
US Senate Testimony: Crypto Is the Mother of All Scams - hudon
https://www.banking.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Roubini%20Testimony%2010-11-18.pdf?_lrsc=77fa845c-a7a2-4e2e-b4e7-18b4357f1900
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justjonathan
“Blockchain Is The Most Over-Hyped Technology Ever, No Better than a
Spreadsheet/Database”

I think he fundamentally understands and misunderstand something that most
people, (though probably not here) don’t get.

A blockchain is an immutable distributed ledger (database). It is a terrible
decision for anything that can be centralized (something where you can trust
some party).

It is incredible tool and a case where you can’t trust anybody.

There are very few applications where The trade off of trust does not outweigh
the efficiency of centralization, but should you have such a case…

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nil_pointer
I stopped reading the paper after this quote.

If the author doesn't understand the tech or has a very simplistic
understanding of it, their opinion on it doesn't matter and shouldn't hold any
weight.

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asynchrony
I think he understands the technology better than a fair percentage of casual
readers here. Perhaps you should read the rest of the paper.

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hassan_shaikley
a decentralized ponzi scheme. that's what I said : )

but I am curious to see how it functions in times of crisis. does it go to
shit, explode, or nothing.

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pontifier
Crypto has 1 advantage... signed transactions are undeniable and cannot be
argued with. This feels almost like a new UI paradigm.

At the same time, this can be a terrible disadvantage... mistakes are brutally
punished with no recourse. Lose your key or get hacked and you lose
everything. There is no warning.

To me, interacting with large amounts of crypto feels like running full speed
through an electrified razor-wire maze.

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sugarygrind
USD is the mother of all scams.

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Mc_Big_G
I imagine you could have said equally terrible things about the internet ten
years after it's protocols were developed. Bubble! Scams! Blah blah blah...

If you don't have even one good thing to say about something that has obvious
benefits, you may be unreasonably biased.

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hannasanarion
Obvious benefits of the internet: communicate instantly with anyone anywhere
in the world with any interface that can be digitized.

Obvious benefits of blockchain: You can get tons of free money from idiot
investors? You can hide wealth from the tax man with private fiat? You can
forget your bank account number and never be able to access your money again?
You can have a database that takes ten times as much electricity to maintain?
There are so many benefits!

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Mc_Big_G
Just because something can be used for "evil" doesn't mean it can't be used
for "good". You really can't imagine any "good" benefit?

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asynchrony
The only benefit that doesn't involve evading regulations is (a dream) of
lower fees for sending money. But even that hasn't materialized and comes with
rather large costs.

