[miohtama]

> What happens if I pay for something with a credit card and the vendor fails to deliver?

You are paying 2% - 5% premium on the price for this insurance that a credit card company providers. This is what the merchant gets charged in transaction fees and flat fees to get access to Visa/Mastercard network. There are many cases when you do not want to have insurance benefits of credit cardand you would simply take 2% cheaper price. However, with the current consumer payment rails (credit/debit) this is in practice impossible. (Granted some large enterprises like Amazon get charged less, but economics of scale, combined with the business practices, of Amazon have been found to be harmful for ecommerce ecosystem as a whole.)

I think it is ok to let the free market to pick the winner. Cryptocurrency might not be an ideal solution for all problems, but it might be still a good solution especially in developing countries where banking system is expensive, inefficient and corrupt. Let the option be available for others even if you do not use or believe in it yourself.

[diputsmonro]

With crypto you pay the additional overhead of gas fees, which are often unpredictable and may cost more than the item itself.

[miohtama]

Can you cite any source for this?

[tablespoon]

>> With crypto you pay the additional overhead of gas fees, which are often unpredictable and may cost more than the item itself.

> Can you cite any source for this?

It's common knowledge.

https://ycharts.com/indicators/bitcoin_average_transaction_f...

https://ycharts.com/indicators/ethereum_average_transaction_...

[miohtama]

I think your information is somewhat outdated. For example, paying on USDC using Solana or Avalanche networks

- Fee is less than 10c, less then a debit card

- USDC is backed by US Treasury notes, making it more solid than deposit in a bank

- There is no volatility risk of the cryptocurrency

- USDC follows US court orders for crime and money laundering cases

https://solberginvest.com/blog/how-much-are-solana-fees/

[dmitriid]

> I think your information is somewhat outdated. For example, paying on USDC using Solana or Avalanche networks

As always with cryptocurrencies, "you're using the wrong cryptocurrency" as if the absolutely dominant ones, Bitcoin and Ethereum don't exist and aren't much more likely to be used than whatever the darling du jour is.

> USDC is backed by US Treasury notes, making it more solid than deposit in a bank

They are "backed" as much as Tether is "backed". To quote, "Circle claims that each USDC is backed by a dollar held in reserve, or by other 'approved investments', though these are not detailed. The wording on the Circle website changed from the previous 'backed by US dollars' to 'backed by fully reserved assets' by June 2021".

[miohtama]

This from the latest GrantThompson USDC report:

> Segregated accounts are defined by the Company as unencumbered accounts of the Company which are eligible to fulfill the Company’s obligations under the statutes and regulations applicable to the Company as a money transmitter licensed in various US states and territories. Such accounts are held at US regulated financial institutions, limited to cash and short-dated U.S. government obligations, and are segregated from other accounts of the Company, including general corporate funds.

So the assets backing are cash and treasury notes.

I am not saying Circle is not lying, but them lying this close to IPO is very unlikely, so you are very likely incorrect.

[Forgeties79]

https://crypto.com/defi/dashboard/gas-fees

[Forgeties79]

> I think it is ok to let the free market to pick the winner.

Seems to me the market is calling for regulation, because it’s a huge barrier to adoption. Ask any skeptic (who doesn’t have a moral issue with it such as environmental impact) and 9 times out of 10 they go “it feels like a scam” or “I don’t want someone to hack my money.”

People like to gripe about regulation, but we also find a little security in it. It often makes us feel safe at the end of the day - and when it comes money, that’s a cornerstone feature that needs be present.

[bb88]

> I think it is ok to let the free market to pick the winner.

You mean:

"I think it is ok for a _regulated_ free market to pick the winner."

An unregulated free market has scams we're seeing today.