A culture of trust when the basis is anonymity seems to me to be very difficult. Ner-do-Wells like drug dealers and hitmen and human traffickers can work with such systems because its generally accepted in such situations that not only do you not need to know each other’s names that any issue with be instantly met with violence, usually deadly. And if your name becomes known, or details about you, everyone close to you is at risk as well. Not saying this is GOOD but as far as effective, well they continue this because it is.
Being online and anonymous makes trust hard. Most of us have been burned in real life multiple times and even trusting people we know well is a stretch. With tens, hundred of thousands or millions of “dollars” on the line, that trust gets harder and harder to give. With fiat currency and physical bank locations, we have ways to track down who wronged us. Our current currency system has its flaws but it’s accountability seems miles ahead. I dunno how to make crypto close, the same or better to be honest. Brick and mortar buildings like the banks for people to go to and do secure trusted transactions? Faces for the Karen’s to yell at when something goes wrong? Government backed wallets that have some level of force behind them should anyone mess with them? I don’t know. People thought MTGox was trustable due to the strength of the well known name and they got burned.
I remember when it seemed bitcoin was gonna make it and being accepted at gas pumps at some locations, and some bitcoin atms. But as you described they encountered problems and it’s kind of just disappeared. Had my big into crypto buddy touting that at the time but then never mentioned it when the problems crept up and they didn’t go widespread. I do think blockchain is interesting tech and can have good uses, in small doses. Airplane maintenance logs for example, being stored for all airports to see and update is one area it seems it could be great at.
But for currency, it seems lacklustre. Perhaps for the super savvy it can be a good money maker, but I can only say perhaps. I’ve only known a couple people in real life to delve into crypto and one lost his investment when the guy he worked with ran off with his second investment after returning the first to gain his confidence and the other makes grandiose claims of having “so much money” but never improves his real life situation with any of it over claims of needing it where it is to use for more trading or leverage or yadda yadda and always wanted me to give him just $10000 and I could expect so much returns. Yeah never gave him a red cent for him to lose.
I go to wsbets.win and look in on the apes and honestly hope for the best for them. Never met a single one of em, but hope they get some money out of the crooked system they’re playing against. I just want a fair playing field.
The initial rise of crypto was feeded not by anonymity from each other, but by anonymity from any authority. You don't have to hide your identity from people you use crypto with. You could pay in crypto to your neighbour for car repair and receive it from another neighbour for honey from your bees. But that transactions will be anonymous for authorities if you all don't want them to know about your trade.
You are not obliged to pay to persons that are anonymous for you. And you could be anonymous if you wish. F.e. for the entities with whom you don't want to share your identity and information about your transactions.
The main flaw of conventional money systems is complete control and possibility of tracking by authorities. With the rising intrusion of authorities into our privacy, including financial one, when they could know absolutely everything up to last dollar you spent on toilet paper, demand of independent currency would grow. I can't tell you if it would be some advanced crypto, or people will invent something much better, but it is inevitable.
For now, it is already hard to tell what is worse - to loose all your money due to some artificial crisis, or, say, forfeiture/seizure by authorities, or to loose some coins because of exchange games or malicious seller.
Observing current games with cryptocurrencies we could find a lot of interesting knowledge and be prepared for that independent currency when it pops up once.
Being able to trade a currency like you suggest is invaluable to good communities. Right now people use cash or favours (IOU’s and the like). Cash and goods are useful in areas without internet(lots of that around me sadly).
The whole angle of “we don’t trust the powers that be so we’ll start our OWN currency! With hookers! And blackjack!” is almost noble, and I understand why you could want that. I find I can’t stand behind a system that has mysterious origins, players who manipulate values similar to the existing bullshit filled market, and currencies that have little applicable use in my neck of the woods. I’m honestly better off trading produce from my garden, wine or a beef than I am trying to trade in digital currency out here.
Cash and goods are useful in areas without internet(lots of that around me sadly).
Strange, but in 3rd-world Rusiia, we have internet nearly everywhere, even in a village shop in the middle of taiga you could pay with bank card using shop's internet-connected terminal. And higly probably upstream will be optics line from nearest city, not even that shitty ADSL. Very few places is without internet, and even there you could use old geostationary satellite two-way terminal to get not very fast, but working good enough for banking internet.
