US Treasury Nominee Yellen Wants to Encourage Cryptocurrencies -- 'For Legitimate Activities' (nasdaq.com) 126
Business Insider reports:
The bitcoin price was set for its biggest one-week fall since September on Saturday morning, having slipped around 10% since Monday...
Bitcoin came under selling pressure this week after Janet Yellen, Joe Biden's pick for Treasury secretary, suggested the use of cryptocurrencies should be "curtailed" because they were used mainly for "illicit financing".
Writing at Nasdaq.com on Thursday, CoinDesk shared a link to U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen's later written responses to the same questions, where Yellen states that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies also offer potential benefits to the U.S. and its allies.
"At the same time, it also presents opportunities for states and non-state actors looking to circumvent the current financial system and undermine American interests. For example, the Central Bank of China just issued its first digital currency." I think it is important we consider the benefits of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets, and the potential they have to improve the efficiency of the financial system. At the same time, we know they can be used to finance terrorism, facilitate money laundering, and support malign activities that threaten U.S. national security interests and the integrity of the U.S. and international financial systems.
I think we need to look closely at how to encourage their use for legitimate activities while curtailing their use for malign and illegal activities. If confirmed, I intend to work closely with the Federal Reserve Board and the other federal banking and securities regulators on how to implement an effective regulatory framework for these and other fintech innovations.
Bitcoin came under selling pressure this week after Janet Yellen, Joe Biden's pick for Treasury secretary, suggested the use of cryptocurrencies should be "curtailed" because they were used mainly for "illicit financing".
Writing at Nasdaq.com on Thursday, CoinDesk shared a link to U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen's later written responses to the same questions, where Yellen states that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies also offer potential benefits to the U.S. and its allies.
"At the same time, it also presents opportunities for states and non-state actors looking to circumvent the current financial system and undermine American interests. For example, the Central Bank of China just issued its first digital currency." I think it is important we consider the benefits of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets, and the potential they have to improve the efficiency of the financial system. At the same time, we know they can be used to finance terrorism, facilitate money laundering, and support malign activities that threaten U.S. national security interests and the integrity of the U.S. and international financial systems.
I think we need to look closely at how to encourage their use for legitimate activities while curtailing their use for malign and illegal activities. If confirmed, I intend to work closely with the Federal Reserve Board and the other federal banking and securities regulators on how to implement an effective regulatory framework for these and other fintech innovations.
What activities? (Score:5, Insightful)
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Buying things that aren't illegal, but might be embarrassing?
The last few years have shown that cancel culture definitely does exist, and that people will use any and all leverage against someone they dislike.
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Buying things that aren't illegal, but might be embarrassing?
The last few years have shown that cancel culture definitely does exist, and that people will use any and all leverage against someone they dislike.
This is true. I can recall countless times in just the last few years that people have been completely "cancelled" for things like murder, rape, sedition, the list just goes on and on.
Why are we allowing this "cancel culture" to thrive?
Re: What activities? (Score:2, Insightful)
Spineless people too stupid to recognize bullying when it comes in a victim-proxy skin, catering to the loudest screamers because they want to be accepted by everyone. Resulting in them becoming tools im a bullying amplification attack.
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Amen
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Well said. It's bullying, plain and simple.
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I can recall countless times in just the last few years that people have been completely "cancelled" for things like murder, rape, sedition, the list just goes on and on.
Take your own advice
Don't be a tough guy. Don't be a fool! I will call you later
People have been "cancelled" for stupid jokes, "cultural appropriation", offensive comments, allegations, etc. That you refuse to acknowledge this shows you are fool for either being ignorant of the last 10 years or for using a very obvious cherry picking fallacy.
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I can recall countless times in just the last few years that people have been completely "cancelled" for things like murder, rape, sedition, the list just goes on and on.
Take your own advice
Don't be a tough guy. Don't be a fool! I will call you later
People have been "cancelled" for stupid jokes, "cultural appropriation", offensive comments, allegations, etc. That you refuse to acknowledge this shows you are fool for either being ignorant of the last 10 years or for using a very obvious cherry picking fallacy.
Give me 3 legitimate examples of innocent people being "cancelled" and then I'll explain why your examples are bullshit and why your argument lacks standing.
