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Are cryptocurrencies about to go mainstream?

theguardian.com

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Re: Are cryptocurrencies about to go mainstream?

#71

Post by root_axis »

clarkmoody wrote: post #66
RayVR wrote: post #49

The extremely simple answer is: No. Cryptocurrencies require significantly more power to verify a single transaction[1]. The ability to scale to a meaningful size does not exist now. They need to improve efficiency by 3-4 orders of magnitude to be competitive. [1] http://digiconomist.net/bitcoin-energy-consumption

The article is misleading, as it compares Bitcoin power consumption to VISA, which is a payment processor. Bitcoin is a sound money system, so the proper comparison is all the people, buildings, vehicles, weapons, etc used in the creation and protection of the global fiat currency system. I don't know for sure, but I bet fiat costs dwarf the $640M or so that Bitcoin costs.

This is wrong. Those people aren't employed to mint coins and facilitate payments, the vast majority of the traditional banking industry provides consumer services that would still exist even in a far-fetched future where cryptocurrencies are more than a blip on the radar.

Re: Are cryptocurrencies about to go mainstream?

#72

Post by g00gler »

chalupa-man wrote: post #14
twothamendment wrote: post #4

Yes, and 2017 is the year of the Linux Desktop. We can barely get stores to use EMV/chip card readers, so I'd have to say no.

I'd say that's a bad example, because the US is a bit of an outlier in struggling with adoption. Most developed countries switched without a hassle a long time ago (25 years ago in some cases). I actually wasn't aware there was something _other than_ EMV until I came to the US.

Some background on the history of chips in credit cards

http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2016/04/13/474135422/episo...

Re: Are cryptocurrencies about to go mainstream?

#74

Post by eternalban »

hudon wrote: post #53
eternalban wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Email. 1990. Conversation in some college.

Email is a drastic improvement on the way people communicate. It is orders of magnitude faster, for example, cheaper for the user and more convenient. Bitcoin is slower, more expensive and harder to use than the existing financial instruments. It is censorship resistant though so you can use it to pay people online when the government does not want you to pay these people.

> It is censorship resistant though so you can use it to pay people online when the government does not want you to pay these people.

Only cash is "censorship resistant". As a technologist, this is either an embarassing statement, or, a hopeful data point on the durability of 'hits-it-on-the-nail' technology, such as cash, or paper and ink. (Yes, I'm getting bullish on paper pamphlets ..)

Re: Are cryptocurrencies about to go mainstream?

#75

Post by hudon »

eternalban wrote: post #74
hudon wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Email is a drastic improvement on the way people communicate. It is orders of magnitude faster, for example, cheaper for the user and more convenient. Bitcoin is slower, more expensive and harder to use than the existing financial instruments. It is censorship resistant though so you can use it to pay people online when the government does not want you to pay these people.

> It is censorship resistant though so you can use it to pay people online when the government does not want you to pay these people. Only cash is "censorship resistant". As a technologist, this is either an embarassing statement, or, a hopeful data point on the durability of 'hits-it-on-the-nail' technology, such as cash, or paper and ink. (Yes, I'm getting bullish on paper pamphlets ..)

> Only cash is "censorship resistant"

Still not perfect, though. Look at how India swiftly and broadly decommissioned some of the bank notes. It is not too crazy to imagine some nations going a step further and decommissioning all bank notes.

Similarly, the blockchain is not perfectly censorship resistant. You need:

1- decentralized transaction validators

2- privacy

For #1, the jury is still out on if mining will remain decentralized. I tend to believe that there are guardians of this property in Bitcoin-land, and if it ever gets too bad, the blockchain can fork to retain this property.

For #2, Bitcoin does poorly here, and hopefully advances in the tech like ring signatures, confidential transactions, MimbleWimble, TumbleBit, zk-SNARKs, etc. will prove to be practical enough for use.

Re: Are cryptocurrencies about to go mainstream?

#76

Post by twothamendment »

eternalban wrote: post #50
romanovcode wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can confirm. Regular people who are not interested in technology has no idea what they are, or even that they exist.

Email. 1990. Conversation in some college.

Yes - email in 1994. My sister was away at college. I was home with my own "Free" AOL - my parents didn't know what the Internet was to care about setting it up. This is back in the days of long distance phone calls. My mom wanted me to remind her to ask my sister something on Sunday when she'd call. Instead I emailed her and happen to get a reply in minutes.

My mom was almost mad because she was sure I had called her to answer this question. It took longer to explain email and show what happened than it did to get an answer.

Everything starts somewhere.

Re: Are cryptocurrencies about to go mainstream?

#77

Post by twothamendment »

daxorid wrote: post #17
twothamendment wrote: post #4

Yes, and 2017 is the year of the Linux Desktop. We can barely get stores to use EMV/chip card readers, so I'd have to say no.

A little aside, I've been using Linux as primary workstation for seven years now. It works great, so I've never understood this "year of the desktop" meme. Now, OpenBSD is another matter entirely...

Yes, I threw out the old meme, but I've been using linux as my primary system for 7-8 years. Despite doing so, I still don't think it will ever be mainstream unless you count android - but that isn't a desktop in my opinion. I'll be happy to count android as a linux destop when my phone replaces my laptop!

Re: Are cryptocurrencies about to go mainstream?

#78

Post by xiphias »

wickawic wrote: post #55
ojr wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

bitcoin is an open source C++ computer program that created a deflationary currency that somehow was able to be seen as intrinsic value to the market, its impressive the emotions it brings out of people like you. I believe from a software standpoint, it functions better than some other software projects I've seen, so it is fun to see where this is going to go in the future

> people like you People with common sense? Governments (the institutions that get to use guns and jails and make laws) will not let their control of currency slide out from under them. Blockchains are cool and fun and applicable, but I can't see crypto-currency-as-money becoming mainstream. Even if it does the governments of the world will not adopt Bitcoin, they would make their own. Much more likely it will be out…

Bitcoin is already outlawed in some countries, like Venezuela. How do you think law can stop something so important that the governments don't provide?

Re: Are cryptocurrencies about to go mainstream?

#79

Post by hossbeast »

bitxbitxbitcoin wrote: post #62
toufka wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apparently GPU prices are being distorted by this gold rush. Gamer forums are learning what Etherium is these days.

And then Ethereum is going to go POS and there won't be mining anymore. They'll move on to other GPU-mineable coins and the ecosystem will continue to grow :). BTW: Asus is making mining specific graphic cards to try and relieve the pressure on gaming cards - 10k minimum order.

Believe it when I see it. PoW is the only consensus mechanism with a track record right now.

Re: Are cryptocurrencies about to go mainstream?

#80

Post by hossbeast »

joshaidan wrote: post #31
AlwaysRock wrote: post #12

If it was easier to buy and sell them they might. I know people who are interested but due to the difficulty and complexity of buying/storing/selling they havnt yet.

To me, obtaining bitcoin (or whatever crypto-currency) has been one of the most challenging aspects of using the currency. It's too hard to obtain. Mining these days isn't that feasible, but even if I could mine bitcoin, I probably wouldn't be able to do it at a rate to fund whatever venture I wanted to pursue. The only alternative is to purchase a crypto-currency with another real world currency, which to me seems t…

Seems like something that could be at least partially resolved by the lightning network https://lightning.network
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