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by scintill76 4020 days ago
I guess PayPal, Square, Venmo, and all banks suck too, because they also don't let you increase value out of thin air? Shouldn't preventing unauthorized money creation or theft be like design requirement #1 for any financial system?! This comment sounds like complete trolling, or maybe I'm misreading.
1 comments
mpyne 4020 days ago
My point is that when you say that system X is superior because of unique feature Y, that "unique" feature should actually be unique.

Bitcoin is a system with rules just as much as any other financial system, so the point that was made about "not needing permission" is factually wrong.

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scintill76 4019 days ago
It seems trollish to define "permission" by whether a system allows its own rules to be broken. I'd argue there can be no such systems because it's contradictory, so saying Bitcoin is not such a system is meaningless.

I'll grant you that Bitcoin requires more "permission" than "none", in the form of licenses and tax reporting in many usecases, as well as technical things like nobody having guaranteed permission to have their transaction processed (even if it follows all published rules.)

The rules are published in open-source code, and you don't have to "sign up" to submit transactions or follow the blockchain, or contract with any entity exclusively in control of the network. Maybe we're not adequately describing the unique quality, but it seems obvious to me that there's a big qualitative difference between e.g., Bitcoin and ACH. You can say it's not worth-it, useful, or interesting in your opinion, but what other financial system publishes all nominal rules and is governed by a self-regulating network that is 99% likely to let anyone do anything permitted by said rules?

I may also be overly optimistic about how long consensus will last, or how "fair" the system is in practice. Still, over the last few years, I'd say Bitcoin has been a uniquely open financial system.

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brighton36 4019 days ago
Programming applications on incumbent financial systems requires : bonding, licensing, regulatory certifications, insurance, etc. That's the permission being referenced.
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mpyne 4019 days ago
Except that you need to do the same things for Bitcoin-based businesses as well, as I indicated in my other comment.

If you're trying to say that you'll simply break the law, you are also able to do so with fiat cash flows (just ask the cartels).

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brighton36 4019 days ago
You absolutely do not need to do the same things for Bitcoin. The companies that work in the Bitcoin space which require this regulation, require it due to their handling of fiat.
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