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people have been completely "cancelled" for things like murder, rape, sedition
And, then I said:
People have been "cancelled" for stupid jokes, "cultural appropriation", offensive comments, allegations, etc
Now you are saying:
Give me 3 legitimate examples of innocent people being "cancelled" and then I'll explain why your examples are bullshit and why your argument lacks standing.
This is what is known as moving the goal post because you started with "murder, rape, sedition" and rather than argue against the well known fact that people get cancelled for 'stupid jokes, "cultural appropriation", offensive comments, allegations' and instead tacitly admitted I am correct by asking for 3 legitimate examples of innocent people being "cancelled" . You have admitted I am correct that p
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Let me show you how you are being a dishonest fool. You originally said:
people have been completely "cancelled" for things like murder, rape, sedition
And, then I said:
People have been "cancelled" for stupid jokes, "cultural appropriation", offensive comments, allegations, etc
Now you are saying:
Give me 3 legitimate examples of innocent people being "cancelled" and then I'll explain why your examples are bullshit and why your argument lacks standing.
This is what is known as moving the goal post because you started with "murder, rape, sedition" and rather than argue against the well known fact that people get cancelled for 'stupid jokes, "cultural appropriation", offensive comments, allegations' and instead tacitly admitted I am correct by asking for 3 legitimate examples of innocent people being "cancelled" . You have admitted I am correct that people have been "cancelled" for stupid jokes, "cultural appropriation", offensive comments, allegations, etc
You have already lost.
Yeah I knew you couldn't do it, because it sounds nice to say people are being "cancelled" it's actually bullshit. Someone commits murder and they are charged and sentenced they haven't been "cancelled". When someone spreads bullshit like "the election was stolen" with zero evidence and they get called on their bullshit they haven't been "cancelled"
Being factually wrong about something and getting called on it doesn't mean you have been "cancelled" - it means your wrong.
I'll take those legitimate examples
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HAHA - you're welcome
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I hope I have helped enlighten you. Here is a good analogy :
"The cloud" - omgz what is this?!?1 it sounds crazy and abstract - No it's just you storing/accessing data on someone else's server over the internet.
"Cancel Culture" - Oh no what is this cancelling that's happening - No , someone is wrong and someone else calls them on it.
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You already have admitted I am right and you are wrong. Stop lying, little troll.
I have admitted no such thing. Keep claiming victory for all to see your failure or actually link up some evidence. Same problem your kind had in court with the "election fraud". You've got nothing.
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The last few years have shown that cancel culture definitely does exist, and that people will use any and all leverage against someone they dislike.
Cancel culture = free market at work. Change my mind.
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Cancel culture = free market at work. Change my mind.
Boycotting a product because you disagree with its maker's political stance is the free market at work. Choosing to not go to hear a speaker is the free market at work.
Bullying some intermediate link in the supply chain of a manufacturer to not do business with company X on purely political grounds is cancel culture. Pulling strings to prevent the speaker you don't like from appearing on your campus is cancel culture. Both of these are examples of Maoism (see "Cultural Revolution").
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"Bullying some intermediate link in the supply chain of a manufacturer to not do business with company X on purely political grounds is cancel culture."
The middleman supply chain isn't free market?
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"Bullying some intermediate link in the supply chain of a manufacturer to not do business with company X on purely political grounds is cancel culture."
The middleman supply chain isn't free market?
The first time this cancelation technique is used against Biden or his team, Internet supply chains will find themselves reclassified as common carriers. This whole battle was fought in the union wars of the Fifties, and that was the resolution.
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"this cancelation technique is used against Biden or his team, Internet supply chains will find themselves reclassified as common carriers"
That is very doubtful.
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Being given a hard time for being offensive just because I used a term that apparently has been randomly and dubiously replaced by another term (always having more syllables than the first), though no offense was intended and no official memo was sent out.
I'm sure someone's burning someone else's books, somewhere.
While remaining politically neutral, couldn't some of the recent Capitol assault be considered that?
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Cancel culture = 4 syllables
Free market = 3 syllables
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Maybe I'm making it too simple. What are some examples of things that are so sensitive you wouldn't risk buying with a credit card or a pre-paid visa? Maybe a PS5 when your wife thinks your saving for the kid's college
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Buying things that aren't illegal, but might be embarrassing?
Yeah, ever since I bought that Nickelback album, my credit card company has been making fun of my tastes in music non-stop. /s
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Everyone buy https://www.amazon.com/Final-E... [amazon.com] along with https://www.amazon.com/Best-Ni... [amazon.com] so it starts recommending them together.
