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Coinbase S-1

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Re: Coinbase S-1

#591

Post by cmdli »

hntrader wrote: post #585
goat_whisperer wrote: post #338

Bitcoin made a lot of sense when I first read about it in 2011. Back then I feel like it was primarily used as an anonymous payment method. Think dark web/silk road type stuff. I certainly don't endorse that behavior, but bitcoin as a payment method made a lot of sense. Bitcoin makes 0 sense to me as an investment. It's pure speculation with no underlying intrinsic value. It's the Dutch Tulips 10.0 basically. And now…

"no underlying intrinsic value" How does that differ to investing in fine art, scarce wine, old/rare stamps and coins, limited edition/novelty items, historical artefacts, or even gold? There's loads of things that have kept value for centuries despite having no intrinsic value.

All of those things have intrinsic value in that they bring people some measure of joy. Bitcoin, by comparison, brings people very little joy in and of itself (you might argue it provides entertainment value, it certainly does for me).

Not saying Bitcoin is worthless; it's a currency and it has it's uses, which makes it worth something. However, I think the belief that "it's scarce, therefore its worth something" is a false one and leads a lot of people to speculate wildly on it.

Re: Coinbase S-1

#592

Post by yazaddaruvala »

Justin_K wrote: post #314
cactus2093 wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

So when the power goes out or someone looses a hard drive, how easy is your bitcoin to transact?

Disclaimer: I have no BTC. I just want to point out the current transaction UX is not reliable at all.

I rarely hold any cash on my person and typically pay for everything with my iPhone, otherwise with a physical CC. If the merchant has no power or a broken machine, I cannot make the purchase.

This literally happened to me a few weeks ago while buying a slice of pizza ($5 or less). My phone had power so I offered to Venmo the owner instead but they said no.

Re: Coinbase S-1

#593

Post by jsutton »

I find it interesting (sad, actually) that most other S-1 posts on here are congratulatory for the most part, giving kudos to the teams (look at the DO one today).

However, when it comes to anything crypto related, the emotions really come out. It's all "bitcoin/crypto is useless, doesn't solve any problem, waste of talent."

For a community of hackers, there really seems to be a lack of vision when it comes to crypto specifically.

Re: Coinbase S-1

#594

Post by samtheprogram »

dennis_jeeves wrote: post #528
cactus2093 wrote: post #522

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why are you so set on digital cash? I completely agree, Bitcoin is a bad replacement for cash, just like gold bullion is. 10 dollars is a steep confirmation price but if you have a life savings of, say, the equivalent of a few hundred or thousand USD that you hold in cash and your local currency is rapidly inflating making it worthless, btc is an amazing life raft that you could put your money into. If you are able t…

Can someone explain to me the technical reason as to why it costs $10, when it used to cost pennies (I think)? Has the proportion of transactions gone up compared to the miners?

If you're sending from an exchange, you're actually splitting that fee with multiple people (one transaction with multiple recipients including yourself). If you're on your own transaction (e.g. sending from a hardware wallet), you're going to pay considerably more (closer to the tune of $10).

Re: Coinbase S-1

#595

Post by entropea »

jsutton wrote: post #593

I find it interesting (sad, actually) that most other S-1 posts on here are congratulatory for the most part, giving kudos to the teams (look at the DO one today). However, when it comes to anything crypto related, the emotions really come out. It's all "bitcoin/crypto is useless, doesn't solve any problem, waste of talent." For a community of hackers, there really seems to be a lack of vision when it comes to crypto…

I don't know if you're considering what Coinbase is when in alignment with cryptocurrency. It is exactly what cryptocurrency was supposed to not be. It's centralization, it's a bank. I personally have no emotion towards it, but I definitely understand those who do as the cryptocurrency project was quickly taken over by the same old financial interests.

Re: Coinbase S-1

#596

Post by arrosenberg »

boh wrote: post #506
arrosenberg wrote: post #452

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure what OP was specifically referring to, but the argument is true in the sense that pre-1971, gold was money and currency was backed by gold. Now money is whatever the Fed says it is, and currency is backed by faith.

Otherwise known as credit, which has been the prevailing valuation since the Stone Age.

