
Why is HN negative against crypto? - arisAlexis
One would expect this community to back this technology and financial&#x2F;social revolution it brings.<p>Is it that there are ties to traditional system like SV billionaire VCs? But those same guys that are popular in HN do like crypto.<p>Horowitz is very much into it, YC is onboarding blockchain startups, hell even Techcrunch founder says he only invests in ICOs right now.<p>Is it missed out negativity?<p>Your thoughts?
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mindcrime
First of all, there is almost nothing you can say about "the HN community" as
a whole, which will be true. HN is pro-bitcoin, HN is anti-bitcoin. Both
false. HN is very libertarian, HN is very socialist. Both false. HN is pro-
capitalism, HN is anti-capitalist. False and false. HN is pro-Trump, HN is
anti-Trump. HN is feminist, HN is misogynistic. False, false, false and false.
And so on, ad infinitum...

Now, certain individuals within this community may fit any or all of those
descriptions, and I'm sure there are people here who are "negative against
crypto." Of the ones who are that way, or at least _seem_ that way, it
probably has more to do with being skeptical of speculative bubbles in assets
which have little intrinsic value. And there's a lot of reason to be skeptical
of crypto-currency right now. The whole field is very young and very unproven.
And even if _a_ crypto-currency does become "the next big thing" who's to say
which one (or ones) it will be? Maybe Bitcoin collapses tomorrow and it turns
out that, in the end, Dogecoin was the winner. Or maybe Ethereum, or Litecoin,
or FSM knows what else?

As for ICO's... they sound like a great idea... but there's a lot of reason to
think that a lot of ICO's are outright scams. So it makes sense to maintain a
bit of skepticism about the whole thing. The people who are (hopefully only
metaphorically speaking) mortgaging their homes to invest in ICO's are playing
a very risky game.

Me personally? The only aspect of the whole thing I find terribly interesting
is the possibility of gaining a measure of anonymity using something like
Monero. But then again, I'm one of those government hating libertarian types
who rejects the idea that the State has any right to monitor my financial
transactions. _shrug_

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arisAlexis
Very well put

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vinchuco
Critical against speculation and mindless hype. I'm sure many learned about
crypto(currencies, you mean) precisely from sources like HN.

