Crypto and Other New Faiths

https://arnoldkling.substack.com/p/crypto-and-other-new-faiths

by Ariarule • 4 years ago

22 27 4 years ago

arnoldkling.substack.com

peyton• 4 years ago

This covers the retail side. However I think there’s a lot to be said about modern, global, 24/7 infrastructure for institutions. Maybe crypto needs a rebrand.

twblalock3• 4 years ago

However I think there’s a lot to be said about modern, global, 24/7 infrastructure for institutions.

Ok, then say it! And explain how those institutions will be better served by crypto than what they currently use.

NotYourLawyer2• 4 years ago

They already have that. It’s called a database. Not clear to me how making it orders of magnitude slower and more expensive serves institutions well.

shakow• 4 years ago

IMU, the golden use case for crypto would be a database, but for entities that are in a perpetual Mexican standoff. So I guess that theorically, in its current form or another, it may find very good uses in e.g. exchanges (I know, bold of me to write this days after the whole FTX shabang).

jrm43• 4 years ago

Meh. I think to write about this intelligently you need to include the fact that there is definitely and provably "new tech" in here that can be world changing depending on how humans choose to use it?

This isn't a guarantee that it will be used well, but at least a base mention of the new thing they are looking at and the ways in which it could work need to be discussed.

D13Fd• 4 years ago

there is definitely and provably "new tech" in here that can be world changing depending on how humans choose to use it

How so?

jrm43• 4 years ago

I literally do know a Russian guy that uses Stellar to send money home to momma, because all the other ways take middlemen. Blockchain money can cut out a LOT of the BS that people deal with in day-to-day transactions.

To think otherwise would be to assume that the entities that handle money have our best interests in mind and aren't essentially "skimming off the top," but of course, that's what they're doing.

Now, again, I'm aware that the big factor is "adoption and practicality" and switching to something like that means overcoming a great deal of inertia. But the theoretical possibilities mean something.

bartvk4• 4 years ago

Why does crypto on HN always seem to be polarizing? This article too is theorizing that people who are attracted to crypto, wish for the current banking system to be overthrown and thus they are mentally unstable.

Sigh. You know what’s also possible? Put 5% of your savings into Bitcoin and then continue to live your normal life.

dale_glass2• 4 years ago

Nobody talks about people who just quietly do things and don't tell anybody. All the talk is about dramatic stuff happening.

But other than that, putting 5% rather than betting your entire life on it still suggests some sort of expectation that this might actually be good for something -- unless you're the rare person who actually spends significant amounts of money mostly at random.

If by chance you are, then the conversation isn't really about you. You're just allocating a percentage to a dice throw without any other reasoning, hoping it might actually bring profit by pure chance.

bartvk4• 4 years ago

allocating a percentage to a dice throw without any other reasoning

Do you feel the same about stocks?

gonzo41• 4 years ago

I know a guy, who's great great, a few more great's, grandfather was part of a land race in Australia, where the rules where you could have as much crown land as you could fence in a day.

His ancestors smart trick was to fence across a peninsula.

Crypto is attractive because it has a lot of hype that make people think that it may be a viable way to get a first mover advantage and stake a claim on easy wealth. This thinking is IMO, stemming from the inequality that is present in modern society. Remember all those bankers that went to jail forever for the 2008 crash. Me neither.

It is easy to say, comparison is the thief of joy. But it's hard to ignore every single media source gaslighting you about the simple ability of others to live great lives whilst your lift may not be so flash hot.

Crypto is like a lottery ticket for a lot of people.

bartvk4• 4 years ago

Yet we're not saying that a lottery ticket is bought by the mentally unstable.

stjohnswarts• 4 years ago

Because HN see a lot of news and info about it and have at least a bit of education about it unlike the filthy masses. Either you buy into the hype or you don't if you understand the basic technical aspects of it. Hype tends to polarize.

bartvk4• 4 years ago

Either you buy into the hype or you don't if you understand the basic technical aspects of it

Do I understand correctly that you (saying either/or) feel it's a binary choice?

Because I definitely disagree, there's a multitude of reasons why people buy crypto, and there's also a lot of variety in the measure in which they buy.

rib3ye• 4 years ago

Bitcoin had organic usage and, thus, value before the hype of 2013. You can still find old online poker videos of people with substantial BTC balances making $10 bets that would be worth millions today.

So if we agree on that (I know, big IF), can we get past the "religion" argument and label these people correctly as "gamblers"?

snoot• 4 years ago

Gambling addicts might be more accurate.

oleganza• 4 years ago

Bitcoin is quite literally a religion. It has dogmas ("not your keys, not your coins"), traditional values ("21 mil"), a prophet (satoshi), celebrated dates (Jan 3).

On the serious side, Bitcoin is all about "let's all agree this is money". This means it's a useful tool only after you play the social game. Technology does not matter if people don't get to a consensus on it, but when they do (and they seem to continuously re-enforce this consensus over years), it works better and better.

The_Colonel• 4 years ago

The quasi-religious nature of the Bitcoin/crypto community has been a big turn-off for me - the systems where evidence is replaced with belief are naturally suspicious.

nubb• 4 years ago

hacker news talking about crypto is like your racist maga boomer uncle talking about crt.

twblalock3• 4 years ago

No it's like the most successful people in the world talking about things they know about -- and most people here see crypto for the fantasy it is, and the scam that many players have made it become.

There is also a small but vocal pro-crypto contingent here. Both sides are represented. What more could you want?

throwup• 4 years ago

hacker news
the most successful people in the world

LOL thanks for the laugh, this is peak HN right here

Crypto and Other New Faiths

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