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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

#511

Post by sudosysgen »

gsich wrote: post #282
CynicusRex wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>“It also doesn't make sense for late adopters to get the same price because there's a lot more risk associated with being an early adopter than a late adopter.” Often repeated but false. Early adopters mine or buy large proportions at negligible prices while late adopters mine or buy negligible proportions at large prices.

There is no guarantee that there will be late adopters. So yes, there is risk.

Not when you know beforehand that it will be implemented into signal :)

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

#512

Post by ignoramous »

sequoia wrote: post #219
meowfly wrote: post #195

The comment from the article echos my own sentiments: > Speaking solely as a person who is really into encrypted messaging, it terrifies me that they're going to take this really clean story of an encrypted messenger and mix it up with the nightmare of laws and regulations and vulnerability that is cryptocurrency. Moreover, there are three other points I'd add: 1. I don't like "do everything" apps like WeChat or Line…

> 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'…

That and a handful of early WhatsApp employees now work at Signal. WhatsApp, back in the day when they were just 30+ people, accomplished amazing feats of product and engineering given the scale and growth. I sense Signal has the ambition to outright compete with WhatsApp on most if not all fronts.

I, for one, welcome this; the larger market is asking for a privacy-focused WhatsApp alternative, and Signal could be it.

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

#513

Post by lottin »

coconut08 wrote: post #362
warkdarrior wrote: post #321

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If many coin owners share the same address, that is not very decentralized, is it?

that's like saying that the internet isn't decentralized because lots of people interact using facebook. that address isn't decentralized, much like facebook isn't. that doesn't mean that bitcoin or the internet aren't decentralized.

"Decentralized" means little without more context. The issuance of bitcoins isn't a legal monopoly. In this sense Bitcoin is "decentralized". On the other hand the Bitcoin blockchain is a centralized ledger, which is distributed, but nonetheless centralized. So which one is it? Centralized or decentralized? It doesn't matter because at this stage "decentralized" is being used as a mere buzzword rather than to convey a precise meaning.

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

#514

Post by fauigerzigerk »

takenpilot wrote: post #218
meowfly wrote: post #195

The comment from the article echos my own sentiments: > Speaking solely as a person who is really into encrypted messaging, it terrifies me that they're going to take this really clean story of an encrypted messenger and mix it up with the nightmare of laws and regulations and vulnerability that is cryptocurrency. Moreover, there are three other points I'd add: 1. I don't like "do everything" apps like WeChat or Line…

In a lot of ways, the transfer of cryptocurrency is the same as the transfer of generic messages. It's only when you're transferring them back to dollars/yuan/yen/etc. that it's suddenly currency from a government.

Transferring cryptocurrency between different people (with the exception of spouses) is an asset disposal that is subject to capital gains tax in the UK. It doesn't matter what, if anything, you get in return.

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

#515

Post by creata »

coconut08 wrote: post #362
warkdarrior wrote: post #321

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If many coin owners share the same address, that is not very decentralized, is it?

that's like saying that the internet isn't decentralized because lots of people interact using facebook. that address isn't decentralized, much like facebook isn't. that doesn't mean that bitcoin or the internet aren't decentralized.

> that's like saying that the internet isn't decentralized because lots of people interact using facebook

Yes, and I do say that. Decentralization is a lot less interesting if most people just end up centralizing anyway.

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

#516

Post by happosai »

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 are the co2 emissions of mobilecoin usage?

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

#517

Post by remirk »

ptman wrote: post #510
mtsr wrote: post #482

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even with a fast home server Element is quite slow. Slow enough that even I, trying to get my circle to use it, feel some reluctance to open the app. Hopefully the upcoming Hydrogen client can solve this.

element-web? element-android? element-ios? all of them? Have you tried fluffychat on android? Or any of the other clients https://matrix.org/clients-matrix

I love FluffyChat. Been using it for a month now and it's significantly faster than Element/SchildiChat on Android. It has the basic chat features I would expect from a Matrix application. Only feature I don't think it has crosssigning at the moment. (In which you're signing your friends master-key, which they use to sign their new devices, so you don't have to have a cryptoparty anytime a friend adds a new device)

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

#518

Post by runeks »

ranguna wrote: post #499
josh2600 wrote: post #441

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1) MobileCoin will build a payments ecosystem around the protocol. 2) I have to check with the lawyers on whether we can disclose exact amounts, but our intention is to own a small minority of coins over the long term. We want the supply to circulate. 3) I don’t know how to prove this other than to tell you that MobileCoin is here to stay. You’ll know us by our deeds. 4) the threat model is 100% of nodes being compro…

1% of nodes can keep the data intact? This smells of centralisation.

It is centralization. The central authority is Intel.

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

#519

Post by flal_ »

SwimSwimHungry wrote: post #478
ChainOfFools wrote: post #405

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At least it's better than Bitcoin, since in this case it's well known who the whales are. If one wishes to subject their wealth to the whims of a massively centralized cartel of "rationally self interested" HOLDers, maybe it's better to deal with the devil(s) one knows.

Or better yet, don't use cryptocurrency at all. Then you can avoid all ethical dilemmas surrounding them. Problem solved.

But then, you haven't solved the private electronic payment...

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

#520

Post by 1vuio0pswjnm7 »

meowfly wrote: post #195

The comment from the article echos my own sentiments: > Speaking solely as a person who is really into encrypted messaging, it terrifies me that they're going to take this really clean story of an encrypted messenger and mix it up with the nightmare of laws and regulations and vulnerability that is cryptocurrency. Moreover, there are three other points I'd add: 1. I don't like "do everything" apps like WeChat or Line…

What about using Wickr as an alternative to Signal.

What all these "tech" companies tend to do is to exploit a captured audience. They are generally not focused on doing one thing well (producing a product or providing a service), they are more focused on building a following and then doing with those users whatever they like. One of the most blatent examples of this line of thinking is Microsoft's acquisitions. They acquire companies in order to get access to users. The "technology" is secondary. Another example is WeWork. They started introducing WeEverything. The product or service being offered is what is important. It could be anything. Instead the focus is on building an audience and exploiting that captured audience. One can apply this analysis to almost any "tech" company. "Growth" is the number one focus. No one really cares about what it is the company purports to be selling.

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