Coinbase is launching support for the USDC stablecoin • Hacker News Board

Re: Coinbase is launching support for the USDC stablecoin

#71

Post by astrodust » Tue, Oct 23, 2018, 5:08 PM UTC

rayvy wrote: post #59

Permit wrote: post #11

Stablecoins seem like they would achieve most of the goals of the original cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin: - Decentralized transactions - 24/7 access - Low fees - Store of value I suppose the only drawback here is that they're issued from a centralized authority. That said, for practical purposes the vast majority of Bitcoin holders didn't mine their own coins either. Despite this, no one on Twitter[1] seemed excit…

> Stablecoins seem like they would achieve most of the goals of the original cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin Correct me if I'm wrong but Stablecoins sound like the opposite type of thing that Crypto-anarchist(s) behind Bitcoin tried to achieve. > I suppose the only drawback here is that they're issued from a centralized authority This reads in a hilarious way. Kind've like saying "I've found a perfect way to buy a c…

How's my stable coin portfolio going to moon? That's the problem here.

Re: Coinbase is launching support for the USDC stablecoin

#72

Post by tlb » Tue, Oct 23, 2018, 5:08 PM UTC

soared wrote: post #9

buildbuildbuild wrote: post #5

Excited to see a reputable company like Coinbase launch this. Hopefully with their reputation we can avoid another Tether situation. The US government should launch their own stablecoin. A digital US dollar is a national need that shouldn’t be managed by a corporation in my opinion.

Why does there need to be a digital US dollar? Almost 20% of the US is underbanked, and 6.5% is unbanked. A digital dollar seemingly would be even worse and work to concentrate wealth among the educated/wealthy. https://www.fdic.gov/householdsurvey/

The FDIC's definition of 'underbanked', is pretty broad: "...the household had an account at an insured institution but also obtained financial products or services outside of the banking system.

"Specifically, a household is categorized as underbanked if it had a checking or savings account and used one of the following products or services from an alternative financial services provider in the past 12 months: money orders, check cashing, international remittances, payday loans, refund anticipation loans, rent-to-own services, pawn shop loans, or auto title loans."

I used a money order a few years ago, so that year I was officially underbanked, despite being educated/wealthy (I have a PhD and I'm an accredited investor.)

[0] https://www.fdic.gov/householdsurvey/2017/2017report.pdf

Re: Coinbase is launching support for the USDC stablecoin

#73

Post by astrodust » Tue, Oct 23, 2018, 5:09 PM UTC

apo wrote: post #57

beaner wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It can be traded directly. It's just an erc20 token.

I understand its an ERC20 token. Do you understand how Coinbase and Circle will remain within regulatory compliance (AML/KYC) regarding USDC and the obvious potential for money laundering?

The real question is will they even try, or will they pretend it's not a problem?

Re: Coinbase is launching support for the USDC stablecoin

#74

Post by Karrot_Kream » Tue, Oct 23, 2018, 5:10 PM UTC

arcticbull wrote: post #39

beaner wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except you can't send between the two. Isn't that so silly? You can send USDC to/from any wallet that implements it. This is a benefit of the blockchain, a protocol for money.

Only if both wallets implement it, isn’t it silly not all wallets support all stable coins? Nope, it isn’t. Moreover there seems to be a misunderstanding, square cash allows you to instantly move money between bank accounts, via your bank, have at it, totally interoperable because dollars.

USDC is an ERC20 token, so the vast majority of wallets support it out of the box.

Re: Coinbase is launching support for the USDC stablecoin

#75

Post by jstanley » Tue, Oct 23, 2018, 5:10 PM UTC

Permit wrote: post #18

Pharmakon wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You go from saying it achieves the goal of being decentralized, and in the next breath point out that it’s centralized. I don’t get it.

Decentralized transactions are distinct from decentralized issuance. Decentralized issuance doesn't matter to most people in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. They have been happy to participate in ICOs where coins are issued from a central authority. That said, I haven't yet heard anything on how transactions are actually verified (ie. Proof of work vs Proof of Stake) Edit: It appears to be an Ethereum-based token: http…

> Decentralized issuance doesn't matter to most people in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Decentralised anything doesn't (yet!) matter to most people in the world who use money, but it does matter to people it matters to.

Just because you don't care about decentralised issuance doesn't mean nobody cares.

