News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Why Cryptocurrencies?: For the Unbanked. Parent comment

Re:Why Cryptocurrencies?: For the Unbanked by lawn on Friday September 06, 2019 @01:33AM (#20893334)
Firstly you do not need to run a full node. Use a light wallet or even better an SPV wallet, which you can only cheat by faking POW which is very expensive.

Secondly it is only Bitcoin that has huge transaction fees. For example Bitcoin Cash has a next block fee of $0.0015[0].

Thirdly, as noted in the article, 420 million do have internet access.

[0]: https://bitcoinfees.cash/

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Why Cryptocurrencies?: For the Unbanked by TazeTSchnitzel on Friday September 06, 2019 @04:56AM (#20894092)
Other networks not having as big fees is only because they are not used much. Eventually you either reach Bitcoin-level congestion or accumulate hard drive space so quickly as to be unaffordable to the “unbanked”.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Why Cryptocurrencies?: For the Unbanked by lawn on Friday September 06, 2019 @05:23AM (#20894218)
Not true at all. Bitcoin Cash could for example process around 20x to 30x the amount of transactions as Bitcoin, with the same low fees as today.

There are scaling challenges of course, but Bitcoin is not a good example of that. The technical issues come at a much higher usage.

> accumulate hard drive space

The unbanked, like 99% of all others, should use light wallets or SPV wallets so they don't have to store the whole blockchain.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Why Cryptocurrencies?: For the Unbanked by raverbashing on Friday September 06, 2019 @05:27AM (#20894242)
> Eventually you either reach Bitcoin-level congestion

Bitcoin's problems are bitcoin's problems because they are intent on shooting themselves in the foot at every opportunity they can.

Other networks hopefully are run by less hard-headed people that know a bit more about incentives and the importance of liquidity. Dash and BCH are better in this sense.

[ Parent | on HN ]