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Coinbase S-1

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Re: Coinbase S-1

#421

Post by phreack »

mettamage wrote: post #358
ppierald wrote: post #349

Argentina is a great example. I am an American and have been there many times. They have extreme inflation and regressive policies against USD or foreign currency. Take a look at https://bluedollar.net . Official rates are buy at 89.98 and sell at 94.98 (ARS). Unofficial rates are buy at 138 and sell at 143. That's a massive spread saying that the people on the street are willing to spend 35% more because they know t…

Awesome comment! Can you elaborate on this? If you can't do so in public, then I'd like to have a conversation about this. I'd like to know more about inflation issues and unbanked issues with regards to cryptocurrencies. To me, it always feels like "crypto marketing" (for lack of a better term), but I am also realizing that I'm living in a far removed bubble and find it hard to get out of it. My email is in my profi…

Yeah that's exactly it. If your coin loses value by the second, you end up turning to whatever other asset you can find. If you can't acquire a state-based currency from a more stable country, real estate, or any other stable asset like stocks or index funds, you turn to crypto. There's lots of people with no tech background investing in stablecoins.

Re: Coinbase S-1

#422

Post by [deleted] »

csomar wrote: post #363
jmcqk6 wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> an unstable society or one facing high inflation What are the chances that in an environment where the USD is not usable, there is an available network and electricity that makes bitcoin usable?

Bitcoin can actually be quite resilient to that. Also the USD failing, doesn't necessarily mean a global world war. The US can go the way of the Soviet Union or the British Empire.

[deleted]

Re: Coinbase S-1

#423

Post by mediaguilt »

arnaudsm wrote: post #44

Many have forgotten why we used cryptocurrencies in the first place. The original promise of cryptocurrency was to become independent from banks. In the end CoinBase (like every exchange) is a great product, but just a bank. It's centralized, hackable, has economies of scale, etc.

Many have forgotten why we used the internet in the first place. The original promise of the internet was to become independent from media/science/gov monopolies. In the end FAANG (like most popular websites) is a great product, but just the same as before. It's centralized, hackable, has economies of scale, etc.

Re: Coinbase S-1

#424

Post by silentsea90 »

capeterson wrote: post #386
silentsea90 wrote: post #352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At what point either in years or market cap or price per coin will you start to question your mental model of Bitcoin?

For me personally, my belief in bitcoin is not tied to its monetary value at all. In fact, it's likely inversely related, as the more that it gains value, the more publicity it gets as a money-maker, which draws in more speculators. I'm overall "just fine" with Ethereum though. There's a lot of speculation going on, but it's also a rather productive idea that I hope takes off in the future. I'm a fan of cryptocurrenc…

My question was trying to probe at Op's belief in value of btc being 0 and at what point they'd question it.

If BTC was more stable and you'd like it then, it implies you are likely a late stage investor here. Volatility comes with price discovery. The publicity and speculation come and go but build on each other over time. We're conflating the short term volatility and hype cycles with long term value, and if you only focus on the former it is like missing the forest for the trees (my opinion).

I am not a BTC purist, and think Eth has its place too. If that connects with you better, cool! Who knows if BTC will die and ETH is the future of crypto. ETH is more volatile objectively, but if your belief in ETH makes you hold through the cycles, more power to you.

Re: Coinbase S-1

#425

Post by pvarangot »

nightski wrote: post #255
xadhominemx wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We have forgotten why we used cryptocurrencies in the first place. The original promise of cryptocurrency was to become independent from banks. Who is “we”? Outside of criminal enterprises, no one has ever used Bitcoin for anything other than speculation and the occasional novelty purchase.

Have to be honest, I have a small portion of my portfolio (1-3%) in Bitcoin simply as a hedge against inflation. It's neither speculative nor novelty and has replaced a portion of what would typically be bond holdings. It seems companies and major asset holders are now considering the same.

I started like that, then it jumped, I recovered my cost basis plus expected inflation for years and taxes, and now it's more like 8/10% of my portfolio but I'm not touching it and I'll just see what happens. It was "free money" after all.

It's the second time I'm doing this, the first time I had to spend the money on moving but those were mostly mined coins.

Re: Coinbase S-1

#426

Post by vinay_ys »

thinkmassive wrote: post #328
temp8964 wrote: post #288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you "physically own" Bitcoin? Or what does "physically own" mean exactly? I kind of understand what "physically own" gold means, but not sure it means the same as "physically own" Bitcoin. Getting downvoted on this. I am not complaining about the downvotes, but seriously, please enlighten me...

