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Cryptocurrency as the next significant stage for computing technology, not just an investment


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Another note is that software can inherently understand and manipulate these currencies, whereas right now there have to be bridges to real life where the real life assets are mapped to digital versions representing those assets.  This asset only exists digitally and has true scarcity, and this frees up currency from being something that humans own, to something that can be owned by software even.  You can write bots or software that communicate value to each other using cryptocurrency transactions, with full automation and safety guarantees.  There doesn't have to be any humans changing money back and forth. 

 

To put this into a practical context, you can create websites that let users automatically buy music or online services WITHOUT needing the help of a third party service like PayPal to receive money from bank accounts for you and agree to transmit it to you and notify your server that this has happened.  No, your server itself can verify that the money has been received and it can run by itself without the requirement for help from third party services.  This is VERY powerful and provides a lot of censorship resistance, especially in countries with oppressive policies on free speech.

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You're pretty optimistic how things work in the third world countries.

 

I'm in Zambia currently. I was in Zimbabwe a few days ago. Even having a working cellular network is not given. When the electricity goes off it usually means all connections, including cellular, are cut off and this is pretty common occurrence. Common people can afford maybe basic 2G phones. Definitely not satellite phones. And they can't just leave the country on a whim because for that you need a passport and possibly a visa. Which might take weeks or months to obtain if even possible. Sending anything sensitive or valuable by mail is a joke.

 

Even trying to manage things here with a credit/debit card is pretty useless because of the connectivity issues. If people were to rely on internet or even cellular connections for payments it would mean business would grind to a halt sometimes for hours, sometimes for days.

 

So, currently I'm carrying USD, euro, rand, pula and kwacha as cash. Having cash at hand is the only way to make sure I can buy lodging, transport, food, etc when needed. It would be ridiculous to try to handle things here with a cryptocurrency.

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Okay yeah you're right, in sufficiently third world countries cryptocurrency is not practical right now and the fiat currencies of other major countries like USD is far more practical for storing wealth and transacting.  But in places like Greece and Venezuela where there is reasonably reliable internet connectivity, but also a history of severe monetary issues caused by currency debasement, cryptocurrency is the perfect solution because they are far along enough.

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Personally I think Tim Berners-Lee new joint is going to be more important. inrupt.com

Deflationary currencies, even “on the blockchain”, just don’t cut the mustard.

Maybe something like OMG will be revolutionary for payment processing and money remittance, but you know the entrenched players are working hard to build something that will compete.

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BTW, I read the title today as "Cryptoburners as the next significant stage for humanity, not just an investment" and I was thinking "finally somebody agrees with me on Team Doyobi"

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ive got 0.4 bitcoin. just gonna leave it i reckon and see what happens over the next 3 years. gonna start saving my money in a stocks and shares isa for something a little more reliable. 

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OmiseGo is built on Ethereum though so even if OmiseGo ends up being big, it's really just Ethereum that is big. It relies on Ethereum's decentralization properties.

lol that’s like saying Facebook is big because of TCP/IP.

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OmiseGo is built on Ethereum though so even if OmiseGo ends up being big, it's really just Ethereum that is big. It relies on Ethereum's decentralization properties.

lol that’s like saying Facebook is big because of TCP/IP.

 

 

No it's not, I'm saying that OmiseGo is literally built on top of Ethereum because it is, and therefore OmiseGo's success both implies and requires Ethereum's success.  If Ethereum fails OmiseGo fails.  If OmiseGo succeeds it helps Ethereum.

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OmiseGo is built on Ethereum though so even if OmiseGo ends up being big, it's really just Ethereum that is big. It relies on Ethereum's decentralization properties.

lol that’s like saying Facebook is big because of TCP/IP.

No it's not, I'm saying that OmiseGo is literally built on top of Ethereum because it is, and therefore OmiseGo's success both implies and requires Ethereum's success. If Ethereum fails OmiseGo fails. If OmiseGo succeeds it helps Ethereum.
It’s functionality is tied into the Ethereum blockchain for extra security. However, plasma (which OMG will be operating on) is independent from Ethereum.

Additionally, there is always the possibility of OMG moving entirely to its own blockchain, instead of using Ethereum for extra security.