It's not the first time when I hear about the problems with internet in US. What's wrong with US that it have problems with internet connection? Don't you have a lot of small internet providers that will happily pull the dirt cheap optics line to any place where could be a customer?
I find I can’t stand behind a system that has mysterious origins, players who manipulate values similar to the existing bullshit filled market, and currencies that have little applicable use in my neck of the woods.
Right now you are using internet, that has mysterious origins, players who manipulate not only values, but your mind and bells and whistles that have little applicable use in the woods. And seems that all that does not make you uncomfortable, and you easily use that system for your own good.
Technology can't be evil or good. Everything depends on how you use it. Any technology could be used for your own purposes regardless who create it and how it used by others. That's the thing that makes everything much more interesting even in our clown world.
Not in the USA friend I’m in central Canada. There’s only internet here at my house out in the country using my cell phone and a $700 cell booster. On a waiting list to get internet that supposed to be here sometime in the fall. (Looks outside at the winter snow).
Cell service isn’t a guarantee out here. Not enough population to warrant the cost of an expansive network to provide service in areas it might not be used by anyone. Major cities and small towns have service, sure. Small towns all had phone service via telephone lines and banking systems can use that with slower modems(yeah the dial up bank card systems are still in place out here in places.)
I’ve looked into Elon musks star link, but waiting on the competition service in case I can bundle mine and my wife’s cell phones (along with the kids) with the internet to cut down on all the costs. If I can’t, so be it but waiting on the option.
The internet’s origins aren’t mysterious. Historically it’s a toss up between believing the military had it first for systems and remote locations or if the universities had the “real” internet first because non military people could use it. First was connected systems, then message boards, then websites, and so on til here we are. Shady players making bad apps and sites is an issue alright, but like you advise in not tossing money into shit coins, we also advise not tossing your personal info onto shady web services. DTA, Don’t Trust Anyone. My father also worked for 2 different phone companies in his life installing the equipment and repairing it, so I’ve gotten to see the physical hardware the internet in my area was running on, including the fibre. It’s pretty cool up close, gotta admit. But getting dirt cheap fibre optic ran to my house? No providers here will do it cheap. Closest place that will have fibre to tap into and bring my way is 50km ish away if there’s no dark fibre they can use closer to me to run a shorter distance. Even if they could tap into it ran down the nearby main highway that’s still a 12-13km run to me. Not exactly cheap, although I wish I was.
A culture of trust when the basis is anonymity seems to me to be very difficult. Ner-do-Wells like drug dealers and hitmen and human traffickers can work with such systems because its generally accepted in such situations that not only do you not need to know each other’s names that any issue with be instantly met with violence, usually deadly. And if your name becomes known, or details about you, everyone close to you is at risk as well. Not saying this is GOOD but as far as effective, well they continue this because it is.
Being online and anonymous makes trust hard. Most of us have been burned in real life multiple times and even trusting people we know well is a stretch. With tens, hundred of thousands or millions of “dollars” on the line, that trust gets harder and harder to give. With fiat currency and physical bank locations, we have ways to track down who wronged us. Our current currency system has its flaws but it’s accountability seems miles ahead. I dunno how to make crypto close, the same or better to be honest. Brick and mortar buildings like the banks for people to go to and do secure trusted transactions? Faces for the Karen’s to yell at when something goes wrong? Government backed wallets that have some level of force behind them should anyone mess with them? I don’t know. People thought MTGox was trustable due to the strength of the well known name and they got burned.
I remember when it seemed bitcoin was gonna make it and being accepted at gas pumps at some locations, and some bitcoin atms. But as you described they encountered problems and it’s kind of just disappeared. Had my big into crypto buddy touting that at the time but then never mentioned it when the problems crept up and they didn’t go widespread. I do think blockchain is interesting tech and can have good uses, in small doses. Airplane maintenance logs for example, being stored for all airports to see and update is one area it seems it could be great at.
But for currency, it seems lacklustre. Perhaps for the super savvy it can be a good money maker, but I can only say perhaps. I’ve only known a couple people in real life to delve into crypto and one lost his investment when the guy he worked with ran off with his second investment after returning the first to gain his confidence and the other makes grandiose claims of having “so much money” but never improves his real life situation with any of it over claims of needing it where it is to use for more trading or leverage or yadda yadda and always wanted me to give him just $10000 and I could expect so much returns. Yeah never gave him a red cent for him to lose.
