What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

The politics of cryptocurrency (1 Viewer)

Agree to disagree. The algorithmic stablecoin premise never made sense to me and we experienced a requisite clearing of the market and wake up call for US regulators to get moving on regulating this stuff. This doesn't change the long term direction of blockchain technology and its ultimate future of replacing the traditional financial system and opening up entirely new ways for society to function. 

 
No offense to my friend @Sand, but this line followed by the auto "two weeks later ..."  thing was just too perfect  ;)

Hope you didn't get caught up in the Terra mess, GB 
I assume that's some kinda "stable" cryptocurrency which wasn't so stable after all...if so, color me shocked. 

Is anyone praising crypto who isn't heavily invested in it?

 
Agree to disagree. The algorithmic stablecoin premise never made sense to me and we experienced a requisite clearing of the market and wake up call for US regulators to get moving on regulating this stuff. This doesn't change the long term direction of blockchain technology and its ultimate future of replacing the traditional financial system and opening up entirely new ways for society to function. 
It seems to me that an awful lot of people are conflating the decentralized, 24x7, and other benefits of cryptocurrency with the technology being used (blockchain).  There's not really anything special about "blockchain"; it's just a programmable tool.  It'd be like Twitter choosing Microsoft Azure as the underlying infrastructure versus Amazon versus hosting their own.  It's the Twitter experience itself that is the "product", not the underlying infrastructure.

 
It seems to me that an awful lot of people are conflating the decentralized, 24x7, and other benefits of cryptocurrency with the technology being used (blockchain).  There's not really anything special about "blockchain"; it's just a programmable tool.  It'd be like Twitter choosing Microsoft Azure as the underlying infrastructure versus Amazon versus hosting their own.  It's the Twitter experience itself that is the "product", not the underlying infrastructure.
I'm not sure what to conclude from your post. I disagree when you say, "there's not really anything special about blockchain." To me, that's akin to saying, "there's not really anything special about 2G cellular technology" in the early 1990s. 

 
I'm not sure what to conclude from your post. I disagree when you say, "there's not really anything special about blockchain." To me, that's akin to saying, "there's not really anything special about 2G cellular technology" in the early 1990s. 
That particular bit was phrased poorly.  Let's go with "There's not really anything special about blockchain that makes it better/worse than banks for handling money / transactions."  That is, it's not "blockchain technology" that enables one to make a transaction 24x7; it's the existence of cryptocurrencies and their policies that enable this.  The cryptocurrencies just happen to use blockchain instead of some other technology.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
That particular bit was phrased poorly.  Let's go with "There's not really anything special about blockchain that makes it better/worse than banks for handling money / transactions."  That is, it's not "blockchain technology" that enables one to make a transaction 24x7; it's the existence of cryptocurrencies and their policies that enable this.  The cryptocurrencies just happen to use blockchain instead of some other technology.
Cryptocurrencies are the medium of exchange by which value is transferred on the blockchain (i.e. it's one element of the system) so I'm confused as to why you're separating them. It's kinda like saying the automobile isn't all that important; the steering wheel is what's really important.

I think the real misconception is crypto is nothing more than speculative, no-revenue, pump and dump penny stocks. There are certainly many, many examples of that, but underneath the surface is technological development that is changing the world. 

Here's a walkthrough on social tokens which is enabled through blockchain tech.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Cryptocurrencies are the medium of exchange by which value is transferred on the blockchain (i.e. it's one element of the system) so I'm confused as to why you're separating them. It's kinda like saying the automobile isn't all that important; the steering wheel is what's really important.

I think the real misconception is crypto is nothing more than speculative, no-revenue, pump and dump penny stocks. There are certainly many, many examples of that, but underneath the surface is technological development that is changing the world. 

Here's a walkthrough on social tokens which is enabled through blockchain tech.
I just think it's important to be precise on certain things and the difference between the currency or method of transaction and the underlying technology is a pet peeve of mine (sorry).  "Blockchain technology" itself doesn't enable any of the benefits you want.  For instance, Chase and Citi could start using blockchain technology tomorrow on their in-house systems yet keep all of their existing policies relative to hours of operation, required delays, transaction percentage/fees, etc.

 
In this example, at worst, it's settled in an hour. Your credit card transactions don't settle anywhere close to that. Of course, most people don't (and shouldn't) use the layer 1 Bitcoin network to send consumer grade transactions. Quicker and cheaper layer 2 solutions are built for that.

Now, rather than buying a sandwich at Chick-Fil-A, let's talking about sending large amounts of money. Let's say you need to send someone $100,000. What options does your bank give you? How long does it take and how much does it cost? What if you need to do it at 10 pm at night? What about Sunday?
The fed and other entities like the clearing house are commercializing real time payments that will enable the instantaneous transfer of money not tied to a few daily ach  windows

 
Blockchain technology has beneficial applications.

Cryptocurrency may be a valid store of value.  Just like gold or dog#### if people wanted to hold that too.

There is nothing Cryptocurrency would do to improve the existing payments experience for consumers.  I buy a hamburger today and get it immediately.  Paying in crypto will not make it come out faster or taste better.

