Do you have any example of a use case with traction that serves a need not created by the existence of the cryptocurrency market itself?
Although Eco is a fully non-crypto app, it is built on top of crypto rails.
Eco offers its users greater savings rates than traditional banks by using crypto to literally cut out the middlemen.
As well, Eco accounts are not FDIC insured-- but, I think that's a temporary downside of the current regulatory landscape. It seems like there's no reason why Eco accounts couldn't be FDIC insured in the future. Happily, the benefit of cutting out the middlemen is forever.
The Eco team has written a lot about their experience disintermediating banks. I recommend their blog https://www.eco.com/blog
> a decentralized credit platform
> a decentralized exchange liquidity pool
> an open source, decentralized, non-custodial liquidity protocol
> a smart wallet with an intuitive interface built on top of popular DeFi projects
> an algorithmic money market protocol
This is a circular argument for the utility of dApps. There's nothing here for someone who isn't already interested in cryptocurrency.
Yet, I have found it useful to try and separate the fundamental innovations from the current set of assets being manipulated.
Here is a partial list of fundamental crypto innovations:
- non-custodial wallets in general to protect people from predatory institutions or governments
- smart contracts that always do what they say they'll do
- inherent global jurisdiction of blockchains, ie. borderless
- vastly reduced transaction costs to stand up and operate new, networked financial instruments and other kinds of digital asset systems (property registries, etc.)
The fact that these innovations are currently majority operated on dog money, Bitcoin, ETH, etc. is a temporary characteristic of this early stage of crypto's growth.
In the future, these same innovations will operate on everything in the economy.
For example, Tesla stock (backed by custodially-held physical shares, not synthetics) has been available on Solana for some time.
You can do that now by hiding money in your mattress. In both cases, it's not on you to protect your money, and a lot of people who are tech savvy have been failing to do so. Regular folks are going to get robbed often.
> smart contracts that always do what they say they'll do
Except when they don't, because they have a bug, and all the money is stolen.
> inherent global jurisdiction of blockchains, ie. borderless
This is only true if you are able to spend the money as cryptocurrency. Once you try converting that into fiat, you start hitting those borders really quickly.
> vastly reduced transaction costs
Except that the transaction costs are higher, on average, and especially so if you consider the fees for converting from fiat, and back to fiat.
> Tesla stock (backed by custodially-held physical shares, not synthetics) has been available on Solana for some time
Sure, but a financial institute is holding those shares. You could cut the middle-man here (the cryptocurrency) and just use the financial institution.
But busy with work (and I sold my startup 2 years ago) I went completely dark on the Crypto world. Now I'm trying to catch up with it and both DeFi and everything Layer 2 seem to be the future.
Do you have any other resources to recommend?
I'd recommend the Bankless podcast and newsletter
https://newsletter.banklesshq.com/ https://podcast.banklesshq.com/
Also the ROLLUP series from Bankless (e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooIZzpOsoko)
I think if a self-proclaimed crypto expert gives you this link as proof of use cases, you would walk away thinking the technology was pathetic.
I have been full-time in crypto for years. I could write you a 10,000-word essay on crypto's promising use cases. But, I believe that you, and many others on HN, don't want to hear it.
That's too bad, because you guys grew up on sci-fi and rigor, and now you're ignoring that crypto is both rigorously successful and cypherpunk sci-fi come to life.
By the way, I could ALSO write you 10,000 word salad about how commonly found stones can solve the wrongs in modern finance. That doesn’t say anything about common stones. It just says modern finance is FLAWED.
And I suspect you know that, which means... ;)
On the other side of the aisle, we have people pointing out that there aren't any interesting dApps, with the reply being:
"Sure there are! Here's a list dApps that are just more layers on moving cryptocurrency!"
That's only interesting if you assume the blockchain is valuable and interesting. This is a circular argument. Do you have anything better?
"Sure do! Here's a list dApps that are just more layers on moving cryptocurrency! Register on this site to hear me talk about NFTs!"
Is that "bad faith" too? I don't think so. There's a divide though, and it's a tiresome one. Some of us think the emperor has no clothes. Others think they are the best clothes ever. We probably all need our eyes checked.
You're already backpedaling from something you haven't even said yet. That speaks volumes.
I am widely published inside the crypto industry on twitter and on a few podcasts over the years. For example, here is an episode on the many present & future uses of NFTs (episode requires a free Real Vision crypto account)
https://www.realvision.com/shows/the-interview-crypto/videos...
No, they were exactly right. In ten years, cryptocurrencies have produced nothing of value except speculation. This is like saying the Dutch that didn't sell their homes to buy into the tulip bulb craze were wrong. Sure, people have made huge gains, like all ponzi schemes generate. Most are bagholders, though.
> even as crypto is clearly changing the world like the internet did in the 90s and mobile in the 00s.
Crypto hasn't changed a single thing about the world. There is not a single popular thing backed by crypto. Every example you gave in this thread was either weak, like that DeFi Pulse link, or just straight not even using crypto, like Eco.
When you as an expert can't even identify a popular product using crypto at it's core, it doesn't speak very highly.
> I have been full-time in crypto for years. I could write you a 10,000-word essay on crypto's promising use cases. But, I believe that you, and many others on HN, don't want to hear it.
I am an actual cryptographer and would love to read world salad like that.
> That's too bad, because you guys grew up on sci-fi and rigor, and now you're ignoring that crypto is both rigorously successful and cypherpunk sci-fi come to life.
Stop. Libertarian dorks that don't understand the history of finance is hardly the sci-fi we want.
I'd say this criticism was mostly fair up until about two years ago. Within the last two years, the actual applications have flourished.
For example, have a look through this list https://defipulse.com/
If you remain skeptical, that's fair. The good news is, Ethereum is reaching adulthood this year by switching to proof of stake and launching the web of layer-2 networks. Within another three years or so, the "actual applications" will become so ubiquitous as to be impossible to ignore.