I go to wsbets.win and look in on the apes and honestly hope for the best for them. Never met a single one of em, but hope they get some money out of the crooked system they’re playing against. I just want a fair playing field.
The initial rise of crypto was feeded not by anonymity from each other, but by anonymity from any authority. You don't have to hide your identity from people you use crypto with. You could pay in crypto to your neighbour for car repair and receive it from another neighbour for honey from your bees. But that transactions will be anonymous for authorities if you all don't want them to know about your trade.
You are not obliged to pay to persons that are anonymous for you. And you could be anonymous if you wish. F.e. for the entities with whom you don't want to share your identity and information about your transactions.
The main flaw of conventional money systems is complete control and possibility of tracking by authorities. With the rising intrusion of authorities into our privacy, including financial one, when they could know absolutely everything up to last dollar you spent on toilet paper, demand of independent currency would grow. I can't tell you if it would be some advanced crypto, or people will invent something much better, but it is inevitable.
For now, it is already hard to tell what is worse - to loose all your money due to some artificial crisis, or, say, forfeiture/seizure by authorities, or to loose some coins because of exchange games or malicious seller.
Observing current games with cryptocurrencies we could find a lot of interesting knowledge and be prepared for that independent currency when it pops up once.
Being able to trade a currency like you suggest is invaluable to good communities. Right now people use cash or favours (IOU’s and the like). Cash and goods are useful in areas without internet(lots of that around me sadly).
The whole angle of “we don’t trust the powers that be so we’ll start our OWN currency! With hookers! And blackjack!” is almost noble, and I understand why you could want that. I find I can’t stand behind a system that has mysterious origins, players who manipulate values similar to the existing bullshit filled market, and currencies that have little applicable use in my neck of the woods. I’m honestly better off trading produce from my garden, wine or a beef than I am trying to trade in digital currency out here.
Strange, but in 3rd-world Rusiia, we have internet nearly everywhere, even in a village shop in the middle of taiga you could pay with bank card using shop's internet-connected terminal. And higly probably upstream will be optics line from nearest city, not even that shitty ADSL. Very few places is without internet, and even there you could use old geostationary satellite two-way terminal to get not very fast, but working good enough for banking internet.
It's not the first time when I hear about the problems with internet in US. What's wrong with US that it have problems with internet connection? Don't you have a lot of small internet providers that will happily pull the dirt cheap optics line to any place where could be a customer?
Right now you are using internet, that has mysterious origins, players who manipulate not only values, but your mind and bells and whistles that have little applicable use in the woods. And seems that all that does not make you uncomfortable, and you easily use that system for your own good.
Technology can't be evil or good. Everything depends on how you use it. Any technology could be used for your own purposes regardless who create it and how it used by others. That's the thing that makes everything much more interesting even in our clown world.
Not in the USA friend I’m in central Canada. There’s only internet here at my house out in the country using my cell phone and a $700 cell booster. On a waiting list to get internet that supposed to be here sometime in the fall. (Looks outside at the winter snow). Cell service isn’t a guarantee out here. Not enough population to warrant the cost of an expansive network to provide service in areas it might not be used by anyone. Major cities and small towns have service, sure. Small towns all had phone service via telephone lines and banking systems can use that with slower modems(yeah the dial up bank card systems are still in place out here in places.)
I’ve looked into Elon musks star link, but waiting on the competition service in case I can bundle mine and my wife’s cell phones (along with the kids) with the internet to cut down on all the costs. If I can’t, so be it but waiting on the option.
The internet’s origins aren’t mysterious. Historically it’s a toss up between believing the military had it first for systems and remote locations or if the universities had the “real” internet first because non military people could use it. First was connected systems, then message boards, then websites, and so on til here we are. Shady players making bad apps and sites is an issue alright, but like you advise in not tossing money into shit coins, we also advise not tossing your personal info onto shady web services. DTA, Don’t Trust Anyone. My father also worked for 2 different phone companies in his life installing the equipment and repairing it, so I’ve gotten to see the physical hardware the internet in my area was running on, including the fibre. It’s pretty cool up close, gotta admit. But getting dirt cheap fibre optic ran to my house? No providers here will do it cheap. Closest place that will have fibre to tap into and bring my way is 50km ish away if there’s no dark fibre they can use closer to me to run a shorter distance. Even if they could tap into it ran down the nearby main highway that’s still a 12-13km run to me. Not exactly cheap, although I wish I was.