What users of the Bitcoin network own are private keys. These allow you to control corresponding entries on the Bitcoin ledger by signing transactions and broadcasting them to the Bitcoin network. Signed transactions can even be shared through other channels, to be broadcast at a later time for settlement, like a check. This is how the Lightning Network functions. Keys can be held in many forms, including purely in s…

Also almost all governments have KYC/AML/CFT regulations that apply to crypto exchanges as well. And governments can monitor, control, sanction your bitcoin transactions by controlling these exchanges through regulations. When the local currency becomes unstable and the local government becomes unstable, one should assume access to crypto exchanges like coinbase will be very very hard.

Re: Coinbase S-1

#427

Post by hammock »

cactus2093 wrote: post #176
arnaudsm wrote: post #44

Many have forgotten why we used cryptocurrencies in the first place. The original promise of cryptocurrency was to become independent from banks. In the end CoinBase (like every exchange) is a great product, but just a bank. It's centralized, hackable, has economies of scale, etc.

Don’t speak for everyone there, “we” don’t all have the same reason. I like Bitcoin as a diversification for being a “better version of gold” - it has the scarcity and you can physically own it but it is much easier to store and send anywhere in the world if needed. These properties also mean that in a pinch, if you live in an unstable society or one facing high inflation it can work as an alternative financial syste…

> “we” don’t all have the same reason. I like Bitcoin as a diversification for being a “better version of gold” - it has the scarcity and you can physically own it but it is much easier to store and send anywhere in the world if needed.

Most people are using bitcoin for this reason today (store of value).

What OP was talking about was the original purpose, which seems to have been mostly lost.

Re: Coinbase S-1

#428

Post by silentsea90 »

goat_whisperer wrote: post #365
silentsea90 wrote: post #352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At what point either in years or market cap or price per coin will you start to question your mental model of Bitcoin?

Ironically, as the market cap and price per coin increase, I grow more and more skeptical of bitcoin!

Why so?

Re: Coinbase S-1

#429

Post by wtvanhest »

arnaudsm wrote: post #44

Many have forgotten why we used cryptocurrencies in the first place. The original promise of cryptocurrency was to become independent from banks. In the end CoinBase (like every exchange) is a great product, but just a bank. It's centralized, hackable, has economies of scale, etc.

First, congrats to everyone at Coinbase. What a great step in their journey.

I’m going to hijack the negativity here and ask if anyone has any advice on writing a first smart contract.

I feel like I cannot fully understand ETH or BTC lightning until I write one for fun. Does anyone have any advice on how to get started?

Re: Coinbase S-1

#430

Post by uncletammy »

cactus2093 wrote: post #176
arnaudsm wrote: post #44

Many have forgotten why we used cryptocurrencies in the first place. The original promise of cryptocurrency was to become independent from banks. In the end CoinBase (like every exchange) is a great product, but just a bank. It's centralized, hackable, has economies of scale, etc.

Don’t speak for everyone there, “we” don’t all have the same reason. I like Bitcoin as a diversification for being a “better version of gold” - it has the scarcity and you can physically own it but it is much easier to store and send anywhere in the world if needed. These properties also mean that in a pinch, if you live in an unstable society or one facing high inflation it can work as an alternative financial syste…

> These properties also mean that in a pinch, if you live in an unstable society or one facing high inflation it can work as an alternative financial system.

At the time of writing this comment, if you want your BTC transaction confirmed in the next hour it would cost you ~ 10USD ( https://bitcoiner.live/ ) .

What planet do you live on where you think a non-negligible percentage of people in ANY country, let alone a developing one, can afford 10 dollars for each transaction they make? That's not even considering the price effect that global demand would have on fees. Bitcoin can't even meet the demand of the relatively small cult of people worldwide that buy it, few of which even move their "assets" off the exchange.

Parasitic investors have strangled cryptocurrency. If you think Bitcoin can currently serve any purpose other than making rich people more rich, you're a fool. Wake me when Tether is dead and people start using crypto as it was intended, peer to peer digital cash.

EDIT: I apologize for coming off so harsh. My anger is (mostly) not at you. I'm angry at seeing the enormous potential bitcoin had to do good in the world go completely to waste.

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