they don't.

I think everywhere but America has already figured this out.

Instant bank payments are pretty standard everywhere else, even third world countries.

Re: Stripe Launches L1 Blockchain: Tempo

#402

Post by logicchains »

ViewTrick1002 wrote: post #357
pc wrote: post #46

There are lots of crypto skeptics on HN (and we ourselves were disappointed with crypto's payments utility for much of the past decade), so it might be interesting to share what changed our mind over the past couple of years: we started to notice a lot of real-world businesses finding utility in stablecoins. For example, Bridge (a stablecoin orchestration platform that Stripe acquired) is used by SpaceX for managing…

> We're currently adding stablecoin functionality to the Stripe dashboard, and the first user is an Argentinian bike importer that finds transacting with their suppliers to be challenging. Using crypto to dodge currency controls? Of course I agree that currency controls are bad. But, if the use case for crypto keeps being fostering illegal transactions then it doesn’t solve anything a functioning economy needs.

>But, if the use case for crypto keeps being fostering illegal transactions then it doesn’t solve anything a functioning economy needs.

In many countries what the economy needs to function well includes things that are illegal.

Re: Stripe Launches L1 Blockchain: Tempo

#403

Post by raincole »

dperfect wrote: post #348
pc wrote: post #46

There are lots of crypto skeptics on HN (and we ourselves were disappointed with crypto's payments utility for much of the past decade), so it might be interesting to share what changed our mind over the past couple of years: we started to notice a lot of real-world businesses finding utility in stablecoins. For example, Bridge (a stablecoin orchestration platform that Stripe acquired) is used by SpaceX for managing…

It sounds great, but every time I see this argument, I end up going down the rabbit hole of actually studying how stablecoins operate. And every time, I come to the same conclusion: they always rely on trust in an off-chain oracle or custodian. At that point, a shared ledger implemented with traditional databases / protocols would be faster, easier, and more transparent. Bitcoin (and possibly a few others) is one of…

> a shared ledger implemented with traditional databases / protocols would be faster, easier, and more transparent.

Stablecoin is not a technology. It's an excuse. An excuse to do what banks do while not being regulated like a bank or using the infrastructure banks use. Similar to how Airbnb is not a technology but an excuse to do what hotels do without hotel's license.

So it makes no sense to compare it to database, a technology.

Will this excuse work? Banking is a heavily regulated field so it's less likely than Airbnb, but it's ultimately up to lawmakers.

Re: Stripe Launches L1 Blockchain: Tempo

#405

Post by slashdave »

dperfect wrote: post #348
pc wrote: post #46

There are lots of crypto skeptics on HN (and we ourselves were disappointed with crypto's payments utility for much of the past decade), so it might be interesting to share what changed our mind over the past couple of years: we started to notice a lot of real-world businesses finding utility in stablecoins. For example, Bridge (a stablecoin orchestration platform that Stripe acquired) is used by SpaceX for managing…

It sounds great, but every time I see this argument, I end up going down the rabbit hole of actually studying how stablecoins operate. And every time, I come to the same conclusion: they always rely on trust in an off-chain oracle or custodian. At that point, a shared ledger implemented with traditional databases / protocols would be faster, easier, and more transparent. Bitcoin (and possibly a few others) is one of…

The irony is that valid international transactions must be enforced with centralized rules, and thus a decentralized ledger like BitCoin can never operate in this space.

Contradictory requirements.

Re: Stripe Launches L1 Blockchain: Tempo

#406

Post by idontwantthis »

logicchains wrote: post #393
anthem2025 wrote: post #380

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bitcoin makes a lot of sense if you’re a libertarian weirdo who thinks fiat currency is the worst thing ever. It makes no sense in the real world.

The "real world" includes countries with double or even triple digit inflation, and if you live in such a country bitcoin absolutely makes sense.

Until a single tweet from Musk or Trump causes it to lose half its value.

Re: Stripe Launches L1 Blockchain: Tempo

#407

Post by logicchains »

rebolek wrote: post #379
_zoltan_ wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

screw regulation when a bank transfer isn't instant and the bank can do all kinds of checks and hold your money hostage for days or weeks.

In EU, regulations are heavy and the result is I can send money instantly for free. That’s actually what the regulations are for. To protect free trade from bad actors.

Try sending money to a supplier in Iran or Russia and tell me how helpful those EU regulations are.

Re: Stripe Launches L1 Blockchain: Tempo

#408

Post by algo_lover »

wredcoll wrote: post #373
SR2Z wrote: post #368

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> At that point, a shared ledger implemented with traditional databases / protocols would be faster, easier, and more transparent. Except they are frequently _not_. I dislike crypto on principle, but you can't look at the exorbitant transfer fees and latency that a lot of banks charge for common transactions (Visa/MasterCard are especially bad) and say that crypto has no potential. Yes, it would be easier if we could…

> Why not have a central bank currency that can be traded on the blockchain, especially since converting it to real money will still entail KYC? Because literally the only point is to avoid the existing banking system and you can do that with a postures database with much less cpu involved.

But with multiple parties involved, who has the rights to read and write to the postgres instance? How do we make sure transactions were not forged? How do we know data at rest is not being tampered with?

Blockchain solves that. Newer blockchain protocols especially an L1 is much faster, easier on the environment, and provides all the immutability, transparency, and traceability benefits.

Re: Stripe Launches L1 Blockchain: Tempo

#410

Post by ViewTrick1002 »

logicchains wrote: post #402
ViewTrick1002 wrote: post #357

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We're currently adding stablecoin functionality to the Stripe dashboard, and the first user is an Argentinian bike importer that finds transacting with their suppliers to be challenging. Using crypto to dodge currency controls? Of course I agree that currency controls are bad. But, if the use case for crypto keeps being fostering illegal transactions then it doesn’t solve anything a functioning economy needs.

>But, if the use case for crypto keeps being fostering illegal transactions then it doesn’t solve anything a functioning economy needs. In many countries what the economy needs to function well includes things that are illegal.

Which means it will only ever be a tiny niche market since the amounts are irrelevant when the service is needed.

Then as the country’s economy develops the need for these illegal services disappear, or quickly gets you in trouble.

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