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by lisper 510 days ago
No. That's another long story. I think bitcoin is basically a scam. (That's another essay I should probably write.)

This is not to say you can't make money at it. People make money on scams all the time. One might argue that it's a foundational element of the American economy. But when it comes to bitcoin, I understand the technology and its attendant risks too well for me to want to play that game.
2 comments
mandmandam 510 days ago
At the risk of digressing - do you think there's a baby in that bathwater?

I agree completely that BTC is basically a scam at this point, as are most of the top coins by market cap.

However, there are a few interesting cryptocurrency projects out there which are quietly getting better and better (ie, Nano). Do you have any interest in the potential of the field, or has BTC soured you on the whole thing?

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lisper 510 days ago
> do you think there's a baby in that bathwater?

That's a very hard question to answer because it depends on what you consider "that bathwater." I think using digital signatures is a win. But mining is a BIG lose IMHO. It is vastly better in every possible respect to rely on trusted third-parties. Even with bitcoin most people rely on TTPs because managing your own keys is fraught with all manner of peril.

> However, there are a few interesting cryptocurrency projects out there which are quietly getting better and better (ie, Nano). Do you have any interest in the potential of the field, or has BTC soured you on the whole thing?

I don't know anything about Nano. But the fact of the matter is that BTC is pretty much synonymous with crypto nowadays, and everything else (AFAICT) is riding on its coattails. No one would be taking any of it seriously if not for the fact that 1 BTC fetches USD100k or whatever it is nowadays.

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LAMike 509 days ago
What makes Bitcoin a scam?
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lisper 509 days ago
https://blog.rongarret.info/2023/04/a-systematic-critique-of...
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LAMike 508 days ago
His arguments about the feasibility of a 51% attack are off by an order of magnitude, and the fact that you can't easily reduce the amount of energy needed to mine is a feature, not a bug
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lisper 508 days ago
> His arguments about the feasibility of a 51% attack are off by an order of magnitude,

About that:

https://blog.rongarret.info/2023/04/bitcoins-value-propositi...

(I'm the author, BTW.)

> and the fact that you can't easily reduce the amount of energy needed to mine is a feature, not a bug

We'll have to agree to disagree about that. Most people consider gross inefficiency a bug, especially when that inefficiency is a necessary part of the design.

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