

Out in the Open: Cyberpunk Builds Bitcoin Wallet That Even Apple Can’t Ban - thoward37
http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/12/coinpunk/?opt=mobile

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ChuckMcM
Sorry, I lost it right here:

 _" Drake thinks that Bitcoin could eventually make banks as obsolete as
telephone switchboard operators."_

I like BitCoin, its fun to see an actual proof of concept implementation of
something speculated on at the turn of the century, but please folks, go to
the community college and take their micro/macro economics classes (or listen
too one at a MOOC, or a classes online) and learn what Banks do, what is a
currency, and what is an economy.

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baddox
I obviously think it's a hyperbolic statement, but there is something
genuinely _new_ in Bitcoin that basic economic classes wouldn't talk about
(namely, the ability to maintain a secure transaction log without trusted
intermediaries) that can certainly perform a fundamental part of what
financial services provide.

~~~
ChuckMcM
This is true, the idea of having a reliably secure digital token that you can
pass around without reversibility or double spending is _huge._ But
unforgeable tokens don't make a new economy, it just enables economic activity
without the participation of licensed institutions (aka 'underground' or
'black' markets) across distance, and that is pretty cool. It replaces
'wiring' money and sidesteps currency conversion issues. In that regard
BitCoin is revolutionary.

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sigzero
It isn't an app in the Apple app store so the title is misleading. It is an
online web service that you browse to. Apple wouldn't ban that anyway.

~~~
thoward37
What's humorous is that many apps are just HTML5 webpages loaded in a "app"
frame, so there's very very little difference.

That said, in the case of a Bitcoin wallet, Coinpunk is unique because it's
implementation is primarily in client-side Javascript. Most of the wallet
services either rely on server-side crypto, or native apps.

Because of that technological dependency, either the service controls your
data, or the mobile app store controls the distribution of the app.

With Coinpunk, no one can control it. No one. It's yours and always will be.

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cstrat
I wonder how QR codes will work with a webapp. I know iPhones can now upload
images from camera roll, but does the API allow access to the camera stream
for QR reads?