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Buying things that aren't illegal, but might be embarrassing?
The last few years have shown that cancel culture definitely does exist, and that people will use any and all leverage against someone they dislike.
For now, what you need to know is a Bitcoin address is created by a user’s wallet, which is linked to all the transactions. With the help of this address, anyone can see the balance and all transaction details. Bitcoin addresses cannot remain anonymous as you need to provide it to receive services or goods. There are many examples of the FBI and other authorities tracing bitcoin and other crypto to catch criminals. you are mentally challenged to believe digital currency is untraceable. I would almost
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Agreed that if Bitcoin transactions were traceable, it would have a lot more legitimacy as a currency, aside from the money supply problem and the transaction cost problem. Bit if BTC were traceable, why do ransomware perps keep getting away with it, even when large amounts of money are involved or when national security is involved?
Because, and only because, it's easy to make BTC transactions untraceable.
Re: What activities? (Score:2)
Cancel culture does not exist.
No one has a culture based solely on canceling things they do not like.
Boycotts are old. The word boycott entered the English language during the Irish "Land War" in 1880. What you call cancel culture is really just citizens using the power of the boycott to institute change. It is nothing more than the use of free speech and free association to apply economic pressure.
Corporations also use free speech and free association to apply economic pressure. They call it lobbying.
By op
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Cancel culture does not exist.
No one has a culture based solely on canceling things they do not like.
Rape culture does not exist.
No one has a culture based solely on raping othgers.
Racist culture does not exist.
No one has a culture based solely on being racist to races they do not like.
Misogynist culture does not exist.
No one has a culture based solely on hating women.
Hip Hop culture does not exist.
No one has a culture based solely on listening to hip hop.
[Descriptive] culture does not exist.
No one has a culture based solely on [behavior described by descriptive].
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Buying things that aren't illegal, but might be embarrassing?
You mean like sex toys? Valid point.
The last few years have shown that cancel culture definitely does exist, and that people will use any and all leverage against someone they dislike.
Ohhh, you meant far-right activism or possibly terror finance...yep, kill it with fire and stick to prepaid credit cards for the sex toys.
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Buying things that aren't illegal, but might be embarrassing?
You mean like sex toys? Valid point.
Except sex toys have to be delivered or picked up meaning there is going to be a record of name and physical address attached to the order.
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How about sex toys delivered by drone to an open field at night? :-P
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Re: What activities? (Score:1)
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Buying things if your countries currency is worthless.
Has that worked yet? Seems like people aren't spending any cryptocurrencies except to trade for more cryptocurrencies.
Purchasing things from online sources if you don't have a credit card.
How can you purchase things from (legal) online sources when almost none accepts cryptocurrencies due to their wildly fluctuating value? When cryptocurrency conventions don't accept cryptocurrency as payment themselves, what's the point of it?
Creating a value chain with a smart contract so that people in the value chain get paid appropriately.
Relying on people to be truthful outside of that chain. The smart contract stuff is provably nonsense that has not worked at all.
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Buying things if your countries currency is worthless.
Has that worked yet? Seems like people aren't spending any cryptocurrencies except to trade for more cryptocurrencies.
Purchasing things from online sources if you don't have a credit card.
How can you purchase things from (legal) online sources when almost none accepts cryptocurrencies due to their wildly fluctuating value? When cryptocurrency conventions don't accept cryptocurrency as payment themselves, what's the point of it?
Hence the idea of appropriate policies and regulation.
Wild west cryptocurrency has not delivered. Is it your position then that there can be no other way?
Re: What activities? (Score:5, Informative)
> almost none accepts cryptocurrencies due to their wildly fluctuating value? When cryptocurrency conventions don't accept cryptocurrency as payment themselves, what's the point of it?
> Hence the idea of appropriate policies and regulation.
> Wild west cryptocurrency has not delivered. Is it your position then that there can be no other way?
Here's the challenge. Literally half the task of Federal Reserve is to constantly adjust policy, particularly the money supply, to try to stabilize the value of the dollar. The Federal Reserve is people who have been in economics for decades and have truly unlimited resources to work with - yet they routinely fail at the task of stabilizing the currency.
