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Signal adds a payments feature with a privacy-focused cryptocurrency

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Re: Signal adds a payments feature with a privacy-focused cryptocurrency

#421

Post by 3np »

josh2600 wrote: post #210
mbesto wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why does a decentralized communication system need a defi based payment system that has the requirement of a CEO to run it?

I don't run anything related to the protocol. The protocol governed by the MobileCoin Foundation, an independent board of directors. The foundation makes recommendations about how the network might behave, but ultimately it's up to the node operators to decide what code they run.

If that is true, what is it that makes it inaccessible to US individuals? My understanding is that a “real” decentralized cryptocurrency not misrepresented by the issuers will not fall under regulation like that.

Re: Signal adds a payments feature with a privacy-focused cryptocurrency

#422

Post by chrisco255 »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #375
chrisco255 wrote: post #294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Companies can't simply dilute away their shareholders like you're suggesting. The money raised by selling shares doesn't simply disappear. Yes, they can and yes they do, all the time. That's not only precisely how VC funding works in the early stages of a startup raising seed money and subsequently doing Series A, B, etc. that's also how public financing works via new share offerings on a public marketplace like NY…

> That's not only precisely how VC funding works in the early stages of a startup raising seed money and subsequently doing Series A, B, etc. The concept of "pre-money" and "post-money" valuations exist for precisely this reason. You can read more here: https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/difference-between-... If a company raises $1mm on a $9mm pre-money valuation, the company is now worth $10mm ($9mm valuation…

> If a company raises $1mm on a $9mm pre-money valuation, the company is now worth $10mm ($9mm valuation + $1mm raised) and the extra shares correspond to the $1mm raised.

No, the company is worth it's last share price x number of shares outstanding. A company is worth what the market will pay for it, not for what some bean counter guesses is the value.

Yes, they didn't "steal" value, they traded cash for present and future potential value.

That cash doesn't just get parked in a bank account (it gets spent) and the company valuation isn't static, it changes based on market perception all the time.

You are thinking in snapshot accounting terms and not in real market valuation terms. Dilution typically causes price per share to fall unless growth is outpacing the dilution significantly.

Re: Signal adds a payments feature with a privacy-focused cryptocurrency

#423

Post by freeAgent »

qqii wrote: post #313
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Almost a 10X return in a couple of weeks. Having inside information on this announcement was highly profitable.

Moxie and Signal's intention to use MobileCoin are well documented, the only question was when.

And yet, someone did guess “when.”

Re: Signal adds a payments feature with a privacy-focused cryptocurrency

#424

Post by reader_mode »

crtasm wrote: post #393
reader_mode wrote: post #337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> a friendly, easy to use chat app with stickers & voice messages (also strong encryption). Except it's not, strong encryption and privacy emphasis goes against easy to use. I recently got my family to switch to Telegram (because I like the interface) - my sister works in an environment where she has to have a separate work phone without a camera and everything synced up out of the box, history, etc. Brother lost his…

I don't disagree that Telegram storing everything on their servers is very convenient, but: > you don't even sync between active devices I use Signal on a phone and a laptop, switching between the two frequently throughout the day and see the same conversations on both. (Edit: I realised you probably meant multiple phones, yes I see that's not yet supported.) >and you can forget about having old conversations on a ne…

> I use Signal on a phone and a laptop, switching between the two frequently throughout the day and see the same conversations on both.

I've had multiple issues with this before I gave up on Signal, it wouldn't show history when I initially paired up even when importing forever, then randomly stopped being connected and required me to pair again (losing everything on PC again)

> There's been a manual, secure transfer process between Android devices for years

Doesn't help much when you lose your phone.

I guess what I'm trying to say for most people the value of having your chat messages hosted in the cloud > security.

Re: Signal adds a payments feature with a privacy-focused cryptocurrency

#425

Post by 3np »

troquerre wrote: post #193
airza wrote: post #13

The technology is cool, but I don't really know if I want KYC regulatory risk in my encrypted messaging client. I just want italics.

You don't need to KYC as it's just a mobile wallet — same with all the other crypto wallets out there. I'd be surprised if Signal integrated features in the future that require KYC.

You already need KYC in form of a phone number that can receive SMS. In many countries, that is not possible without government ID and being a resident.

