On the other hand, us little people should support anything that gives the average person a fighting chance against the rich and powerful.
And what, exactly, do you think you're fighting?
Inflation or inflationary policies? Places to park money that are better than bits or gold have existed for a long time.
Surveillance? An indelible ledger has its downsides here.
Technology is more often a magnifier of existing human dynamics rather than a qualitative change. Especially one that seeks to replace existing tech. If you think it's going to produce a fundamental change, why is this different?
Well, we'll need a lot of help from the likes of Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey, but it's totally all about helping the little guy.
If you don't agree that's fine. Don't buy. If other people buy and have a different opinion it doesn't hurt you at all.
I don't think that I have a chance in heaven or hell to navigate a completely opaque ecosystem where wash trading sets the value minute to minute and the mechanisms of realizing that value are run to make money off the realisation.
https://twitter.com/ummjackson/status/1415353986392072196?re...
I tend to agree. There are legitimate use cases, but overall it's unclear whether "the little guys" are really the main use case or how much the average Nigerian (or anyone else except the ultra wealthy) might benefit.
Now if your point is that some wealthy elites want to take power away from other wealthy elites, I'd say this is a more accurate take on the situation. For example, being able to circumvent taxes, or being able to manipulate markets on a global scale.
And Mr. Palmer is out of crypto. Good for him. And the solution to reign in fiat-based crony capitalism is what?
I 100% agree with the premise that the ultra-wealthy are finally getting on board with crypto and will pollute it with the same manipulation they've used in other markets. But that still doesn't mean it can't be used by the average person to build wealth if done correctly.
The average person really doesn't need many of the use cases that crypto provides, as of today. Most of the "normal people use cases" have yet to materialize. I really struggle with this narrative, because it just doesn't reflect any sense of reality. I own crypto, I heavily participate in the space, and yet I don't get people that think a mother of 3 needs to own Eth in any practical sense.
It's this narrative of "rich western citizens" talking about "real world use cases" that completely diverge from their day to day which is the ultimate irony. Think of the poor Africans! Said no one from Coinbase or Binance. Think of the use cases! Said the wealthy SWE speculatively trading shitcoins, x5 leverage to the gills.
There are real world use cases, but likely if you're posting here on your macbook, they do not apply to you. People don't give a shit about venezuela or Nigeria, it's just greed.
Why not read the actual Twitter thread and see if the argument has merit? Or engage the summary that the GP brought into the thread instead of pretending the only relevant point in play is the authority of Palmer?
And finally, why not acknowledge that maybe someone who created a coin that took off might have some worthwhile insight?
Yes, crypto is being manipulated and distorted by the wealthy and powerful. It's sad to see. But it's still beneficial to the average person to have other options outside of the current system.
I'd be shocked if most people in Nigeria even have a personal computer and reliable internet. That's how impoverished most of them are.
I did a little research on this for a job last year and internet access/mobile phone ownership numbers are far higher than I expected. Mobile payments are already a very common form of transaction in Africa. The Gates Foundation mentioned that one of the big issues with their current infrastructure is middle-men fees when talking about remittances between African countries through to mobile credit, so crypto is actually a strong candidate to improve that area too.
Also, it's not about getting rich. It's about surviving when the government has all power to freeze your bank accounts, inflate the currency, etc.
Answer: "While Nigeria's mobile penetration rate is lower than developed markets, it is higher than the average across sub-Saharan Africa, standing at around 50% as of 2018, and estimated to rise to 130 million or about 60%-65% of the total population by 2025."
Also: Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Which, in this case, is to say that it may be that "there is no real proof that this has brought mostly normal people in nigeria out of poverty." But did you RTFA? It talks about how crypto is helping normal people. So there isn't evidence against this idea either. Maybe we should try to find out, rather than be dismissive.
Provisions were added into the bill that would require "know your customer" type requirements and taxation of crypto exchanges but were written so poorly that the requirements could be extrapolated to crypto miners, staking, etc.
This is what happens when people who don't understand the technology in the first place try to write legislation at the last minute to insert into a bill that has nothing to do with crypto.
Amendments have been proposed to try and clarify the bill, but there are multiple amendments that are "worse" or "better" for crypto. Guess which one Janet Yellen is pushing? (after receiving millions from big banks for "speaking engagements."
What we're saying is that having an alternative to fiat is some people's only hope when the government can close your accounts, inflate the currency, etc.
Further, like encryption, cryptocurrencies are not something that you can ban in an effective way no matter how desperately you want to, so you will just have to deal with it.
The most powerful people will always have privacy and be above laws. The only way you can equalise it is to give some of those abilities to the little people