Re:Tim Berners-Lee: ‘Web3 is not the web at all’
by RestlessMind on Saturday November 05, 2022 @08:18PM
(#33487371)
What do you think about NY Fed's project I linked, which demonstrated that "blockchain-enabled cross-border payments can be faster, simultaneous, and safer" (their words, not mine).
Speaking of dissidents subverting their governments, I personally know people who are using cryptocurrencies to assist their families stuck under the said governments. There might be some risks, but when they don't have any other way to exchange value, crypto is a lifeline.
Re:Tim Berners-Lee: ‘Web3 is not the web at all’
by acdha on Saturday November 05, 2022 @08:34PM
(#33487469)
It’s a prototype but also not how most cryptocurrency people use blockchain. It’s a shared ledger between a couple of banks, organized by a central bank. It’s no surprise that this works because it doesn’t drag in all of the notorious drawbacks trying to do the pseudo-anonymous permission-less stuff, or trying to be a separate currency.
Re:Tim Berners-Lee: ‘Web3 is not the web at all’
by RestlessMind on Monday November 07, 2022 @12:07AM
(#33501427)
What is the specific drawback of pseudo-anonymous permission-less stuff?
> trying to be a separate currency.
None of the serious crypto projects I am aware of (which are Bitcoin, Ethererum and its L2's basically) claim to be a currency. Bitcoin is an asset. ETH is a currency only for the ETH ecosystem and does not claim to be something along the lines of a popular definition of currency.
That last part is significant because while the Bitcoin marketing team likes to talk about it being anonymous or “censorship resistant”, it's extremely risky for anyone to use when their threat model includes the government they live under. Yes, I'm sure someone has been able to transfer money to a Russian or Chinese dissident but once that becomes at all significant, consider the incredible risk that poses to the recipient. They can't make a transaction without making highly-distinctive network traffic, they can't use the funds locally without finding someone willing to take them which is risky to both parties since you're betting that the other party isn't compromised, and unlike regular currency transactions you're leaving an immutable public audit trail. If any party involved ever has records which the police obtain, they now have hard evidence to go after everyone they've ever transacted with rather than just the ones they observed after learning of that blackmarket activity. Better hope that you and everyone you ever do business with has perfect opsec…
This isn't some idle speculation, either — there have been a number of cases where Bitcoin provided key evidence linking people's activity and allowing the police to wrap up an entire group rather than the one guy they caught. Here's an example of where that was used for good:
https://www.wired.com/story/tracers-in-the-dark-welcome-to-v...
Now, I personally would not like to see political dissidents in China or Russia meet the same fate so I would not want to tell them Bitcoin is suitable for this task.