The difference between relying on credit backed by a physical item (gold bricks) versus credit backed by "the Full Faith and Credit" clause of the Constitution is what happens in the event of default by the issuer of the credit. If the wheels stop turning at some point, there is no recoverable asset.

Re: Coinbase S-1

#597

Post by beaner »

entropea wrote: post #595
jsutton wrote: post #593

I find it interesting (sad, actually) that most other S-1 posts on here are congratulatory for the most part, giving kudos to the teams (look at the DO one today). However, when it comes to anything crypto related, the emotions really come out. It's all "bitcoin/crypto is useless, doesn't solve any problem, waste of talent." For a community of hackers, there really seems to be a lack of vision when it comes to crypto…

I don't know if you're considering what Coinbase is when in alignment with cryptocurrency. It is exactly what cryptocurrency was supposed to not be. It's centralization, it's a bank. I personally have no emotion towards it, but I definitely understand those who do as the cryptocurrency project was quickly taken over by the same old financial interests.

False. The objective of crypto isn't to force everyone out of the banking system, it's to provide an ability to opt-out and be your own bank for those who need or want it. If you want to use a traditional bank or custodian instead, go for it. And indeed, for many people who cannot and should not be managing their own keys, it's the preferable option.

Re: Coinbase S-1

#598

Post by jsutton »

dodobirdlord wrote: post #480
fastball wrote: post #331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love HN but I think you're giving it too much credit on this one. Many (most?) of the conversations I see on here around crypto are copiously littered with straight FUD. Very little arguing on the actual nuances and intricacies of crypto. Seemingly low understanding / imagination of the possibilities allowed by the underlying concepts. Histrionics about power consumption in every thread. Disclosure: I liquidated my…

I think the general perspective of Bitcoin specifically around here meshes with the general stance on a lot of topics. Bitcoin is the 1.0 cryptocurrency. It was groundbreaking, but it has technological deficiencies that are/were being addressed by improvements in the general technology of cryptocurrencies. But the Bitcoin protocol itself has demonstrated to be impossible to modernize, as even the most trivial change…

Why does Bitcoin need to modernize? There are other crypto projects that can fill in the holes that Bitcoin leaves (tx fees, slow, etc). Bitcoin is a fully secure, fully self-sufficient, global monetary system. It doesn't need to be lightning fast or super cheap. It needs to WORK, and work very well, which it has demonstrated.

Re: Coinbase S-1

#599

Post by entropea »

cactus2093 wrote: post #522
uncletammy wrote: post #430

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

Why are you so set on digital cash? I completely agree, Bitcoin is a bad replacement for cash, just like gold bullion is. 10 dollars is a steep confirmation price but if you have a life savings of, say, the equivalent of a few hundred or thousand USD that you hold in cash and your local currency is rapidly inflating making it worthless, btc is an amazing life raft that you could put your money into. If you are able t…

The narrative of Bitcoin completely changed from when I first got into Bitcoin in 2009-2010. It was supposed to be a decentralized currency and people tried to use it that way back then. Now, since it has failed to be able to scale and handle that, it's suddenly a "gold", a "value store" that really has not much of a purpose and is being outclassed by coins like Monero and full proof of stake coins like Algorand.

Re: Coinbase S-1

#600

Post by ketamine__ »

entropea wrote: post #595
jsutton wrote: post #593

I find it interesting (sad, actually) that most other S-1 posts on here are congratulatory for the most part, giving kudos to the teams (look at the DO one today). However, when it comes to anything crypto related, the emotions really come out. It's all "bitcoin/crypto is useless, doesn't solve any problem, waste of talent." For a community of hackers, there really seems to be a lack of vision when it comes to crypto…

I don't know if you're considering what Coinbase is when in alignment with cryptocurrency. It is exactly what cryptocurrency was supposed to not be. It's centralization, it's a bank. I personally have no emotion towards it, but I definitely understand those who do as the cryptocurrency project was quickly taken over by the same old financial interests.

You need fiat on ramps for crypto to work. Contrary to what other commenters have suggested you can't legally help other individuals convert their dollars to BTC. That's acting as a money transmitter.
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