It's that hard. It's also extremely important. A currency is defined as the accepted medium of exchange - what prices are set in, and a primary store of value - you can set aside $500 from your paycheck today knowing you can use that $500 to buy the things you'll need a month from now. You can't set a lease to cost D1,000/month if you have no idea how much a D will be worth six months from now. You can't set aside D500 for your grocery budget if you have no idea how much the D will be worth in two weeks. If you can't use it for setting the price of a lease, tuition, or other things, and you can't use it for saving between paychecks, it's useless as a currency. It's NOT a currency if it's not useful for those things. So a currency has to be stable, and stabilizing a currency is hard - even for a group with trillion dollars power to move the value of the currency as needed.
It's going to be awfully hard to find a decentralized way to stabilize the value of a crypto coin. And if you can't stabilize the value, it's not useful as a currency.
Re: What activities? (Score:4, Funny)
you can set aside $500 from your paycheck today knowing you can use that $500 to buy the things you'll need a month from now.
You can't set aside D500 for your grocery budget if you have no idea how much the D will be worth in two weeks.
What's hilarious is I can buy a gift card from a store worth some amount of money, give it to a person, and they can use that gift card to buy that amount of money of stuff in a year's time. Cannot do that with cryptocurrency of any sort.
These crypt-heads are peddling something that's worse than gift cards at being a useful currency.
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they can use that gift card to buy that amount of money of stuff in a year's time.
They can buy a tiny bit less stuff, but essentially correct. For decades the difference gets much bigger. Not saying cryptocurrencies are better in this regard, definitely not yet. There are stablecoins that combine weaknesses of cryptocurrencies (scalability) and fiat money (inflation), I wonder if there is a stablecoin pegged to a supposedly constant monetary value, like the 1970 dollar, as opposed to current money, I guess there must be, there are many
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The Federal Reserve is people who have been in economics for decades and have truly unlimited resources to work with - yet they routinely fail at the task of stabilizing the currency.
Fed policies mostly target inflation, and for the last 70 years [wikimedia.org] the Fed has done a remarkably good job of it.
The Fed [newyorkfed.org] very rarely intervenes in currency markets, because it just doesn't have to. The world uses the dollar as its primary reserve currency precisely because of its stability.
Saying the Fed "routinely" fails at stabilizing the dollar just isn't accurate.
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>Fed policies mostly target inflation, and for the last 70 years [wikimedia.org] the Fed has done a remarkably good job of it.
Sadly they have. Inflation cancels debt. That is why the boomers appear to have plenty of money - they essentially got their houses for free. Inflation shrank their debt to negligible amounts over the decades.
The big lending institutions don't like inflation because it cancels debt. For normal people (there are a lot more normal people than big lending institutions) low inflation
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Inflation effectively reduces the amount of principal owed.
When is good for those who are upside down, bad for those who were wise enough to save an invest.
If you buy a house when rates are near zero, then there is 13% inflation, the principal you owe just dripped by about 10% effectively. In contrast, if you're saving, because you're a grown-up, part of your savings probably ended up invested in mortgages, bonds, and other debts. High inflation makes your investment (retirement savings) worth less.
Debts
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Well, if you graph the value of a Dollar measured in BTC...
https://coinmarketcap.com/curr... [coinmarketcap.com] (The Mustard colored line)
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You measure the value of a currency by its purchasing power against a basket of "goods" that households buy - the ability to pay for things you need like groceries, shelter, clothes, etc.
Goods are items that provide "utility" to people - things that are useful in and of themselves.
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I probably did speak too strongly when I said "routinely fails at it". The fed has a target inflation rate. They always miss that target by some amount, whether they miss by 0.5 or by 12%. How big of a miss is "large" is entirely subjective, I suppose.
You look at the chart and see there isn't 100% inflation, so they have done "remarkably well". Someone else could look at that chart and note that it's rarely at 2%, which is the target.
Kinda like how I used to be the most knowledgeable about internet protoco
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I probably did speak too strongly when I said "routinely fails at it".
There's no "probably" about it. The Fed has performed very well when it comes to keeping the dollar stable, which is the exact opposite of what you claimed.
They always miss that target by some amount, whether they miss by 0.5 or by 12%. How big of a miss is "large" is entirely subjective, I suppose.