In my country it’s actually easier to legally open a verified trading account on a local cryptocurrency exchange than it is to get a voice/SMS SIM if you’re not a registered local resident.

Re: Signal adds a payments feature with a privacy-focused cryptocurrency

#426

Post by nullc »

nullc wrote: post #378
hn8788 wrote: post #315

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But not the fact that it's going to be directly integrated into Signal. The CEO of MobileCoin is in here saying that he started it as a way to fund Signal, which from what I can tell, wasn't public knowledge until today. So he gets to monopolize a currency that was mostly worthless, knowing that it would be directly integrated into a popular application, greatly increasing its value. If that's not a scam, I don't kno…

They also strongly de-emphasized any connection, saying he was only an advisor. Now it's paid CTO and that funding signal with it was the plan all along... Super dishonest and untrustworthy.

(... and also kept the server closed source for a year to conceal the integration, it appears)

Re: Signal adds a payments feature with a privacy-focused cryptocurrency

#427

Post by 3np »

rvz wrote: post #97

So when Keybase added Stellar support for payments, this was met with lots of hostility and disappointment, such as 'cryptocoin bullshit' [0] or 'Yeah, I am not going to use any product associated with anything cryptocurrency. Just smells bad. [1] Now the same thing has happened on Signal; HN's favourite messaging app. So why is this met with warm welcoming arms especially when they are also going into cryptocurrenci…

At least Keybase chose a coin that has existing brand-recognition and somewhat reasonable decentralization (in terms of existing holders and nodes) and liquidity.

MobileCoin smells so much more like a ruse than Stellar.

Re: Signal adds a payments feature with a privacy-focused cryptocurrency

#428

Post by EMM_386 »

qshaman wrote: post #295
ivoras wrote: post #68

Well, if any cryptocurrency is to gain really wide adoption, this is the way to go: integrate it into something a large number of people already use. And judging by what WeChat does, a chat client is an excellent choice - after all, money sending is a way of communicating something (an abstract form of "value" in this case). I only wish it were done differently - maybe we'll get answers to these questions: - Why not…

I feel like I can answer the second question, the reason why they are using the unknown coin is because thats how they make money, they get into a shitcoin ( https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/mobilecoin/ ) that they already have mined a good amount, using Signal popularity, then pump it to the moon(like they say) and sell their positions.

> they get into a shitcoin

It's not like MobileCoin was created by the same person who created Signal.

Nevermind .. that's exactly what it's like.

The rabbit hole is deep on this one.

Re: Signal adds a payments feature with a privacy-focused cryptocurrency

#429

Post by mplewis »

josh2600 wrote: post #2

Hi! I'm the CEO of MobileCoin. If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask here. We've been working on this project for four years and it has been a labor of love. There's a lot of new technology here. We exist in a highly regulated space so it's possible some questions will require reaching out to lawyers to make sure we answer them in a way that's compliant so please don't feel offended if a response takes…

What is the total supply of MobileCoin, and what percentage of MobileCoin is owned by folks inside (or related to) the company?

Re: Signal adds a payments feature with a privacy-focused cryptocurrency

#430

Post by jameshilliard »

reader_mode wrote: post #337
sequoia wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Early in Signal's development they would add privacy features. Lately they have been adding social features. This is intentional and relates to Signal's growth in the past few years. It's not "a hacker tool for nerds" it's "a friendly, easy to use chat app with stickers & voice messages (also strong encryption)." IRC does one thing and does it well, and barely anyone uses it. The "clean technical vision" story isn'…

> a friendly, easy to use chat app with stickers & voice messages (also strong encryption). Except it's not, strong encryption and privacy emphasis goes against easy to use. I recently got my family to switch to Telegram (because I like the interface) - my sister works in an environment where she has to have a separate work phone without a camera and everything synced up out of the box, history, etc. Brother lost his…

Yeah, the history sync issue is a huge problem, signal doesn't even support Android BackupAgent based client side encrypted backups or device to device transfers at all which should not be difficult to add, see: https://community.signalusers.org/t/support-native-android-b...

Signal should in theory also be able to just sync/backup everything to the desktop client, this would largely solve the inability to transfer between Android and iOS issue.

I don't understand why such basic quality of life improvements have yet to be implemented, especially since they are especially desirable for less technical users.

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