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CEO of a top Bitcoin exchange warns: crackdown on cryptocurrencies may be coming

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Re: CEO of a top Bitcoin exchange warns: crackdown on cryptocurrencies may be coming

#411

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> if one day we see blockchain to store files and blockchain to run cloud services As a user of both types of services, I don't see what bringing them to the blockchain would do for me.

Like, uncensored AWS? You are free to run your own Parler without getting booted from AWS?

Umm, how does block chain solve that? Someone, somewhere still has to physically host the server, and that someone is likely in a jurisdiction covered by some sort of government. Maybe I have an inadequate imagination, but I fail to see how blockchain would solve the problem of someone upset with the content physically unplugging the servers.

Sure, I could see a hosting company that had customers machines encrypted in a way where they were unable to determine what customer is tied to an asset or even who their customers are. However, if this hosting company had customers serving CP (as would surely happen with such a service) then if they were at all related to anywhere the US gov could possibly exert influence I would be willing to bet that the hosting company itself would be shut down at the least. Someone, somewhere physically needs to operate the servers, and some ISP/telco needs to provide interconnect. AWS isn't magical, they've just provided a much better UI over co-location, which has existed approximately forever in internet time.

Think of it this way-it is very strongly recommended that you don't run a TOR exit node from your home connection. Any amount of blockchain/crypto obfuscation doesn't do anything for the end operator of a service hosting objectionable content. And while I disagree with political censorship, I also don't doubt that a fully uncensored hosting service would end up >95% malware, exploitative porn, and the like.

Re: CEO of a top Bitcoin exchange warns: crackdown on cryptocurrencies may be coming

#412
post #216

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Cryptocurrency/web3 is at its core just technology. Fundamentally, the technology is still not that far advanced from the early Bitcoin days, but the little that is currently implemented successfully allows for ponzis and gambling. Cryptocurrencies currently trade for over $2 trillion, most of that value may indeed be a net negative for society, but that doesn't say anything about the core technology in itself. If cr…

> Decentralized networks have the potential to resolve many of the issues we techies love to complain about. I continue to hear this yet I never get a _single_ convincing example from DeFi advocates.

Seems like the Theta token is the example that you seems to look for. Cancel culture is a recurring subject recently on HN, between Twitch which that will shutdown channels that infringed outsides of their platform and Youtube which demonetize so many kind of content... This solve both.

Re: CEO of a top Bitcoin exchange warns: crackdown on cryptocurrencies may be coming

#413

HN is boomer central when it comes to crypto. Haven't had a single enlightening discussion about it here. I see a lot of misconceptions about scams and pump and dump schemes carried over from the 2017 run, and complete neglect of the innovations created since. If anyone wants a refresher, I'm always willing to chat. I will also write a primer to help get folks up to speed on what's the latest in crypto.

How can I be notified when you post your primer? Keen to read it.

Re: CEO of a top Bitcoin exchange warns: crackdown on cryptocurrencies may be coming

#414

> U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other officials have warned about the use of cryptocurrencies for illicit transactions. Wait until you hear about cash. More seriously (and hopefully less reductionist) i feel nations who embrace cryptocurrencies early will see mixed results as the landscape matures. I am more confident that nations which turn their back on it, or shut it out completely, will see a loss of o…

Crypto maximalists - and I know a LOT of them - are drawn to crypto because of ideology, not just the money. The idea that a person should own his/her own assets, be able to share and use them whenever they want, and be free from government censorship and foolhardy economic stewardship is incredibly powerful. When governments talk about banning crypto, what scares them isn't crypto; it's this ideology. And this ideol…

Governments that are democratically elected aren't scared of anything but losing their job if they don't get re-elected. When a government starts to defend it's own existence against people's will, it becomes fascism. And by the way, this ideology you are talking about is called liberalism. The idea that money could and should be provided by open market rather than a central government is not some crazy idea. It's just wasn't possible before bitcoin.

Re: CEO of a top Bitcoin exchange warns: crackdown on cryptocurrencies may be coming

#415

> U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other officials have warned about the use of cryptocurrencies for illicit transactions. Wait until you hear about cash. More seriously (and hopefully less reductionist) i feel nations who embrace cryptocurrencies early will see mixed results as the landscape matures. I am more confident that nations which turn their back on it, or shut it out completely, will see a loss of o…

> Whatever your stance on cryptocurrencies are, what is of little dispute is the business opportunities they have created. Binance and Coinbase are large, successful companies. Poloniex was sold for ~400M.