Re: Coinbase is launching support for the USDC stablecoin

#76

Post by orthecreedence » Tue, Oct 23, 2018, 5:10 PM UTC

DSingularity wrote: post #40

Permit wrote: post #11

Stablecoins seem like they would achieve most of the goals of the original cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin: - Decentralized transactions - 24/7 access - Low fees - Store of value I suppose the only drawback here is that they're issued from a centralized authority. That said, for practical purposes the vast majority of Bitcoin holders didn't mine their own coins either. Despite this, no one on Twitter[1] seemed excit…

Store of value? Not necessarily. stable coins pegged to an inflationary asset like the dollar will not preserve your value. You need a stable coin pegged to something like gold or bitcoin. Edit: curious, why downvotes? Was just pointing out a technical mistake...

The downvotes are because you're being pedantic. Most of the world uses USD or currencies easily exchangeable with USD. Therefore USD is stable.

I cannot buy a car with a gold bar. They would laugh me out of the dealership and I'd have to sell the bar for USD. People want cryptocurrencies they can hold for more than two days that won't lose 50% of their value.

The value here is ability to conduct transactions, not necessarily a stable store of value.

Re: Coinbase is launching support for the USDC stablecoin

#77

Post by gwbas1c » Tue, Oct 23, 2018, 5:10 PM UTC

Permit wrote: post #11

Stablecoins seem like they would achieve most of the goals of the original cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin: - Decentralized transactions - 24/7 access - Low fees - Store of value I suppose the only drawback here is that they're issued from a centralized authority. That said, for practical purposes the vast majority of Bitcoin holders didn't mine their own coins either. Despite this, no one on Twitter[1] seemed excit…

> Despite this, no one on Twitter[1] seemed excited

Because most people think that in order to solve the problem of a cryptocurrency, they have to also solve the problem of who gets money when you print it.

Far too many people conflate the need for electronic cash versus the need to improve upon how systems like the Federal Reserve and their International equivalents work.

Honestly, as a software engineer who understands some basic economics, I think cryptocurrency becomes far more interesting when it's not trying to solve the problem of who gets money when it's printed.

I also think that the Federal Reserve, and its international equivalents, work very well for me! I think that trying to come up with a currency that improves upon the Federal Reserve System, or equivalent, needs to be a separate technical problem than just trying to have an electronic form of cash.

In my opinion, most of the people who were excited about cryptocurrency were scam artists, the kind of people who just don't understand how money really works, or engineers who don't really understand scaling.

Re: Coinbase is launching support for the USDC stablecoin

#78

Post by radicaldreamer » Tue, Oct 23, 2018, 5:10 PM UTC

arcticbull wrote: post #39

beaner wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except you can't send between the two. Isn't that so silly? You can send USDC to/from any wallet that implements it. This is a benefit of the blockchain, a protocol for money.

Only if both wallets implement it, isn’t it silly not all wallets support all stable coins? Nope, it isn’t. Moreover there seems to be a misunderstanding, square cash allows you to instantly move money between bank accounts, via your bank, have at it, totally interoperable because dollars.

Only in the United States and with stringent per day limits? Cryptowallets work no matter where you’re at and without limitations.

Re: Coinbase is launching support for the USDC stablecoin

#79

Post by will_brown » Tue, Oct 23, 2018, 5:10 PM UTC

Permit wrote: post #38

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Decentralized transactions are distinct from decentralized issuance Dollars can be transacted, online and offline, through a variety of means ranging from at the Federal Reserve to totally de-centralised.

Yes, but once I have acquired dollars and wish to send them to you I must involve a third party. Not involving that third party would be the sell here. I have no position in any cryptocurrency and am not trying to argue that USDC is better than USD. I'm just saying that stablecoins achieve most of the goals of a decentralized currency yet despite this they are not appealing to today's cryptocurrency community.

>once I have acquired dollars and wish to send them to you I must involve a third party.

Isn’t that the same as bitcoin and every other cryptocurrency? You need a cryptowallet (third party); a device (third party); and internet access (third party).

Re: Coinbase is launching support for the USDC stablecoin

#80

Post by jstanley » Tue, Oct 23, 2018, 5:11 PM UTC

Permit wrote: post #42

simias wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I suppose the only drawback here is that they're issued from a centralized authority. Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of cryptocurrencies though? After all this authority could selectively blacklist some coins from ever being converted back to their peg currency, effectively rendering them worthless, couldn't they? You couldn't easily launder it away because this authority could decide that if these coins are…

>Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of cryptocurrencies though? Depends who you ask. The cryptocurrency community thus far have been happy to participate in ICOs in which cryptocurrencies are issued from a central authority.

Don't get two distinct groups confused.

The people buying ICOs are looking to get rich quick, the people interested in decentralised money are not buying ICOs.