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Re:Bitcoin is not a store of value by throwawayKiwi9 on Monday September 19, 2022 @02:09AM (#32894815)
People are so quick to dismiss cryptocurrency now because it isn't "green", but disregard the enormous infrastructure, capital, and resources that the global fiat industry uses that is completely automated away by crypto.

Even if you only factor the value of human life alone, just the time saved by the hundreds of thousands or millions of worldwide fiat employees who's positions largely would not need to exist anymore should surely be factored into these discussions about resource consumption. And that's before factoring things like wages. Or the ultra-weathy executives. Let alone physical infrastructures, skyscrapers, data centers, private jets, marketing, R&D, legal teams, IT/security, fraud depts, and loads of other internal costs.

I just don't buy that it's much worse than many existing costs we already turn a blind eye to. I believe that the growing use of safe nuclear power and other future alternative energy sources make this a moot position in these arguments anyway.

Re:Bitcoin is not a store of value by unicornmama on Monday September 19, 2022 @02:33AM (#32894996)
Crypto has not automated away anything useful beyond toy projects nor shown potential to do more with less. If crypto disappeared today its disappearance would have zero impact on goods and services.
Re:Bitcoin is not a store of value by throwawayKiwi9 on Monday September 19, 2022 @03:49AM (#32895502)
I had to cash a check yesterday. This would have been a single CLI command with crypto. Ignoring the fact that this is a 100+ mile journey for me, I had to speak with real humans to get payment in hand. Just how much manpower and resources are spent simply in getting the cash from these federal printers to my hand, resources that I am inadvertently paying for? From Multiple CEO salaries to armored truck transportation to the cleaning person at the branch. and much more. I just think if people are going to slam crypto for resource consumption, you can't overlook fiat's true overall resource consumption.
Re:Bitcoin is not a store of value by nly on Monday September 19, 2022 @05:20AM (#32896082)
I had to cash a cheque (a real paper cheque) a few months ago as well.

I opened up my banking app, photographed both sides, input a few key values and, the money was added to my (uncleared) balance instantly.

You don't need bitcoin, you just need better tech in general.

Re:Bitcoin is not a store of value by irusensei on Monday September 19, 2022 @05:57AM (#32896287)
Let me guess, your passport cover is painted with the correct color. You probably never had to submit a mountain of paperwork officially translated to English because you committed the crime that is to help your mother back in your home country to pay for medicine. Your bank never blocked your funds and demanded explanations on why you withdraw that cash on an ATM. You've never been through the AML racist and fascist bullshit that subverts the concept of people being innocent into proven guilty. You probably also never lived through the hell of hyperinflation or government mandated confiscation of savings accounts[0].

Did I got right?

[0] https://www.joc.com/brazil-brings-end-its-failed-economic-pl... - "But Ms. Cardoso had no regrets. If necessary, she told O Globo newspaper, she would confiscate the money all over again."

Re:Bitcoin is not a store of value by dalmo3 on Monday September 19, 2022 @06:19AM (#32896425)
You don't need bitcoin, you just need better government and to end corruption.

/s

Re:Bitcoin is not a store of value by irusensei on Monday September 19, 2022 @07:34AM (#32896952)
Thanks! I'll make sure to vote harder next time.
Re:Bitcoin is not a store of value by johnnymorgan on Monday September 19, 2022 @08:50AM (#32897644)
You won that exchange, nicely done.

All the things you listed are the impetus to the Bitcoin network foundation.

Cheers!

Re:Bitcoin is not a store of value by bcrl on Monday September 19, 2022 @10:02AM (#32898453)
Saying the only reason Bitcoin is needed is to help facilitate illegal transactions is not exact a resounding endorsement that will enable its widespread adoption. Most people don't want to actively encourage / support the breaking of laws.
Re:Bitcoin is not a store of value by johnnymorgan on Monday September 19, 2022 @11:16AM (#32899508)
You mean USD as that facilitates the largest volume of illegal transactions.

Read the whitepaper my guy, it goes over all of this as the impetus for it's creation.

If you don't like that, then check out what Henry Duncan did in 1810.

People like you shit all over his value proposition and were 100% wrong

Re:Bitcoin is not a store of value by bcrl on Monday September 19, 2022 @06:02PM (#32904710)
Bitcoin doesn't have a defined mechanism for honoring the rule of law when society determines that something bad has happened. That's a pretty fundamental and potentially fatal flaw for some (unless, perhaps, you're a libertarian). For those of us that live in a society where the rule of law provides tangible benefits to our daily lives, that's a problem.

Personally, I'm perfectly happy with the banking system the way it is. I can send modest sums of money to others via an Interac e-Transfer via an email or SMS in a matter of seconds. I can transfer funds using EFT/ACH within 24 hours with no fees thanks to the credit union I use. Bitcoin isn't really an improvement on this situation for me.

