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Comment by virtuexru | Hacker News Reader

Exactly. This is the crucial point all of these people seem to miss.

There is all kinds of other egregious waste (electrical and otherwise) going on in the world, how is this any worse than say millions of computer's online/burning power to play DoTA for instance (sorry MOBA fans, nothing personal. using it bc it has an enormous player base). It's a weird comparison but it gets the point across.

Plus, relatively speaking.. an entire year to power the country of Ecuador is the same amount of energy it takes to power the Bitcoin blockchain for a year doesn't seem that "wasteful" considering how many lives Bitcoin has changed & the miracle of being able to send up to $x,xxx,xxx USD (or any other currency) around the world, confirmed in less than 10 minutes for a paltry fee of ~$5.

I'm not sure why but there is a clear bias on HN regarding most Bitcoin articles.

This is just my opinion; take it with a grain of salt.

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> the miracle of being able to send up to $x,xxx,xxx USD (or any other currency) around the world, confirmed in less than 10 minutes for a paltry fee of ~$5.

That's a miracle?

I've ordered physical products from all over the world - China, USA, Europe, India - and the payment confirmation always a) took just a few seconds and b) cost me just a few cents.

I also rarely bring cash with me, and pay most things with debit card. After punching in the PIN, the confirmation takes about 2 seconds to be printed. I'm happy, the seller is happy, we all carry on with our lives.

I don't know what it looks like on the receiving side, but I routinely buy games from GOG and Steam and they immediately let me know that "payment has been confirmed" after a purchase is made, so I am assuming that they see the confirmation of the transaction on their side immediately.

The only miracle I see here is how somehow $5 and 10 minutes per transfer is considered a great leap forward in efficiency.

Certainly bitcoin brings a lot to the table, but efficiency, so far, isn't it.

Can you talk more about the lives Bitcoin has changed? Are you referring to people using it for black market transactions or are you referring to speculators?

By the way you asked the question I can already sense your clear bias. I'll answer you however.

Countries where the currency is inflating at enormous rates, countries where the banking system is corrupt/out of date/not functioning, Bitcoin has changed these people's lives. Venezuela would be a good example from this year: https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2017/02/03/why-venezue...

This is a myth. I can tell you from first-hand experience that bitcoin is not changing lives in Venezuela (at least not on a noteworthy scale). Practically nobody accepts bitcoin in exchange for food and services and many of the rural regions that are hit the hardest by the failing economy don't even have reliable access to internet. This idea that bitcoin is somehow aiding the impoverished is the height of technocratic arrogance.

I don't see proof anyone has been helped. The article points out that Venezuelan Bitcoin users rose to 85,000 users in 2016 and that a travel agency in Venezuela only accepts Bitcoin. The article also says Bitcoin is useful for buying stuff from online retailers.

I believe the larger systematic problem with corrupt and non functioning economic instruments is not their corruptability but rather the structures that promote and rely upon on corruption which Bitcoin doesn't appear to resolve.

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