OMG succeeding does not necessarily cause a rise in the value of Ethereum.

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Cryptocurrency is a great way to end up in federal pound me in the ass prison, broskis

 

The FBI, NSA, FinCEN, IRS Criminal Investigators, and the intelligence communities of several allied countries will pwn you into oblivion.

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BTW, I read the title today as "Cryptoburners as the next significant stage for humanity, not just an investment" and I was thinking "finally somebody agrees with me on Team Doyobi"

 

Fuck yeah

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Cryptocurrency is a great way to end up in federal pound me in the ass prison, broskis

 

The FBI, NSA, FinCEN, IRS Criminal Investigators, and the intelligence communities of several allied countries will pwn you into oblivion.

 

Not illegal to own, use, or trade. Don't do illegal things with it, and pay your taxes if you trade.

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Okay yeah you're right, in sufficiently third world countries cryptocurrency is not practical right now and the fiat currencies of other major countries like USD is far more practical for storing wealth and transacting.  But in places like Greece and Venezuela where there is reasonably reliable internet connectivity, but also a history of severe monetary issues caused by currency debasement, cryptocurrency is the perfect solution because they are far along enough.

Another issue I have with calling cryptocurrency a solution to third world problems, is that I could see a scenario where it exacerbates the inherent inequality in the globalised economy, in which iphones, clothes, etc are dependent on a lower value of labor in other countries.

 

The average individual does not operate at a global level, only corporations and the wealthy operate at this scale.  For example here in mexico, if you make a low/average wage, and decide hold on to a fraction of your precious earnings as cryptocurrency, by numbers alone you are fundamentally 'excluded' from the economy of cryptocurrency.

 

Obviously its a huge question, but what would be the process by which cryptocurrency, wages, and production/development would transition together towards a more equitable future.

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Okay yeah you're right, in sufficiently third world countries cryptocurrency is not practical right now and the fiat currencies of other major countries like USD is far more practical for storing wealth and transacting.  But in places like Greece and Venezuela where there is reasonably reliable internet connectivity, but also a history of severe monetary issues caused by currency debasement, cryptocurrency is the perfect solution because they are far along enough.

Another issue I have with calling cryptocurrency a solution to third world problems, is that I could see a scenario where it exacerbates the inherent inequality in the globalised economy, in which iphones, clothes, etc are dependent on a lower value of labor in other countries.

 

The average individual does not operate at a global level, only corporations and the wealthy operate at this scale.  For example here in mexico, if you make a low/average wage, and decide hold on to a fraction of your precious earnings as cryptocurrency, by numbers alone you are fundamentally 'excluded' from the economy of cryptocurrency.

 

Obviously its a huge question, but what would be the process by which cryptocurrency, wages, and production/development would transition together towards a more equitable future.

 

 

What do you mean by this?  It seems like a good peg against local currency inflation, a great way to tether your personal finances to the a global economy as well as against theft in crime-heavy areas (memorizing your wallet seed).  How are you "excluded"?  Cryptocurrency is fundamentally inclusive since anybody can enter and stay, though the on-ramps are difficult in third world countries and there is a lack of ways to spend it, but as a store of value it's fine if you can get it without paying large fees, maybe from a family member who lives in a country where it's easier.  (I'm not talking about Mexico specifically, just countries with less-than-ideal situations)

 

 

Ideally employers start offering to pay employees in cryptocurrency and more places accept it as payment.  If I could switch now I'd do it but my apartment doesn't accept crypto, neither do my utility companies or grocery stores.  But if I could switch I would.

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Okay yeah you're right, in sufficiently third world countries cryptocurrency is not practical right now and the fiat currencies of other major countries like USD is far more practical for storing wealth and transacting.  But in places like Greece and Venezuela where there is reasonably reliable internet connectivity, but also a history of severe monetary issues caused by currency debasement, cryptocurrency is the perfect solution because they are far along enough.

Another issue I have with calling cryptocurrency a solution to third world problems, is that I could see a scenario where it exacerbates the inherent inequality in the globalised economy, in which iphones, clothes, etc are dependent on a lower value of labor in other countries.