You need to understand and accept that there are a non-trivial number of people in society which feel similarly and hold the same belief. Adopting something new just because it's tech is never going to win everyone over, especially when worries about personal wealth are involved. This isn't a simple technical problem that can be easily fixed with a bit more code.

I don't believe it's shitting over the value proposition: to me, adherence to rule of law is a requirement for the financial systems that I use. If someone compromises my credit card or bank account, the bank can reverse the fraudulent transactions. If someone compromises my Bitcoin wallet and transfers the contents out, the funds are gone and I have nobody to turn to for help, and the odds of recovery are negligible. This is a feature of the banking system. To me this is a bug in Bitcoin (not a feature). I'm not "shitting" over the value proposition -- I'm telling you that it doesn't meet my requirements.

Re:Bitcoin is not a store of value by johnnymorgan on Tuesday September 20, 2022 @07:29AM (#32910319)
You didn't bother to look up Henry Duncan did you.

Go do the proper homework and come back.

This financial network and it's rule of laws did not start that way, learn from history or don't I frankly don't care what you feel/think, you are literally 1 person that does not represent anyone but yourself.

You're entire argument is a strawman, I gave you the hint to understand why but you are too lazy to learn.

GLHF!

Re:Bitcoin is not a store of value by bcrl on Tuesday September 20, 2022 @02:40PM (#32916047)
I read up on Henry Duncan prior to making my previous post, and it's mostly irrelevant. He created savings and loan entities that were still regulated by the government and had to abide by the rule of law. More importantly, they were run by and employed humans. Humans have incentive to abide by the rule of law which computers (nodes in the Bitcoin network) do not. That's a pretty massive difference between the two approaches to financial transactions which you have not addressed in the slightest.

I've explained what my major concerns are. You have not provided any explanation for how these concerns can / will be addressed. Your claim that Henry Duncan explains things seems to be a very indirect way of stating that laws need to be changed. Great -- let's say the law is changed. How do you retroactively implement governance mechanisms in Bitcoin whereby a transaction can be reversed upon an order by the court? Right now you can't! This is a real concern for myself and others. Hand waving it away is not addressing the problem. Why would I even remotely consider giving money to people that insist upon hand waving concerns about governance issues away?

Please respond with facts and ideas, not vitriol. I really do want to understand how people involved crypto currencies are going to implement the governance that is needed in the real world, as the current approaches appear to be completly ad-hoc and unpredictable to an outsider.

Re:Bitcoin is not a store of value by johnnymorgan on Thursday September 22, 2022 @07:32AM (#32937473)
It was completely unregulated when he launched it and he was the proponent of regulation but that didn't come for another 10 years+ after he rolled it out and open sourced the idea.

If you can't see the parallels then meh, it's pretty much the same process any new financial network goes through.

You're entire argument is one big strawman, people will figure out over time how to regulate it, ie custodian solutions are just the beginning, you know all of these funds can be held in escrow.

Your lack of vision is a you problem, not the network's.

Innovate or get left behind, I gave you a clear example from history which refutes your core concept and you just...hand wave it away.

Re:Bitcoin is not a store of value by bcrl on Tuesday September 20, 2022 @02:54PM (#32916213)
Btw - I genuinely believe that there are applications of blockchains that would improve governance in the real world. Most notably, blockchains as a public ledger tracking the actual ownership of publicly traded stocks and other financial instruments would be a really good idea, as it would enable the verify part of "trust, but verify". Sadly, this is not the application that has captured mainstream attention as of yet.
Re:Bitcoin is not a store of value by hansonkd13 on Monday September 19, 2022 @10:10AM (#32898551)
No but I have been through exchange mandated confiscation of crypto wallets. Be your own bank you say? Keep my own keys you say?

You think the average person from the article would hold their own keys? No the reality is if crypto was adopted en-mass, people would use services to manage their keys and you literally solve zero problems.

Re:Bitcoin is not a store of value by ahtihn on Monday September 19, 2022 @04:42AM (#32895824)
> I had to cash a check yesterday

Yeah, the american banking system is stuck in the stone age for some reason. You don't need crypto to solve that.

Ask Europeans how often they use checks.

Re:Bitcoin is not a store of value by EliRivers on Monday September 19, 2022 @04:43AM (#32895829)
"This would have been a single CLI command with crypto."

Would it? Would you have actual cash at that point? Physical banknotes in your hand you can then spend in an ordinary shop? Are you genuinely comparing similar things here?

Re:Bitcoin is not a store of value by throwawayKiwi9 on Monday September 19, 2022 @05:00AM (#32895950)
In my case, yes. I simply wanted to be paid for my work and provided a form of currency that I can spend.
Re:Bitcoin is not a store of value by peyton on Monday September 19, 2022 @03:56AM (#32895531)
Financial services are like 20–25% of the global economy. Could be lower for sure.
Re:Bitcoin is not a store of value by Kiro on Monday September 19, 2022 @05:05AM (#32895984)
Do you have any comparison that's relevant in modern countries?
Re:Bitcoin is not a store of value by pas on Monday September 19, 2022 @04:21AM (#32895674)
okay, and will crypto solve this? it seems Venmo has a better chance at this, or the new Fed semi-instant transfer initiative or whatever.

also, how many checks are cashed in person nowadays? they can be submitted via a photo at most big banks, no?

