[gumby]

> cryptocurrency is a powerful and useful invention.

Can you explain? Intellectually interesting? No question. But powerful or useful (I consider them synonyms)? I'd like to see some actual examples.

This is genuine curiosity, not snark. I'm on the board of a blockchain startup who has a legitimate application for a blockchain -- an aspirin. But this application could have been done 20 years ago if there hadn't been patent issues for hash chains. And while the engineers are enthusiastic to do a coin nobody can explain why someone else would want to buy one, except in the hope that someone someday would pay more for it.

I've seen a few vaguely interesting applications cor crypto currencies, but they are all been at best 'vitamins'. I've yet to see an 'aspirin'.

[astrolince]

Of course you don't understand, because you don't need them, you can't understand freedom of expression if you never had anything to say, you can't understand privacy if you never had anything to hide, if you were living in a country like mine, Argentina, you would understand immediately the incredibly useful thing that Bitcoin is.

I have a Swiss bank in my pocket, in a country that steals all your savings every ten years and the central bank destroys you with inflation.

I have an international payment system, I can send and receive money in minutes to whomever I want, without asking permission from anyone, without the government or the bank stealing it from me. From a place where it is sinful to take your money out of the country.

It's the difference between existing or not in the world, and you have no idea how incredible it is to be able to pass an Argentine crisis without your family suffering hunger, no centralized system could give me something similar at such a low cost.

[sphinxpy]

I really hope this statement gets people to think about the crypto realm in a different way. What you described is exactly why I see this as a tool for revolutionary progress.

Not so long ago, you would have had little to no option and would have been a victim of oppressive systems. This technology allowed you to overcome something people have been helplessly outmatched by for a hundred years.

I am glad you shared this and sincerely hope you the best.

Its worth noting that many "western" cultures are becoming more hostile to their citizens, removing privacy and many things our parents and grandparents took for granted. We should be embracing things that gives us privacy.

We already have banks and payment systems playing alongside thought police. Saying something that is dissent has gotten people to lose their bank accounts [0]. I am not condoning these actions by this example but I am saying its becoming more normal. There are also issues with patreon dropping people over online political affiliation.

I don't know how many here follow the global economy but if you do, you will see the US economy is in a dangerous place. This commenter talks about the central bank taking his money and that can happen here with something call "bail-ins" [1] which takes money from account holders in the event of another "too big to fail" moment.

This may have been in Argentina but people should realize, that although you may not feel you need it today, you very well could need it I'm your country soon.

[0] https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/02/financial-tyranny-c... [1] https://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets-economy/090716...

[qqn]

Thanks for sharing this. From my first payments in crypto I immediately felt something huge had shifted in the world, exactly what you're talking about here. I hope you and yours are safe and secure.

[phyzome]

It sounds like Stellar would be a bad fit for your use-case, then, even while Bitcoin is useful.

[rickycook]

why is that? you can still interact with the stellar network with just xlm->xlm; you don’t have to pass it through and anchor to pay in some fiat-backed token

[phyzome]

Ah, OK. I've had a pretty hard time understanding Stellar's model. It seems pretty complicated.

[mirimir]

Basically, it's Internet money. So like the Internet, it's very difficult for governments to fsck with. They can try, of course, but there will always be levels of overlay networks that they can't touch. This is one aspect of the cypherpunk vision.

Being ~anonymous online, cryptocurrencies are my only option for buying and selling stuff online. Leasing VPN services, servers, VPS, etc. Getting paid for writing and other consulting work.

The speculation aspect is just meme-driven bullshit. What we need is cryptocurrencies with stable values, for online commerce. I'm not sure what you mean by "aspirin" vs "vitamins". But for me, getting out from under the thumb of government is extremely interesting.

[chrischen]

I’d rather call it internet “cash” rather than just internet money. We can use money online (credit card, paypal), but there’s so much consumer protection stuff that goes along with it that makes it hard to use like paper cash—irreversible, untraceable.m, unsanctioned usage.

Perfect for things governments hate: illegal stuff like extortion and drugs.

[mirimir]

> Perfect for things governments hate: illegal stuff like extortion and drugs.

That's true for anything that provides privacy and freedom.

[qqn]

> I'd like to see some actual examples.

I used Bitcoin to cover a flight a few years back when the only other options were PayPal or using a European bank deposit (0).

More recently I also paid for graduate studies in Bitcoin (1). Granted, it was for an MSc in cryptocurrency but the process was still just so... easy. I did it while in bed here in Canada to a university in Cyprus. It took about five minutes and the school converted the funds to euros right away. When I compare this to waiting 1-2 weeks to move funds from Canada to Europe for previous studies (as well as the ~€100 in fees), I can definitely see a bullish case for crypto, especially for bigger international payments.

0: https://www.airbaltic.com/en/payment-options

1: https://digitalcurrency.unic.ac.cy/admissions/financial-info...

[btown]

Are there any resources describing the patent issues for hash chains? Have patents expired, or does cryptocurrency somehow work around them?

[feanaro]

Sibling comments to this one have already written down most of what I would say myself. In short, I think having a way to transfer money anonymously and without control from the government an especially important capability.