 
I just think it's important to be precise on certain things and the difference between the currency or method of transaction and the underlying technology is a pet peeve of mine (sorry).  "Blockchain technology" itself doesn't enable any of the benefits you want.  For instance, Chase and Citi could start using blockchain technology tomorrow on their in-house systems yet keep all of their existing policies relative to hours of operation, required delays, transaction percentage/fees, etc.
I think you're missing the point of blockchain technology. It's to make the Chase and Citi's unnecessary. 

It feels to me like you're conflating digital currency and blockchain tech.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I just think it's important to be precise on certain things and the difference between the currency or method of transaction and the underlying technology is a pet peeve of mine (sorry).  "Blockchain technology" itself doesn't enable any of the benefits you want.  For instance, Chase and Citi could start using blockchain technology tomorrow on their in-house systems yet keep all of their existing policies relative to hours of operation, required delays, transaction percentage/fees, etc.
Trustless systems

This is a good article on what a trustless blockchain system is and how it replaces the current centralized system run by banks.

 
I think you're missing the point of blockchain technology. It's to make the Chase and Citi's unnecessary. 

It feels to me like you're conflating digital currency and blockchain tech.
What should I have against Chase?  Why do I want to trust my savings with coinbase more than a regulated institution?  Why would I want to transact without the zero liability and chargeback rights I have through a credit card.

Whats the upside to taking on this additional risk and inconvenience?

 
I think you're missing the point of blockchain technology. It's to make the Chase and Citi's unnecessary. 

It feels to me like you're conflating digital currency and blockchain tech.
Wait, no.  I'm specifically advocating for NOT conflating digital currency and blockchain technology.  It's everyone else who seems to be conflating the two.  Digital currency enables certain things.  Most digital currency happens to use blockchain tech underneath, but there's no requirement that blockchain be the underlying tech for digital currency.

 
Fiat currency has a lot of problems.  I don't think anyone is going to argue with that.  But that doesn't make Bitcoin "better."  Bitcoin in theory could be better.  But if your argument for Bitcoin is that the value of a dollar can be dropped at anytime--look at the valuation of Bitcoin over the last 14 months.  It's prone to market manipulation.  

The most compelling argument I've heard in favor of crypto is the finite amount/limiting the affects of inflation.  As Bitcoin has gone from 60,000 to sub 30,000--I don't feel great about it as an anti-inflation asset at the moment.  I understand as more people buy into it, the price becomes theoretically becomes more stable, and more Bitcoin will never be made once it's all in existence/circulation/whatever.  But here, now, today, you could just as easily lose all your money if everyone decided Bitcoin is worthless.  

I think a lot of people present a multitude of theoretical reasons that Bitcoin COULD be great as an argument for it.  But in most cases, people are hoping to get rich quick, even if that's not what they're saying.  And while some people have done just that--a lot of people have lost a lot of money on it too.  

 
Wait, no.  I'm specifically advocating for NOT conflating digital currency and blockchain technology.  It's everyone else who seems to be conflating the two.  Digital currency enables certain things.  Most digital currency happens to use blockchain tech underneath, but there's no requirement that blockchain be the underlying tech for digital currency.
Most money is already digital. It is true that this money isn't technically currency as it is a liability of the private banking system, but the blockchain isn't really necessary to enable further gains from digitization.

 
Most money is already digital. It is true that this money isn't technically currency as it is a liability of the private banking system, but the blockchain isn't really necessary to enable further gains from digitization.


This was one of the main points of the article I posted previously. He basically said cryptos are trying to solve a problem that isn't there. We already have electronic money. Its run through PayPal and Venmo, etc.

 
I think the real misconception is crypto is nothing more than speculative, no-revenue, pump and dump penny stocks. There are certainly many, many examples of that, but underneath the surface is technological development that is changing the world. 

Here's a walkthrough on social tokens which is enabled through blockchain tech.
How is crypto changing the world? I can’t stomach another video advertising the investment potential.

 
Cryptocurrencies are the medium of exchange by which value is transferred on the blockchain (i.e. it's one element of the system) so I'm confused as to why you're separating them. It's kinda like saying the automobile isn't all that important; the steering wheel is what's really important.

I think the real misconception is crypto is nothing more than speculative, no-revenue, pump and dump penny stocks. There are certainly many, many examples of that, but underneath the surface is technological development that is changing the world. 

Here's a walkthrough on social tokens which is enabled through blockchain tech.
It is absolutely speculative.  I don't think Bitcoin/Ethereum are akin to penny stocks.  But a lot of other cryptos are. 

You're arguing two different things.  The technology may change the world.  That doesn't mean Bitcoin and other crypto's aren't speculation.  

 
It is absolutely speculative.  I don't think Bitcoin/Ethereum are akin to penny stocks.  But a lot of other cryptos are. 

You're arguing two different things.  The technology may change the world.  That doesn't mean Bitcoin and other crypto's aren't speculation.  
Read the sentence you quoted again. I didn't say there isn't a speculative component. I'm saying a lot of people stop there.  

 
Captain Cranks said:
Read the sentence you quoted again. I didn't say there isn't a speculative component. I'm saying a lot of people stop there.  
They stop at speculative investing because the “best thing since the internet” applications of cryptocurrency aren’t immediately apparent. I’m still waiting to see something to convince me otherwise.

 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top