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Cryptocurrency Is the Next Frontier in the Quest to Abolish Cash Bail

injusticetoday.com

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Re: Cryptocurrency Is the Next Frontier in the Quest to Abolish Cash Bail

#2
I just skimmed through the article, but the gist seems to be: download this app in large numbers, we will use your phone as bitcoin miners and use the mined coins to pay for bail.

This is just so fucking absurd. The problem with bail is not a technological one, its a legislative one. I think Kamala Harris has taken the right steps and publicly stated how absurd it is that we jail so many fellow citizens for being poor (or unable to furnish bail money).

Overpromised technology hurts the people who try to use it but also erodes trust in technologists. I can't believe this has survived the smell test. If I missed something, please do let me know.

Re: Cryptocurrency Is the Next Frontier in the Quest to Abolish Cash Bail

#3
post #2

I just skimmed through the article, but the gist seems to be: download this app in large numbers, we will use your phone as bitcoin miners and use the mined coins to pay for bail. This is just so fucking absurd. The problem with bail is not a technological one, its a legislative one. I think Kamala Harris has taken the right steps and publicly stated how absurd it is that we jail so many fellow citizens for being poo…

Speaking of Kamala, I like what one blockchain is doing with in terms of 'creating elections' and voting mentioned here https://medium.com/@gaetanconsulting/3-icos-with-working-pro...

Re: Cryptocurrency Is the Next Frontier in the Quest to Abolish Cash Bail

#4
post #2

I just skimmed through the article, but the gist seems to be: download this app in large numbers, we will use your phone as bitcoin miners and use the mined coins to pay for bail. This is just so fucking absurd. The problem with bail is not a technological one, its a legislative one. I think Kamala Harris has taken the right steps and publicly stated how absurd it is that we jail so many fellow citizens for being poo…

You're right that policy needs to change but raising money via mining to actually free people can change those people's lives while we press for a legislative solution. It's an abstract problem for you but why merely sit around waiting for policy to change when people still suffer from bad policy?

Added bonus: when there is energy around sidestepping bad policy that is another sign to legislators that the policy should indeed be changed.

Re: Cryptocurrency Is the Next Frontier in the Quest to Abolish Cash Bail

#5
Cryptocurrency doesn’t come out of thin air and it’s not free. It costs money for your electricity and your cpu. It would be much more efficient to just write them a check.

I was trying to figure out if you could encode a bail arrangement with ethereum somehow before clicking on it and was disappointed when it was just fund raising.

Re: Cryptocurrency Is the Next Frontier in the Quest to Abolish Cash Bail

#6
post #2

I just skimmed through the article, but the gist seems to be: download this app in large numbers, we will use your phone as bitcoin miners and use the mined coins to pay for bail. This is just so fucking absurd. The problem with bail is not a technological one, its a legislative one. I think Kamala Harris has taken the right steps and publicly stated how absurd it is that we jail so many fellow citizens for being poo…

It uses Monero:

https://bailbloc.thenewinquiry.com/about.html

If it used Bitcoin it would clearly be absurd because CPUs are useless for mining.

I don't pay enough attention to cybercoins to understand how worthwhile it will be to mine Monero.

Re: Cryptocurrency Is the Next Frontier in the Quest to Abolish Cash Bail

#7
post #5

Cryptocurrency doesn’t come out of thin air and it’s not free. It costs money for your electricity and your cpu. It would be much more efficient to just write them a check. I was trying to figure out if you could encode a bail arrangement with ethereum somehow before clicking on it and was disappointed when it was just fund raising.

Completely agree and was thinking the same thing about it being some sort of 'bail contract'. I stopped reading after:

> If generating money out of thin air by using a computer program seems absurd, that’s because it is

If generating money out of thin air by using a computer program seems impossible, that’s because it is.

There are no free lunches.

If you're looking for a distributed computing initiative to support: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_distributed_computing_...

Re: Cryptocurrency Is the Next Frontier in the Quest to Abolish Cash Bail

#8
post #2

I just skimmed through the article, but the gist seems to be: download this app in large numbers, we will use your phone as bitcoin miners and use the mined coins to pay for bail. This is just so fucking absurd. The problem with bail is not a technological one, its a legislative one. I think Kamala Harris has taken the right steps and publicly stated how absurd it is that we jail so many fellow citizens for being poo…

It uses Monero: https://bailbloc.thenewinquiry.com/about.html If it used Bitcoin it would clearly be absurd because CPUs are useless for mining. I don't pay enough attention to cybercoins to understand how worthwhile it will be to mine Monero.

It is still worthwhile to mine Monero and it's little "litecoin" style brother Aeon.

Re: Cryptocurrency Is the Next Frontier in the Quest to Abolish Cash Bail

#9
post #5

Cryptocurrency doesn’t come out of thin air and it’s not free. It costs money for your electricity and your cpu. It would be much more efficient to just write them a check. I was trying to figure out if you could encode a bail arrangement with ethereum somehow before clicking on it and was disappointed when it was just fund raising.

Wrong, depending on electricity costs, at current prices it is more efficient to mine Monero than to just write them a check.

https://www.cryptocompare.com/mining/calculator/xmr

Re: Cryptocurrency Is the Next Frontier in the Quest to Abolish Cash Bail

#10
post #5

Cryptocurrency doesn’t come out of thin air and it’s not free. It costs money for your electricity and your cpu. It would be much more efficient to just write them a check. I was trying to figure out if you could encode a bail arrangement with ethereum somehow before clicking on it and was disappointed when it was just fund raising.

Completely agree and was thinking the same thing about it being some sort of 'bail contract'. I stopped reading after: > If generating money out of thin air by using a computer program seems absurd, that’s because it is If generating money out of thin air by using a computer program seems impossible , that’s because it is. There are no free lunches. If you're looking for a distributed computing initiative to support:…

Correct, generating money out of thin air is absurd.

Not sure what that straw man has to do with being rewarded for mining cryptocurrencies and exchanging them for fiat though. That is clearly very possible and often profitable.

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