Re:El Salvador’s new Bitcoin wallets could cost Western Unio...
by grey-area on Thursday September 09, 2021 @09:49AM
(#28469653)
If you were going to design a standardised protocol for transactions, I wouldn't start from bitcoin, which makes all the wrong choices around identity, authority, anonymity, where to place the load, how to verify transactions etc etc.
Open banking is a much better approach to federated banking.
Re:El Salvador’s new Bitcoin wallets could cost Western Unio...
by ethbr0 on Thursday September 09, 2021 @01:04PM
(#28471931)
Obviously, but Open Banking has been pushed instead of pulled.
For a lot of markets, that isn't ever going to fly given regulatory capture.
Consequently, any standard has to also offer a compelling feature over the status quo.
Re:El Salvador’s new Bitcoin wallets could cost Western Unio...
by AnIdiotOnTheNet on Thursday September 09, 2021 @10:14AM
(#28469923)
It would make a lot more sense if such a standardized API could exist without intentionally burning an increasing amount of computing resources. Unfortunately it would appear that if this sort of thing is the way things are going, we're stuck with Bitcoin and its appalling wastage.
Frankly, it's becoming increasingly depressing have to watch as technology is continually employed to make the world worse, usually for the benefit of making some people rich.
I've never really thought about it that way, but it does make sense as a standardized transport API first, and everything else second.
Sure, everyone does (things) using Bitcoin. But in order to do those things, they have to speak Bitcoin (simplifying). And once everyone speaks Bitcoin, new products can be created that target Bitcoin, that wouldn't have been feasible if everyone were using 100+ different bespoke systems.
And from its network antecedents in PTSN -> packetized layered transport in data / voice, that seems optimistic about enabling innovation.