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A comment on Diem – A rebrand of Facebook’s Libra. Parent comment

Re:Diem – A rebrand of Facebook’s Libra by logifail on Sunday December 06, 2020 @12:01PM (#25324742)
> If you can get it anonymously, you can move it anywhere you want as long as you stay on the blockchain

Q: Is this fundamentally different to having a suitcase full of cash?

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Re:Diem – A rebrand of Facebook’s Libra by alvarosevilla95 on Sunday December 06, 2020 @12:07PM (#25324800)
No, but only if your suitcase will only open if unlocked by a cryptographically secure key and no one can open it through other methods. They can't steal the suitcase itself either. And you can instantly teleport the contents of your suitcase to an equivalent suitcase held by any other individual on the planet. And third parties can't arbitrarily devalue the contents of your suitcase by printing more of it.
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Re:Diem – A rebrand of Facebook’s Libra by samatman on Sunday December 06, 2020 @12:16PM (#25324879)
The last part of this almost certainly doesn't apply to "Diem".
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Re:Diem – A rebrand of Facebook’s Libra by alvarosevilla95 on Sunday December 06, 2020 @12:40PM (#25325075)
I'd argue none of the above apply to Diem actually. I'm definitely referring to traditional, actual blockchains
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Re:Diem – A rebrand of Facebook’s Libra by logifail on Sunday December 06, 2020 @12:36PM (#25325033)
> [..] no one can open it through other methods

... other than https://xkcd.com/538/ ?

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Re:Diem – A rebrand of Facebook’s Libra by alvarosevilla95 on Sunday December 06, 2020 @12:37PM (#25325050)
That still counts as using the key to open it :)
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Re:Diem – A rebrand of Facebook’s Libra by deevolution on Sunday December 06, 2020 @12:06PM (#25324783)
A suitcase full of cash is much more difficult to transport risk-free compared to bitcoin.
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Re:Diem – A rebrand of Facebook’s Libra by ExtraServings on Sunday December 06, 2020 @12:33PM (#25325020)
yet infinitely easier to spend.
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Re:Diem – A rebrand of Facebook’s Libra by mateuszf on Sunday December 06, 2020 @12:09PM (#25324819)
> Q: Is this fundamentally different to having a suitcase full of cash?

Yes, government can't print bitcoin. If you store cash - in the long term you will lose buying power. If bitcoin gets adopted as a store of value - nobody will be able to print it at will.

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Re:Diem – A rebrand of Facebook’s Libra by Heliosmaster on Sunday December 06, 2020 @12:06PM (#25324792)
Not really, and that is precisely one of the point for crypto advocates. To be used as "virtual" (just non physical) cash, easier to manage.
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Re:Diem – A rebrand of Facebook’s Libra by Mxs2000 on Sunday December 06, 2020 @12:07PM (#25324796)
I’ve heard it’s easier to travel conspicuously and less risky than traveling with suitcases of cash.
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Re:Diem – A rebrand of Facebook’s Libra by derefr on Sunday December 06, 2020 @12:11PM (#25324833)
It's very hard to take a suitcase full of cash across a border. It's very easy to take a private key for a wallet-account full of cryptocurrency across a border.
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Re:Diem – A rebrand of Facebook’s Libra by reaperducer on Sunday December 06, 2020 @12:33PM (#25325015)
It's very hard to take a suitcase full of cash across a border.

Depends on the border.

As long as you declare the cash to the authorities, there are many borders you can cross with great flipping wads of cash. Some industries operate mostly on cash (restaurants, for example), and "suitcases full of cash" isn't just for mobsters and movie villains.

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Re:Diem – A rebrand of Facebook’s Libra by mthoms on Sunday December 06, 2020 @01:23PM (#25325367)
Where is that? In most of the west it's roughly $10k US (+/- 30%).
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