Inflation in the US has been 12% or higher 3 years out of the last 70. The Fed targets the core inflation measure "Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index". Here is a graph [frbatlanta.org] showing the PCE index along with the 2% Fed target. What you will notice is that the PCE index has been at or below the Fed's target rate for the vast majority of the last 2
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Cryptocurrencies are only a decade old; how good were you with money at the age of 10?
What was a US Dollar worth in Europe in 1786?
These things take time.
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This is a dumb argument. Are you insinuating cryptocurrency is a person, and that we should cut "them" some slack because "they" are only ten years old?
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It's going to be awfully hard to find a decentralized way to stabilize the value of a crypto coin. And if you can't stabilize the value, it's not useful as a currency.
Ampleforth (AMPL) tries to address this. Its value is rebased periodically to keep the value of 1 AMPL at around $1. This rebase adjusts the number of AMPL in the market, and the valuation re-adjusts accordingly.
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Hence the idea of appropriate policies and regulation.
Which defeats the whole purpose of cryptocurrency. Their pipe dream was to do away with government oversight at all. They've got what they want and it turns out it's doing worse than a government supposedly "printing money".
And yes, there can be no other way, because then it's not cryptocurrency. It's just blockchain then. It's just yet another market speculation tool that's worse than the stock market. At least part of the stock market is related to real world value. No cryptocurrency can claim relation
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Has that worked yet? Seems like people aren't spending any cryptocurrencies except to trade for more cryptocurrencies.
Not at all true. People have bought many real world goods in the past - at times pizza places have taken them, As of December 16th, PornHub is only still around because after Visa/MC dropped them, they could still take purchases in BitCoin [hindustantimes.com].
That is something people forget when "money laundering" is floated around, sometimes you need to launder money for perfectly legal activities, that the
Re: What activities? (Score:1)
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I mine Monero and spend it all of the time.
What do you spend it on?
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People have bought many real world goods in the past - at times pizza places have taken them,
The famous "Bitcoin pizza" guy would've done better to put the pizza on his credit card and hold onto the Bitcoin. Hell, I even spent half a Bitcoin back in the day when Tigerdirect started taking it, just to try it out. Had I held onto it, I'd have $15k today instead of an outdated Intel NUC DN2820FYKH. Live and learn.
As of December 16th, PornHub is only still around because after Visa/MC dropped them, they could still take purchases in BitCoin [hindustantimes.com].
PornHub got dropped by their payment processors because they were violating the record keeping requirements and letting anyone without any sort of age verification upload porn. It had not
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in the past
Yes, policies of the future should keep living in the past.
Many political candidates also take bitcoin [govtech.com] for donations.
I can't eat political donations. I can't drink political donations. What actual value can I buy with cryptocurrency for everyday use?
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So genius!
Re: What activities? (Score:2)
1. Seriously? You are suggesting a cryptocurrency for stability?
How about using another country's currency, like the population of every damn country with an unstable currency did since forever?
2. Use another payment method? Don't you have bank transfers, cash on delivery or the like in the US? I'm sure you do have the abomination known as PayPal, at the very least.
3. & 4. That's just gibberish, mate.
Re: What activities? (Score:2)
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People here are obsessed with the actions of others. Who cares if someone buys crypto?
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I spend bitcoin on real world goods through the internet. It's magical this internet thing.
You've been incredibly lucky everyone you've transacted with has been honest. I've had to file PayPal claims when things I've bought arrived damaged, and every single time I've gotten my money back.
Really, the advantages of cryptocurrency are all on the seller's side. If they send you something and it arrives in a million pieces (assuming it's not Ikea furniture, which is supposed to arrive in a million pieces), they can just respond "too bad."
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Ever hear of a fiat token?
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Buying things if your countries[sic] currency is worthless.
If one's country's currency is worthless, then one will be unable to purchase bitcoin. It is also easier to exchange a country's "worthless" currency for a more robust currency, like euros or dollars, instead of something that make worth half it's value the next day.
Purchasing things from online sources if you don't have a credit card.
Or, one could simply purchase a prepaid card or get a paypal account and put money into it by going to CVS, 7-eleven, etc.
Creating a value chain with a smart contract so that people in the value chain get paid appropriately.
That is an use of blockchain, not cryptocurrency, via smart contracts.
I mean you COULD use Google or you could make ass
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Currently, once you get money laundering of of the picture, cryptocurrencies are good for speculating, and - what else?
