[labrador]

I suggest we stick to the technical aspects and what ideas people have for using the technology. it rather than veering off into money and fraud, which are highly charged topics. I'm genuinely curious about how this new tech will change things.

[threeseed]

How can you possibly discuss Bitcoin without the topics of money and fraud ?

It's intrinsic to what Bitcoin is.

[andirk]

Money, sure. Fraud? No. That is too broad of a topic to require its inclusion with BTC. Almost every scam/phish/SPAM I receive is USD-desiring. And you are aware of this yet insist BTC is the main fraud coin.

[inversalAutoDoc]

The mapping is the other way around. That most fraud requests USD is indisputable, but looking at it the other way, a disproportionate amount of the movement of Crypto (incl. bitcoin) is fraud-related compared to traditional currencies [assuming we define fraud separately from corruption.]

This disproportionate share may be less than it appears when you take into account all of the things that Crypto is typically not used for, but the fact remains that there are daily stories about even large Crypto proponents being defrauded.

That this fraudulant activity is enabled by the underlying mechanics (i.e. the decentralization and lack of a verifying authority [i.e. the primary draw of Crypto afaik]) of the platform is worthy of being brought up when discussing the technological merits of the platform.

[andirk]

Yes one of BTC's main features _and_ biggest issue is: decentralization. Reminds me of when people go full libertarian and suggest no government intervention whatsoever, and then someone suggests they move to the governmentless land of Somalia that is anything but freedom and paradise.

With great power comes great responsibility; decentralization is a loaded gun. Use at your own risk!

[philistine]

10 years. Constant discussion. Unbelievable hype. Yet nothing has fundamentally changed. At this point, I’m tired of waiting, and I simply assume blockchain tech will never change anything.