 

The average individual does not operate at a global level, only corporations and the wealthy operate at this scale.  For example here in mexico, if you make a low/average wage, and decide hold on to a fraction of your precious earnings as cryptocurrency, by numbers alone you are fundamentally 'excluded' from the economy of cryptocurrency.

 

Obviously its a huge question, but what would be the process by which cryptocurrency, wages, and production/development would transition together towards a more equitable future.

 

 

What do you mean by this?  It seems like a good peg against local currency inflation, a great way to tether your personal finances to the a global economy as well as against theft in crime-heavy areas (memorizing your wallet seed).  How are you "excluded"?  Cryptocurrency is fundamentally inclusive since anybody can enter and stay, though the on-ramps are difficult in third world countries and there is a lack of ways to spend it, but as a store of value it's fine if you can get it without paying large fees, maybe from a family member who lives in a country where it's easier.  (I'm not talking about Mexico specifically, just countries with less-than-ideal situations)

 

Ideally employers start offering to pay employees in cryptocurrency and more places accept it as payment.  If I could switch now I'd do it but my apartment doesn't accept crypto, neither do my utility companies or grocery stores.  But if I could switch I would.

Indeed excluded was not the right term..  But your metaphor got closer, about the on-ramps being prohibitively steep, specifically in the transition from a those who only use a local currency to a global currency.

 

Economic principles would tell us that if we all switched to the same currency, wages, prices of goods and services would all adjust.  But im trying to reconcile that with the real world, where corporations who are already dependant on wage inequality in the production chain would be resistant to treat everyone as the 'same' labor pool.  And in economies where the majority of participants do not have any globally adjusted holdings already, the introduction of goods and services sold at the high prices set by a global currency would be prohibitively expensive.

 

Im sure im making some fallible assumptions here (happy to have you/all point them out), but the gist of what im getting at is that the economy is inherently political and i could easily see a scenario where depoliticization and anononymity of currency could exacerbates the power structures in place and make things shittier for ¨poorer¨economies.

Edited by Marked x 0ne
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^ Re the above, im also reminded of Thomas Pikkety's observation of developed capitalist economies: that except for a specific period (of high taxation, from post-ww2 to the start of 21th centruty) the rate of return on capital has generally exceeded the rate of economic growth.  Essentially meaning that when this condition is true, you can make more money by having money (capital/assets), than is possible to make as income by work.

 

Which to me is essentially damning to the idea that a global asset-class could be a savior the worker who is suddenly placed on an even more unequal playing field, and the ability of taxation/redistribution is, if not eliminated, made severely more complicated.  Its been observed throughout history that this sort of playing field will simply make the rich richer.

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Cryptocurrency is a great way to end up in federal pound me in the ass prison, broskis

 

The FBI, NSA, FinCEN, IRS Criminal Investigators, and the intelligence communities of several allied countries will pwn you into oblivion.

 

Not illegal to own, use, or trade. Don't do illegal things with it, and pay your taxes if you trade.

 

 

Well then I should be fine  :trap:

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I'd counter that line of thinking by saying the amount of time/money (real money) spent over the last few years in BT mining almost guarantees its eventual rise in price again. Through hook or crook, the people who are in deep will find some way to turn BT back into profit.

 

Pure speculation on my part of course.

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my mate gave me $100 worth of ETC at the start of the year as a 'starter pack'. that was the absolute peak of crypto mania, things were sliding pretty steadily the next day and then a week or two later everything just got wiped the fuck out. it's now worth $11 lol. i bought a bunch of shitcoins, should have just hung onto the etc.

 

it's kind of hilarious just how much money was being pumped into the market between the end of last year and the start of this one. like for things to deflate that fucking badly i'm almost suspicious...hard to believe so much money was there one day and then it just disappears in a flash. part of me wants to go "hang on, i thought this was the next big thing. yall were so eager to throw your money at it and you were talking it up big time, what happened?" i mean it was inevitable that something like this would happen but the scale of it was truly absurd.

 

ETC is a shitcoin though

 

And no the scale of it was tiny, smaller than any major national currencies

Edited by Zeffolia
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As long as they're made from eco friendly fair-trade organic chocolate I'm in.

Edited by Gocab
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