Cyrpto can have a stable money supply where it is not possible to create unlimited currency out of thin air, thereby risking hyperinflation, which protects the money of responsible savers. This will also likely force governments to balance their budgets, instead of spending like drunken sailors and competing for goods and services against the remainder of the public. Also, if deflation takes hold, then savers can protect their wealth without needing banks, stocks, bonds, or other potentially risky investmen
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Anywhere you don't want to give Visa/Mastercard 3%, or where you need a transaction to be irreversible but safer than carrying cash, or when you don't want a bank or third party involved at all.
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Anywhere you don't want to give Visa/Mastercard 3%
Retailers still have to pay a payment processor to turn the crypto you're spending back into real money, so they're unlikely to give a discount. Also, unless you've been paid in crypto or are mining it yourself (in which case, you're essentially buying it from your power company), you'll get hit up for an exchange fee when buying your cryptocurrency in the first place.
It's more convenient to just get a credit card that has a cash back reward program and pay for things that way, like a normal person.
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Beyond this, it's also surprisingly difficult to get currency in and out of crypto on a non-day-to-day scale.
I recently had a client who was trying to move low 8-digits (USD) for a construction project with what some of us thought was a fairly modest set of requirements for the much lauded Bitcoin: Deadline about 2 months out, under a 15% fee, and no government ID involved (wasn't a citizen of the destination, and origin had heavy restrictions on moving money out). The fees were surprisingly good-- but the
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Just shows you how much power the banks actually have to strangle any particular person's livlihood.
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Real money? How biggoted. Anyways as there are more sinks, conversion will be less critical, and more people will want some amount of crypto to spend later.
Normal person? --- a.klal someone who doesn't realize just how much banks and the financial system are screwing them over
T-Notes and Bearer Bonds (Score:2)
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Well last week I paid for my groceries with crypto using a crypto debit card, which made me happy because fuck banks.
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Let me know when Amazon takes bitcoin as payment and I'll rethink my whole crypto currency skepticism.
But they'll probably never do that because crypto currency is far too volatile to be used as an actual medium of payment for most things.
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Perfect for tracking down criminals (Score:4, Insightful)
I have no idea why people think cryptocurrencies are anonymous. Each and every transaction can be easily traced back to accounts once you have the account numbers. Basically, you have anonymousity only until you are caught, then they know everything you did.
Re: Perfect for tracking down criminals (Score:2)
The only way I would see around this, would be a "mix" together with onion routing. Basically like Tor. Lots of transactions with lots of dummy handles, combining and splitting amounts multiple times, just to scramble everything.
But we already know that would just end in every second handle being big brother, being able to trace it anyway.
Um... because you can fake all that info (Score:2)
Re: Um... because you can fake all that info (Score:2, Interesting)
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I have no idea why people think cryptocurrencies are anonymous. Each and every transaction can be easily traced back to accounts once you have the account numbers. Basically, you have anonymousity only until you are caught, then they know everything you did.
Cryptocurrencies are certainly handy when it's perfectly legal, but VISA and Mastercard have 'deplatformed' the service. I'm thinking of mp3sparks in particular but contemporary porn connoisseurs could point to pornhub as a more recent example.
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Build a mixer. You want to move $10k in Bitcoins? You make 20x transactions of $500 each into 20 different accounts held by the mixer. They then make 20x transactions of $500 each into the output account from other accounts held by the mixer. So much money would be moving through the mixer that it would be impossible to identify where the money went and the mixer would keep no records after the transaction is complete so there is nothing for the feds to seize or subpoena or hack into.
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Ever looked up XMR?
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Some cryptocurrencies rely zero-knowledge proofs, so you can transact anonymously. Monero and Z-Cash are two such cryptocurrencies.
Well, it's simple: (Score:3)
1. Declare your state of the blockchain the official one, killing off any 51% attack.
2. Use something less retarded than "mining"... like officially issuing coins. How about something with a stable inherent value. (No, not gold or the like. I mean real value. Like a standardized work-equivalent.)
3. Stabilize the currency the same way you already do it with the dollar.
4. Laugh at anyone stupid enough to believe that transactions are anonymous. (They're pseudonymous.)
I don't see why a cryptocurrency would be any special then.
The only problem would be complete tracability, compared with actual money (aka cash).
Which, let's be honest, is the actual reason you're pushing this. Like China.
But apparently, Americans were made to want convenience of a card, where you deliberately never know how much you *actually* have left, more than the privacy of proper cash on the table... so what do I know...
