What blockchains solve is the whole pesky problem of following the law and paying taxes, and being a normal member of society. No wonder that much of the early crypto literature was all about anarchy. To this day, the only useful thing that crypto has enabled (on a very small scale) international asset transfer that bypasses mainstream financial systems. As Diehl[1] wrote, decentralized trustless systems are only useful to criminals -- every other social system on the planet has "trust" embedded in it, because that is more efficient, socially constructive, and powerful. Oh, and crypto isn't actually decentralized or trustless either, as you still need to trust the developers that wrote the code, and the people that run your exchanges, because otherwise you will get robbed by them, as it happens on a regular basis in the crypto world.
What Problem Blockchains Solve
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Re: What Problem Blockchains Solve
#52They also allow for micro transactions in a way we’ve not been able to do so far. You can use the original Bitcoin protocol to stream (and pay) for each packet of data. We can now make a pay-to-use netflix, something we haven’t done yet. https://xiaohuiliu.medium.com/netflix-over-bitcoin-payment-c...
Microtransactions have been something we could take advantage of since the dawn of custodial wallets - at least since PayPal came into existence in 1998. However, microtransactions aren't something humans actually like. It's something technocrats think people want, but when they get it, well - let's just say there's piles of carcasses of dead startups littering the field.
As Nick Szabo will attest, each transaction you make consciously carries with it a mental cost. It sucks. People would much rather a Netflix model to a pay-as-you-go model even if it ends up costing them more money in the long run. [1]
> We can now make a pay-to-use netflix, something we haven’t done yet.
[edit] I hate to break this to you, but you just described the Apple Music, TV and Movie stores, the first of which (music) has existed since the dawn of the iPod in 2001. Also the Amazon equivalents. And a pile of others.
[1] https://nakamotoinstitute.org/static/docs/micropayments-and-...
Re: What Problem Blockchains Solve
#53There is not one actual practical problem blockchains solve. It's a get rich quick / pyramid scheme built on top of a theoretical concept that appeals to nerds but doesn't work in the world we live in. The same issues persist, they're just packaged/framed differently - and, due to lack of regulation and norms to mitigate them in the real world, can still be exploited. People were complaining that Google eats up so ma…
Private, self sovereign money for the internet. I think that’s a use case.
Re: What Problem Blockchains Solve
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
Right, that's called regulatory arbitrage. It's not a [edit](unique) use case, it's basically crime, give or take. You're just skipping the AML and KYC checks that you'd ordinarily be required to take. Believe it or not sending money takes a few milliseconds in a classical system, except for, you know, regulatory and compliance checks that coiners pretend aren't actually needed. The use cases are: regulatory arbitrag…
I always tell people of how my mother was smuggling Soviet rubles stitched into her coat when she flew to NYC to immigrate to America and in the real world people are aghast at the unjust laws of the USSR while on the internet everyone is like "but the law". Fuck the law. Law != Justice. Use some critical thinking skills for once. You earned your wealth. It's not the government's.
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Re: What Problem Blockchains Solve
#55The comments here show, again, that this is maybe the most charged topic in hackernews. Why is this topic so charged? Is it because the environmental damage (but then PoS should change it)? or because there's money involved (but then ENS+IPFS are poor, so should be good)? Or is it just because it's complex and takes a lot of effort to understand?
It's because of the non-stop barrage of bullshit projects that don't solve actual problems besides "I wish I bought Bitcoin at $100 so here's my attempt to recreate that magic".
TFA makes a solid argument about the limited problem space where blockchain tech is useful.
> Or is it just because it's complex and takes a lot of effort to understand?
Look, I see that you're deep into the ecosystem and you're excited about it. The core ideas of blockchain are not that complex. It's the human factors surrounding all of it that make it so fucking tiresome thread after thread.
Re: What Problem Blockchains Solve
#56The comments here show, again, that this is maybe the most charged topic in hackernews. Why is this topic so charged? Is it because the environmental damage (but then PoS should change it)? or because there's money involved (but then ENS+IPFS are poor, so should be good)? Or is it just because it's complex and takes a lot of effort to understand?
Could be envy of people who saw other people get rich.
Precisely, it upsets the pseudo-intellectuals.
Re: What Problem Blockchains Solve
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's amazing that I can transfer wealth across borders with zero bank involvement using this technology and I still have to see people like you claim the sky isn't blue. Like that's nice and all but you sound like sour grapes.
Right, that's called regulatory arbitrage. It's not a [edit](unique) use case, it's basically crime, give or take. You're just skipping the AML and KYC checks that you'd ordinarily be required to take. Believe it or not sending money takes a few milliseconds in a classical system, except for, you know, regulatory and compliance checks that coiners pretend aren't actually needed. The use cases are: regulatory arbitrag…
TIL private transactions and paying with cash should be illegal according to articbull of HN.
Re: What Problem Blockchains Solve
#58The comments here show, again, that this is maybe the most charged topic in hackernews. Why is this topic so charged? Is it because the environmental damage (but then PoS should change it)? or because there's money involved (but then ENS+IPFS are poor, so should be good)? Or is it just because it's complex and takes a lot of effort to understand?
I would like to read a more thorough and thoughtful analysis of this perspective.
Am I indeed inside the bubble of a giant pyramid scheme? If so, what does that say about me and my judgement?
On the flip side, what if all this blockchain/Bitcoin/web3 stuff is the next big thing? Does it mean HN has passed its prime and innovative people at the cutting edge move elsewhere? I wonder what someone like Brian Armstrong from Coinbase would say, being in both worlds.
The OP article itself is banal, it reads like a high school book report. How is this at the top of the ranks?
From "Hacker News: Welcome" [0]: "HN is an experiment. As a rule, a community site that becomes popular will decline in quality. Our hypothesis is that this is not inevitable—that by making a conscious effort to resist decline, we can keep it from happening."
Re: What Problem Blockchains Solve
#59What blockchains solve is the whole pesky problem of following the law and paying taxes, and being a normal member of society. No wonder that much of the early crypto literature was all about anarchy. To this day, the only useful thing that crypto has enabled (on a very small scale) international asset transfer that bypasses mainstream financial systems. As Diehl[1] wrote, decentralized trustless systems are only use…
The problem with statist thinking like this is that it never ever takes into account what happens when the state fails.
This is a typical way of looking at the world from people who were lucky enough to grow up in a society that sort of works, unfortunately not the norm for a large fraction of the human race.
I suspect that - had you lived under German occupation in 39-45 - you would have a very different take on things.
Re: What Problem Blockchains Solve
#60There is not one actual practical problem blockchains solve. It's a get rich quick / pyramid scheme built on top of a theoretical concept that appeals to nerds but doesn't work in the world we live in. The same issues persist, they're just packaged/framed differently - and, due to lack of regulation and norms to mitigate them in the real world, can still be exploited. People were complaining that Google eats up so ma…
Private, self sovereign money for the internet. I think that’s a use case.
Is it really private when all transactions are recorded forever and publicly visible, and one needs to pass through an on/off-ramp which follows KYC regulations anyway?