Cryptocurrencies add nothing useful to society, says chip-maker Nvidia

Re:Cryptocurrencies add nothing useful to society, says chip... by GaveDrohl on Sunday March 26, 2023 @02:37PM (#35317845)

Most crypto currencies don't and probably never will. But those such as Bitcoin that are the most decentralized and censorship resistant are crucial to those living under authoritarian regimes and whose currencies are going through significant debasement. The mad rush to make a quick buck and the propaganda from those in power have distorted the original intent behind crypto.

Also, corporations such as Nvidia that depends on the good will of the government are motivated to fall in line with the government's stance, which is negative given the threat it poses to the power and control they maintain having USD as the world reserve currency.

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Re:Cryptocurrencies add nothing useful to society, says chip... by xapata on Sunday March 26, 2023 @02:45PM (#35317945)

Intent and practice are sadly different.

It doesn't seem like Bitcoin, etc. are widely used enough to be crucial to a society such as you describe. And I have a hard time imagining how they could become so, given the difficulty in converting that society's standard currency to cryptocurrency.

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Re:Cryptocurrencies add nothing useful to society, says chip... by jfengel on Sunday March 26, 2023 @02:56PM (#35318106)

That's just the problem. It's very popular with people who want to bypass the law. Occasionally that's crucial and laudable. Usually it's drugs and illegal pornography. Which makes its use for anything legal dubious.

If it ever could have broken that stigma, the swarm of speculators and scammers made that impossible.

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Re:Cryptocurrencies add nothing useful to society, says chip... by anonkogudhyfhhf on Sunday March 26, 2023 @04:51PM (#35319454)

Is the law always correct? Specifically in totalitarian countries? The internet is also a tool for braking the law with unrestricted information. Bitcoin is unrestrained money. All the bitcoin copycats controlled by individuals are scams tho

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Re:Cryptocurrencies add nothing useful to society, says chip... by AviationAtom on Sunday March 26, 2023 @03:19PM (#35318412)

Read a big story about people setting up illicit mining farms in Venezuela (?), using the proceeds to buy goods and have them shipped to them, providing sustenance to those in their community. Unfortunately the government realized the dilapidated grid was hemmorhaging power in the area, tracked them down, and shut it all down.

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Re:Cryptocurrencies add nothing useful to society, says chip... by RobotToaster on Sunday March 26, 2023 @03:21PM (#35318451)

>But those such as Bitcoin that are the most decentralized and censorship resistant

Bitcoin isn't anonymous though, which makes it's censorship resistance dubious. IIRC monero fixed that.

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Re:Cryptocurrencies add nothing useful to society, says chip... by capableweb on Sunday March 26, 2023 @04:07PM (#35318986)

It doesn't have to be anonymous to be censorship resistant or useful in those environments. It takes more work, sure, but it's not a must-have property of the system in order to be resistant to censorship.

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Re:Cryptocurrencies add nothing useful to society, says chip... by partiallypro on Sunday March 26, 2023 @03:45PM (#35318730)

That is such a small user base and governments have already shown they can confiscate crypto of they think it's a priority. The main use I see is in the midst of currency crisis, but that is fairly rare.

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