Re:Report on Stablecoins [pdf]
by arcticbull on Monday November 01, 2021 @11:31PM
(#29076637)
> Bitcoin is definitely experiencing baseless manias, but it's very clearly not a MLM or pyramid scheme.
I'd love to see you address any of jstolfi's points directly!
> Agree this is bad but that's an artifact of what people are doing with Bitcoin, not an inescapable fundamental quality of Bitcoin. Bitcoin can and for a long, long time used to run just fine on comparatively little energy and transaction costs measured in cents.
It really can't. Its security is proportional to its wastefulness. It must always waste more than its opponents are willing to spend to destroy it meaning its waste must grow with its valuation. It's a proof of waste algorithm.
> I'm not making claims about whether Bitcoin (or any other crypto) is a currency, or a good currency.
I am making the claim its so utterly bad at being a currency pretending it's a currency is pointless and harmful to the discourse.
> This just isn't true. It's not difficult to imagine how a distributed tamper proof ledger could be useful, or find actual practical uses of blockchains.
It's been 14 years. There isn't a single use that isn't crime or regulatory arbitrage - or solving a problem crypto created for itself. The proof is in the pudding, and there's simply no pudding.
> ... but the legitimate uses cases do exist.
If you find one, and productize it, you will be the single wealthiest person alive. Elon better step aside.
I'd love to see you address any of jstolfi's points directly!
> Agree this is bad but that's an artifact of what people are doing with Bitcoin, not an inescapable fundamental quality of Bitcoin. Bitcoin can and for a long, long time used to run just fine on comparatively little energy and transaction costs measured in cents.
It really can't. Its security is proportional to its wastefulness. It must always waste more than its opponents are willing to spend to destroy it meaning its waste must grow with its valuation. It's a proof of waste algorithm.
> I'm not making claims about whether Bitcoin (or any other crypto) is a currency, or a good currency.
I am making the claim its so utterly bad at being a currency pretending it's a currency is pointless and harmful to the discourse.
> This just isn't true. It's not difficult to imagine how a distributed tamper proof ledger could be useful, or find actual practical uses of blockchains.
It's been 14 years. There isn't a single use that isn't crime or regulatory arbitrage - or solving a problem crypto created for itself. The proof is in the pudding, and there's simply no pudding.
> ... but the legitimate uses cases do exist.
If you find one, and productize it, you will be the single wealthiest person alive. Elon better step aside.