> That destroys the point of the whole "decentralized systems" thing.
Why?
> What is it solving that isn't some sort of political science question?
- Why can't you send money between PayPal and Venmo, even though they're products owned by the same company? It's because existing money is a system that you are permitted to use, under specific restrictions applied by government. Cryptocurrencies are open protocols. One thing they solve is getting around these restrictions. One day, all of our payment apps will be interoperable, and they will be enabled by crypto.
- You do not have to worry about your money being stolen by means like Civil Asset Forfeiture, which is literally legalized highway robbery. Crypto has similar properties to cash, while not being as susceptible to physical theft.
- Inflation is controlled by algorithm, not arbitrary policy. (Depending on your economic views, you may think this is a fault. I don't, but that's me. At the very least, it enables us to see what will happen to such a currency.)
- You can remit small amounts of money instantly at low-to-no cost. This will be huge for the developing world. (Scaling is not solved, but I also don't think that bringing it up is an interesting counterargument. Computer scientists have been scaling systems for the last 60 years. We're pretty good at it, and it's happening now with the Lightning network. There is no conceptual blocker to scaling cryptocurrency. The hard problem was digital scarcity, which has been solved, which is why crypto is now a thing at all.)
- Many people in many parts of the world do not have the ability to interact with traditional finance. They do not have the means to open bank accounts or connect to the global economy. They cannot invest, they cannot lend, earn interest, etc. If they have cash, it is in the form of money under their mattress or in their pocket. They are left out.
Many of these parts of the world leapfrogged PCs entirely, and went straight to smartphones. They will make a similar leapfrog in finance, bypassing traditional banks entirely. Before Wells Fargo opens in sudan, providing farmers with loans and a way to save, they will have it on their phones in the form of crypto wallets. This will unleash unprecedented economic velocity, helping to raise the half of the world that is left out into a higher quality of life.
- Low-to-no inflation saves common people from the hidden tax. A system designed by bankers for their own profit. The Federal Reserve is literally a feedback system that makes banks richer and average people poorer, like inflating air into a balloon and watching points on the top and bottom separate. I think, actually, that the whole balloon is rising, so it could be worse. Generally, quality of life has gotten better everywhere over time. But the people on the bottom still lack power and equality in a large part due to the distance between them and the richest increasing over time, caused by this mechanism.
> You do not have to worry about your money being stolen by means like Civil Asset Forfeiture, which is literally legalized highway robbery. Crypto has similar properties to cash, while not being as susceptible to physical theft.
Sure, its slightly harder to seize crypto assets compared to a suitcase full of cash, but the US Government certainly does it all the time. Usually under colorful cases like "United States v. Approximately 85.6971800 Bitcoins". [0]
I suppose you could refuse to divulge your keys (or even destroy them), but I guarantee that would just end up with you in prison indefinitely.
Yeah, if the government wants something then it's going to get it. There's this, obviously, and you're right: https://xkcd.com/538/. I am not advocating that crypto can help you bypass the law. But at least in the instances you're talking about, I would hope there would be due process.
There is no due process for civil asset forfeiture. If your money's on your phone, maybe they'll seize your phone, but you'd still have your keys, and that would not be illegal.
Typically they just see physical cash and take it. They take it because they see it, and it's theirs immediately. This is the type of theft that crypto helps prevent.
Why?
> What is it solving that isn't some sort of political science question?
- Why can't you send money between PayPal and Venmo, even though they're products owned by the same company? It's because existing money is a system that you are permitted to use, under specific restrictions applied by government. Cryptocurrencies are open protocols. One thing they solve is getting around these restrictions. One day, all of our payment apps will be interoperable, and they will be enabled by crypto.
- You do not have to worry about your money being stolen by means like Civil Asset Forfeiture, which is literally legalized highway robbery. Crypto has similar properties to cash, while not being as susceptible to physical theft.
- Inflation is controlled by algorithm, not arbitrary policy. (Depending on your economic views, you may think this is a fault. I don't, but that's me. At the very least, it enables us to see what will happen to such a currency.)
- You can remit small amounts of money instantly at low-to-no cost. This will be huge for the developing world. (Scaling is not solved, but I also don't think that bringing it up is an interesting counterargument. Computer scientists have been scaling systems for the last 60 years. We're pretty good at it, and it's happening now with the Lightning network. There is no conceptual blocker to scaling cryptocurrency. The hard problem was digital scarcity, which has been solved, which is why crypto is now a thing at all.)
- Many people in many parts of the world do not have the ability to interact with traditional finance. They do not have the means to open bank accounts or connect to the global economy. They cannot invest, they cannot lend, earn interest, etc. If they have cash, it is in the form of money under their mattress or in their pocket. They are left out.
Many of these parts of the world leapfrogged PCs entirely, and went straight to smartphones. They will make a similar leapfrog in finance, bypassing traditional banks entirely. Before Wells Fargo opens in sudan, providing farmers with loans and a way to save, they will have it on their phones in the form of crypto wallets. This will unleash unprecedented economic velocity, helping to raise the half of the world that is left out into a higher quality of life.
- Low-to-no inflation saves common people from the hidden tax. A system designed by bankers for their own profit. The Federal Reserve is literally a feedback system that makes banks richer and average people poorer, like inflating air into a balloon and watching points on the top and bottom separate. I think, actually, that the whole balloon is rising, so it could be worse. Generally, quality of life has gotten better everywhere over time. But the people on the bottom still lack power and equality in a large part due to the distance between them and the richest increasing over time, caused by this mechanism.
There are many things that crypto solves.