Bad idea (Score:2)
Use something less retarded than "mining"... like officially issuing coins.
The only thing more retarded than mining is the thought you can arbitrarily makes something have value without scarcity.
If someone can just "issue coins", you never know when they will issue more.
Stabilize the currency the same way you already do it with the dollar.
Now THAT sire is hilarious.
Re: Bad idea (Score:2)
Re: Bad idea (Score:2)
Actually I agree with all of your points, and just wasn't more precise about expressing it. Because, meh, Slashdot, who cares? :)
Work is not infinitely abundant, and a equal standardized unit of work has a fixed value in a sane socitety, since it requires a fixed amount of energy and resources, which is why I suggested it.
So I never said what you implied, and you are using a straw man argument. (If a personal attack could be called an argument, and not evidence of the lack of such.)
See, the core difference
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Mining distributes txn verification (PoW) making the system fundamentally decentralized. It was one of the fundamental reasons why Bitcoin and other PoW-based cryptocurrency was created in the first place. Take that way and you have a centralized system. Few crypto investors want anything to do with a system where transactions can be rolled back or altered on a regular basis without the consent of the miners.
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I would love to figure out a way to make to POW be actual useful work, like solving protein folding; but the requirements that it be A) guaranteed solvable, and B) solvable at a fairly steady rate make it tough to find a real-world usable POW problem.
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Cure coin and Grid coin attempted that without wide adoption. It seems that PoW miners are content to burn power on mostly nothing.
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What would fun be in owning a stable cryptocurrency? The reason Slashdotters love their precious Jesuscoin so much is because it can double in value in a month and then crash by the same amount in a week. If you time the market right, you can make a small fortune trading this crap.
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Pyramid scheme in disguise (Score:4, Informative)
Someone posted a good explanation to an earlier /. thread giving a good explanation as to why Bitcoin is a pyramid scheme with a massive carbon footprint, and nothing else. It creates no value. Money goes in to buy Bitcoin, money goes in to fund electricity to mine, money goes out, paid entirely by those who buy in. In the end, like a pyramid scheme, the majority will lose out.
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Not entirely unreasonable criticisms, which is why lots of people (myself included) think that the future of cryptocurrency probably won't involve Bitcoin.
I guess we have to separate bitcoin from (Score:1)
I guess we have to separate bitcoin from the general term cryptocurrency. Bitcoin is a very badly designed cryptocurrency (unless the design purpose was to enrich early adopters in which case it is very well designed), especially in regards to the proof of work "mining" and overall power usage. So bitcoin is beyond bad, I don't understand how they don't just declare it a violation of international climate treaties and put it to bed. However, there is no reason other cryptocurrencies can't work as transactio
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"People are naive, scamcoins (XRP, ETH, ADA...) are optimized as pump and dump schemes, and are not designed as long-term systems."
Eh, I assume the majority of investors know they're pump and dump schemes, they're just hoping that they'll luck out and sell at the high point.
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Therefore, all their claims must be true because I'm angrier about it each time.
They aren't "currencies" (Score:3)
Currencies are backed by banks. In olden days, UK banknotes had the rubric "I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of One Pound" - meaning a £1 gold coin. That's no longer true of course; nevertheless, the Bank of England stands behind the value of a banknote - the same is true of all currencies (apart possibly the Euro - there's no central bank of the EU; one of it's problems). There's a finite supply of UK currency (albeit backed by loans and other collateral), and that supply is controlled by the bank.
Crypto "currencies" aren't backed by anyone; they're trading tokens worth whatever anyone's prepared to pay. Given that anyone can mine a bitcoin given a PC, electricity and time, if bitcoins were a currency, then every bitcoin in circulation is a forgery.
The "Bank Trap" (Score:2)
On the other hand, the only remedy that the federal government are likely to be able to offer as a control for "legitimate activity" is some form of licensing. The problem is that at the moment, this would pretty much limit adoption to banks and major/well established financial institutions
Correction (Score:2)
"US Treasury Nominee Yellen Wants to Encourage Cryptocurrencies -- 'For Legitimate Activities'"
CORRECTED HEADLINE:
"US Treasury Nominee Yellen Wants to Encourage Cryptocurrencies -- 'So We Can Make Money Off It' "
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
-1, Conflicts with Woke worldview.