I would absolutely dispute this. Personally I think the vast majority of this is just rampant speculation, and bubbles are not business opportunities.

Well, unless if you're selling the equivalent of shovels.

Re: CEO of a top Bitcoin exchange warns: crackdown on cryptocurrencies may be coming

#416

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Take crypto out of the equation, what are the implications of the fed issuing a programmable currency? Many financial services would become obsolete. What do I need a stock broker for? What do I need a bank for? You have Wall St and other sophisticated investors profiteering and competing against the general public, devaluing our purchasing power, making leveraged trades because they know the public will hold the bag…

The majority of economic activity is not "programmable"--if I order a ship load of steel from some country, how is that contract going to be enforceable/verifiable with cryptoeconomic techniques?

Any discussion of programmable currencies is always going to run straight into the oracle problem. It is extremely hard to join on-chain to off-chain things without dragging in a party that is implicitly or explicitly trusted. And the moment you do that, the purpose of cryptocurrencies goes away, as a single database run by the trusted authority is several orders of magnitude more efficient and convenient.

Re: CEO of a top Bitcoin exchange warns: crackdown on cryptocurrencies may be coming

#417
post #288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Generally speaking we don't need to wait as long as the previous iteration existed to prove the new generation is successful. For instance, I think it's fair to say e-mail is a success, even though the first postal system was established under Cryus the Great in 550 BCE in Persia. The first e-mail was sent in 1971. Are you saying we won't be able to declare victory on e-mail until the year 4492?

You are right! So I should invest in emails right? I'm sure emails will get more valuable as time goes on.

A useful currency is not one which increases in value.

Re: CEO of a top Bitcoin exchange warns: crackdown on cryptocurrencies may be coming

#418
post #325

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Take crypto out of the equation, what are the implications of the fed issuing a programmable currency? Many financial services would become obsolete. What do I need a stock broker for? What do I need a bank for? You have Wall St and other sophisticated investors profiteering and competing against the general public, devaluing our purchasing power, making leveraged trades because they know the public will hold the bag…

> It's a system that exists to favor the few and it's time to disrupt the orgy. I've got news for you: BTC: 2% of the anonymous ownership accounts that can be tracked on the cryptocurrency's blockchain control 95%[0] ETH: Just 376 People Found to Own a Third of All Ether Cryptocurrency[1] [0] - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-18/bitcoin-w... [1] - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-15/jus…

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Re: CEO of a top Bitcoin exchange warns: crackdown on cryptocurrencies may be coming

#419

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Take crypto out of the equation, what are the implications of the fed issuing a programmable currency? Many financial services would become obsolete. What do I need a stock broker for? What do I need a bank for? You have Wall St and other sophisticated investors profiteering and competing against the general public, devaluing our purchasing power, making leveraged trades because they know the public will hold the bag…

If the fed did a cryptocurrency, it would be backed by the full might of the US Government — and all the things that the government can do if it decides to print more money. This also includes military and police powers. Which brings me to the other point: currencies are governed at both ends; at issuance and at use. If you use a crypto that’s not approved, the government can simply arrest you for using one of its co…

Exactly, money is a reflection of power.

Re: CEO of a top Bitcoin exchange warns: crackdown on cryptocurrencies may be coming

#420
post #404

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Decentralized networks have the potential to resolve many of the issues we techies love to complain about. I continue to hear this yet I never get a _single_ convincing example from DeFi advocates.

Community-governed vs. advertiser-dictated networks. Free markets. It's a wide topic, I'm surprised you can't find a single usecase you would use or think makes sense. If it can help you imagine some, take the decentralized primitives: a money/value transfer network, a reputation network, a content delivery network. Starting from those, many currently gimped online services could be replicated in a way that incentivi…

> Core to crypto is a belief that P2P networks are superior to centrally managed ones.

This. And maybe also that "automatic" processing (enabled by maths) is more efficient and solid than human beings, especially when it relates to trust.

Any "anti-cryptocurrencies" stance has IMHO to state why cryptocurrencies affect him/her author, or anybody else. Stating that it is useless is just an opinion. Many things are judged "useless" by many, let's for example take "billiard": there is AFAIK no solid and widely accepted "anti-billiard" stance. If there is no harm, there is no reason to ban.

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