Re:Bitcoin is not a store of value by Galanwe on Monday September 19, 2022 @02:52AM (#32895115)
I'm sorry what?

At the very minimum crypto showed that you can run an efficient, highly liquid, double digit billion dollar, fungible or non fungible exchange market in a fully automated and distributed manner.

A huge fiat equity market such as NYSE averages $3B/d, crypto DEXes alone is around $2B/d.

Crypto also completely removes the need for middle and back offices, clearing houses, etc. on these platforms.

Just technology wise (if we were to drop the self-sovereignty of crypto tokens and just use central bank backed crypto euro/dollar/etc to replace the current financial system) a monstrous amount of manpower and energy could be saved by removing the banks, exchanges, brokers, clearing houses, compensation chambers, back office, etc. industries.

Re:Bitcoin is not a store of value by p4bl0 on Monday September 19, 2022 @03:50AM (#32895511)
I'm sorry what?

In practice, crypto markets are not any more decentralized than others. In real life people use hosted wallets on exchange platform. Transactions happen on a distributed (not decentralized!) ledger. The underlying network is only somewhat decentralized (the mining economy tends to the concentration of big players).

Also the way you seem to imagine we could be "removing the banks, exchanges, brokers, clearing houses, compensation chambers, back office, etc." just shows how much you don't know about how an economy works. Real-world transactions need to be reversible, need escrow, guarantees and a lot of other mechanisms that are by design not available using blockchains based assets (if they are there, it means the assumptions which would have made a blockchain useful have been broken, and that we can achieve the same features and services without a blockchain in a more efficient manner).

Re:Bitcoin is not a store of value by Galanwe on Monday September 19, 2022 @08:19AM (#32897303)
Why bother replying if you have no clue what you are talking about...

> In practice, crypto markets are not any more decentralized than others.

I specifically mentioned DEX, you are talking about CEX.

> Also the way you seem to imagine we could be "removing the banks, exchanges, brokers, clearing houses, compensation chambers, back office, etc." just shows how much you don't know about how an economy works.

So you are at lost of arguments and start questioning the argumenter pedigree instead? if you want to go that route: I have 15 years of experience in financial markets, am partner and founder in 2 (running) investments funds, trading equities, FX forwards, equity futures and interest rate swaps for ~1.5B AUM. I am currently a registered MIC on 5 accounts with the SFC (some of these including operational risk). I have setup multiple front office systems, work daily with middle office systems, and have a fairly good understanding of back office. I have worked extensively with clearing houses, most recently for the implementation of central clearing on interest rate products.

So please, explain me how you somehow have such a deep knowledge of these subjects that you can obviously see from my comment that I "don't know much about how finance works"?!

> Real-world transactions need to be reversible, need escrow, guarantees and a lot of other mechanisms that are by design not available using blockchains based assets

I will play your game: you have definitely 0 idea what exists in the crypto space. Everyting your mentions and much, much more already exists. The sophistication available on crypto contracts and protocols nowadays is at the very least on par with traditional finance entities and contrats, if beyond.

Re:Bitcoin is not a store of value by zeroclip on Monday September 19, 2022 @04:20AM (#32895673)
> In real life people use hosted wallets on exchange platform.

The parent mentions DEX volume, which tracks on-chain wallet usage, not what is being traded in a CEX.

> Real-world transactions need to be reversible, need escrow, guarantees and a lot of other mechanisms that are by design not available using blockchains based assets

Many blockchain transactions have reversibility, employ escrow, and have very strong cryptographic guarantees.

The only point of your post that is not easily refuted is: blockchain is not decentralized enough. But compared to what? Is Ethereum, open source software with many thousands of nodes and developers spread across the world, more or less centralized than the US dollar?

Re:Bitcoin is not a store of value by Jommi on Monday September 19, 2022 @05:33AM (#32896150)
Even IRL, trading platforms usually offer no guarantee of any kind of reversibility outside of specific agreements.
Re:Bitcoin is not a store of value by zeroclip on Monday September 19, 2022 @05:50AM (#32896244)
Not even just trading platforms but also major payment processors:

https://help.venmo.com/hc/en-us/articles/235171088-Cancel-Pa...

Re:Bitcoin is not a store of value by Jommi on Monday September 19, 2022 @05:33AM (#32896145)
You should look into how DEXes and AMM architecture works, it will blow your mind
Re:Bitcoin is not a store of value by cowtools on Monday September 19, 2022 @02:58AM (#32895159)
Well, it has at least facilitated the Silk Road and many others to do business.

Regardless, I suppose that I agree with your point here. But I think that cryptocurrency could possible be useful for everyday transactions: it must first overcome network effects.