Crypto Currency Thread
Discussion
Guvernator said:
Never understood the need for a paper wallet. It's offline, big deal. What happens if you lose it, it's destroyed or someone steals it. Yes exchanges get hacked but tbh I'd still trust an online store much more than a bit of lose paper stored in my desk drawer.
The track record of exchanges is genuinely disgusting. If they're not hacked, which is usually a code for them stealing, then they may freeze you and you wind up nothing but a forgotten ticket number. This is still an incredibly immature space.
Paper wallets are 100% impregnable provided they're created correctly. If I were to park some crypto for a lengthy time it would be my prime choice.
And paper wallet is a bit of a misnomer. It's any set of private keys generated offline. You can store them any way you wish - multiple distributed encrypted SD cards etc.
https://www.ft.com/content/af6b1d48-90cc-11e9-aea1...
Have we seen the news around FB and their new currency Libra?
This could bring the public into crypto as they will no doubt get pumped with adverts by facebook.
Have we seen the news around FB and their new currency Libra?
This could bring the public into crypto as they will no doubt get pumped with adverts by facebook.
Facebook is exactly the kind of platform that could have a real world use case for Crypto Currency and bring it well into the public fore. However those expecting to buy some Libra coins and get rich off it might be in for a surprise as FB have stated they will be linking it to fiat currency and\or real assets with the aim being to make the price as stable as possible. Will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Guvernator said:
Facebook is exactly the kind of platform that could have a real world use case for Crypto Currency and bring it well into the public fore. However those expecting to buy some Libra coins and get rich off it might be in for a surprise as FB have stated they will be linking it to fiat currency and\or real assets with the aim being to make the price as stable as possible. Will be interesting to see how this plays out.
One telling thing is that not one credible financial institution is involved. Booking.com is not much of a substitute. And the idea of slowly migrating to decentralisation is plain weird. You either are or are not.
Though I still find it hard to imagine smart contracts ever being much of a thing, they'll probably be far more attractive on Libra than something like ETH to the average user if there is such a thing.
bloomen said:
One telling thing is that not one credible financial institution is involved. Booking.com is not much of a substitute.
And the idea of slowly migrating to decentralisation is plain weird. You either are or are not.
Though I still find it hard to imagine smart contracts ever being much of a thing, they'll probably be far more attractive on Libra than something like ETH to the average user if there is such a thing.
I had it in my head that Libra would be used for paying for small services rather than smart contracts much like you would with apple pay except you have the flexibility of using it for micro-transactions, tipping etc so you can like someone's post and tip them 1 libra etc. And the idea of slowly migrating to decentralisation is plain weird. You either are or are not.
Though I still find it hard to imagine smart contracts ever being much of a thing, they'll probably be far more attractive on Libra than something like ETH to the average user if there is such a thing.
I'm also not sure a financial institution not being involved would be a huge blocker, FB are richer than a lot of banks and could easily self back this.
Guvernator said:
I'm also not sure a financial institution not being involved would be a huge blocker, FB are richer than a lot of banks and could easily self back this.
Less about money, more about confidence. It's only a $10 million investment to get on board which is peanuts for them. It's clearly potentially very big. My guess is their main stumbling block will be regulatory stuff as ever and banks and buddies know this all too well.
Guvernator said:
bloomen said:
One telling thing is that not one credible financial institution is involved. Booking.com is not much of a substitute.
And the idea of slowly migrating to decentralisation is plain weird. You either are or are not.
Though I still find it hard to imagine smart contracts ever being much of a thing, they'll probably be far more attractive on Libra than something like ETH to the average user if there is such a thing.
I had it in my head that Libra would be used for paying for small services rather than smart contracts much like you would with apple pay except you have the flexibility of using it for micro-transactions, tipping etc so you can like someone's post and tip them 1 libra etc. And the idea of slowly migrating to decentralisation is plain weird. You either are or are not.
Though I still find it hard to imagine smart contracts ever being much of a thing, they'll probably be far more attractive on Libra than something like ETH to the average user if there is such a thing.
Libra is in no way decentralised. The insitutions running nodes are hand picked companies paying millions of dollars for the privilege. Bitcoin nodes are free to spin up and completely permissionless. I run one in my living room. The network is stronger for it.
Facebook may make Libra very easy to use but the KYC/AML regulation overhead will make it no more free, (probably even less so) than standard FIAT.
booboise blueboys said:
Facebook may make Libra very easy to use but the KYC/AML regulation overhead will make it no more free, (probably even less so) than standard FIAT.
KYC/AML law doesn't cease to apply just because you wave your hands and say 'permissionless decentralised blockchain-based solution'Well, didnae take long. France calls for a central bank review
“It is out of question’’ that Libra “become a sovereign currency,’’ LeMaire said in an interview on Europe 1 radio. “It can’t and it must not happen.”
- https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-18...
“It is out of question’’ that Libra “become a sovereign currency,’’ LeMaire said in an interview on Europe 1 radio. “It can’t and it must not happen.”
- https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-18...
Fbook's offering is simply a way to gather more information. They advertise to you, now they'll be able to tell if you bought what they showed you, when you bought it, if your friends bought it and tempt you with similar offerings, perhaps with a discount if you pay through them using their coin.
Smartcontracts will be chugging away in the background of most fintech blockchain activities in the future; it won't concern the typical Facebook user.
Smartcontracts will be chugging away in the background of most fintech blockchain activities in the future; it won't concern the typical Facebook user.
bloomen said:
Well, didnae take long. France calls for a central bank review
“It is out of question’’ that Libra “become a sovereign currency,’’ LeMaire said in an interview on Europe 1 radio. “It can’t and it must not happen.”
- https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-18...
Yeah, this is where things get really interesting. Facebook has witnessed WeChat's coin success in China (note that FB is banned in China) & chases the business model with their own basket-balanced stable coin, apparently fully backed. That makes it potentially compete with central banks, not just retail banks. Whilst central banks in the developed world don't yet have much to worry about, those abusing their citizen's wealth in 2nd & 3rd world markets certainly do.“It is out of question’’ that Libra “become a sovereign currency,’’ LeMaire said in an interview on Europe 1 radio. “It can’t and it must not happen.”
- https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-18...
So I am guessing traditional banks and governments are going to be fighting tooth and nail to scupper this. I can certainly understand some of the concern over KYL\AMC but if it's restricted to small amounts and linked to your FB\WhatsApp profile I really can't see the harm, unless they see it as a threat to the status quo.
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