Programmable Currency, a Tool of Enslavement

originally posted by: ChaoticOrder
When I first got into crypto many years ago it amazed me how much control I had over my own money.

Is that before or after you convert it into dollars?

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Not sure what you're getting at, but the majority of my money has existed in the form of crypto for many years. If you are talking about the difficulty of spending crypto, well it's very easy to buy almost anything with crypto these days, even about 4 or 5 years ago I bought a new PC directly with Bitcoin, no conversion to dollars necessary. I actually sell shopping cart software which allows people to sell products in return for crypto, but I wont link it here since it's probably against the rules.

originally posted by: ChaoticOrder
Not sure what you're getting at, but the majority of my money has existed in the form of crypto for many years. If you are talking about the difficulty of spending crypto, well it's very easy to buy almost anything with crypto these days, even about 4 or 5 years ago I bought a new PC directly with Bitcoin, no conversion to dollars necessary. I actually sell shopping cart software which allows people to sell products in return for crypto, but I wont link it here since it's probably against the rules.

Everything needs to go through lengthy verification steps, if not outright conversion to an actual currency, to exchange crypto peer to peer, particularly Bitcoin, forget about P2B or B2B, it's a terrible form of currency.

a reply to: Wisenox

If this goes ahead, it will create a Black economy, as Banks have stopped being Banks. an alternative way of trading will automatically come. The second-hand goods market will start to take off, have you noticed the retail prices, in shops compared to similar quality goods in op shops. They are higher quality older stuff, at a fraction of the retail price. That's just about everything, that never hit the landfill, and stood the test of time. This starts to beg the philosophical question of what does second hand actually men, as nothing much is totally untouched and unused. Even a new car has miles on the clock, clothes have been tried on and replaced on the rack etc.
My missus still uses a perfectly serviceable industrial Singer made in 1947, built to last indefinitely, no doubt certain cars will start to become hard to get, the British Landrover is the vehicle of choice in many areas of the world because it can't be killed,

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Don't need to.
We've already got VISA and Mastercard rushing to provide crypto payment services, not to mention Amazon building their own coin and providing multiple payment options. eBay is getting ready to jump on board too.

Not to mention I've already got my Uphold and Global ID XRP debit Mastercards, which convert my crypto at point of sale while giving me crypto cashback on every purchase. Also my Coinbase VISA debit card allows me to spend any crypto I want (usually USDC) and earn 4% cashback in XLM. Can't beat that!

Fiat isn't the only game in town anymore.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

The block verification time depends on the particular coin you are using, but it's usually pretty quick. If someone wants to sell me something in return for crypto then it can be done without any conversions to dollars. I just send the crypto to their wallet address and they send me the item. A business can accept crypto and then choose to keep the crypto or convert it back into dollars later, depending on how much risk they want to take, obviously dollars are more stable and predictable.

In order to buy crypto or sell crypto you'll probably have to use dollars at some point in the process, which makes exchanges the weakest point, since they aren't decentralized and can be hacked. But these days we have many well established exchanges with the proper licenses and insurance, and using a crypto exchange is much safer than the days of Mt Gox.

a reply to: anonentity

what does second hand really mean

The way that everything is designed for obsolescence these days, second hand is often better quality.

originally posted by: ChaoticOrder
The block verification time depends on the particular coin you are using, but it's usually pretty quick.

'Pretty quick' for crypto is an eternity for regular payments and settlement.

If someone wants to sell me something in return for crypto then it can be done without any conversions to dollars.

It's absolutely priced in another currency, how do you determine the value of Bitcoin?

I just send the crypto to their wallet address and they send me the item. A business can accept crypto and then choose to keep the crypto or convert it back into dollars later, depending on how much risk they want to take, obviously dollars are more stable and predictable.

That's the volatility aspect I mentioned which is a death knell for any currency.

originally posted by: underpass61
Don't need to.

All those will be using a dollar conversion and none of them are instant which makes it pretty much useless for most of the payments world.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: ChaoticOrder
The block verification time depends on the particular coin you are using, but it's usually pretty quick.

'Pretty quick' for crypto is an eternity for regular payments and settlement.

Is, "As fast as I can swipe my card" fast enough? Because I've been doing that for almost a year now.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Lordy, you really don't know what you're talking about.

Spend your crypto
instantly
A Visa debit card that makes crypto as spendable as the money in your bank, powered by your Coinbase account balance.

Coinbase card

You're waaaaaayy behind sport.

originally posted by: underpass61
Is, "As fast as I can swipe my card" fast enough? Because I've been doing that for almost a year now.

The settlement side is not instant, I am talking about the entire payment scheme. You're focused on one part. None of these are ISO 20022 which means it's limited in use for merchants and merchant acquirers.

LOL, your Coinbase card doesn't do instant payments, it has a completely different back end than a traditional debit/credit card. Talk about not knowing WTF you're talking about.

originally posted by: underpass61
Lordy, you really don't know what you're talking about.

Nah, I just got back from the USPF where we met with Visa, Amex, MC, Discover, EP, JPMC, the Fed and pretty much everyone else in the payments world.

I was there for fun, not work./s

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus
Well, I'm glad you're there working out the problems on their side. Over here on the consumer side my payment is accepted instantly, so I couldn't give AF about that, why would I?

Glad to know you care so much about such a "useless" technology LOL

originally posted by: underpass61
Over here on the consumer side my payment is accepted instantly, so I couldn't give AF about that, why would I?

Of course you wouldn't. But if you knew how the payments world functioned you'd realize that no one wants to play around with volatile cryptos that require high latency backend processing. It makes it unappealing for broader use and requires whoever is floating the stablecoin in your transaction to have an ever increasing valuation on the crypto to cover that volatility.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

To be fair, all those companies are what crypto purists aim to end.

Ideally, and IMO, there will be a consumer network and a corporate networks plus subsidaries among each.

Theres miles of use cases for each.

originally posted by: JinMI
To be fair, all those companies are what crypto purists aim to end.

Good luck taking on multi-trillions in assets and their inherent market advantages. They are going to co-opt crypto along with the government, it's like the Borg.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Well, the financial sector wouldn't be bending over backwards to accommodate crypto payments if there wasn't any benefit for them, so why are they?

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

It all BS with third party risk, the whole idea of money, is something small but valuable that can be carried for the exchange of goods or services. Look at Russia at the moment, lining up to get cash. If it was still a silver and gold coin it would be another story.Their is a reason why past civilizations have ended.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Crypto is valued at multi-trillions...well couple trillions anyway.

There is thousands active currently. While theres no doubt thatt they coopt some, bitcoin, xrp, ltc possibly ethereum, with the open source tech in play, there will always be another thats outside that sphere.