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by kayodelycaon 1065 days ago
The one legitimate use case of using blockchain for decentralized digital currency ends up being used by everyone who can’t transfer funds using normal routes. So most of the people using it are either bad actors or speculators

Kind of like Tor. Bad actors ruin all kinds of things. People who only see technology will only go on to repeat the mistakes of the past because they lack the necessary domain knowledge to know better.
2 comments
nkuttler 1065 days ago
> So most of the people using it are either bad actors or speculators

"bad actors" according to their government, which could mean people who simply want the right to vote, or to live free from oppression, secret police, etc.

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acdha 1065 days ago
Even if we take this at face value and assume these are all dissidents seeking freedom, cryptocurrencies would be a bad idea because they force you to leave a paper trail for prosecutors and deal with intermediaries who could be suborned. If Iranian dissidents buy something with cash, they might find that the person they thought was trustworthy is secretly working for the police and they’re going to have a bad time but they would at least only have proof of that single transaction. If they use cryptocurrency, the police get likely years worth of transaction history and a list of everyone you’ve worked with.
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kayodelycaon 1065 days ago
Indeed, what about all of the decent and moral people using digital currency for such reasons?

Across all of them? A very low percentage. Fraud and speculation is left, right, and center.

Unfortunately, only a few, like Bitcoin, can justify their existence on moral grounds. Hopefully the concept doesn’t get banned completely.

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logicchains 1065 days ago
>So most of the people using it are either bad actors or speculators

It's a matter of perspective. For many people around the world, the US government is the bad actor, the bad actor preventing them transferring funds through "normal" (US controlled) routes.

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kayodelycaon 1065 days ago
Yup. The only reason blockchain has any legitimate use at all is because governments are bad actors.

Doesn't change that many of the people using the system are also bad actors of one form or another.

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