Illuminating the Dark Forest

timdaub.github.io

2 points·timdaub··4 comments

> The problem in today's space is that WE CANNOT KNOW! The infrastructure for documenting and fighting scams simply isn't there. We're not capable of resolving disputes...

This is an obvious problem to anyone familiar with traditional banking and finance. I feel bad for the cryptocurrency true believers who didn't see that coming. Even if you take as a given the most idealistic vision for permissionless money and smart contracts, the lack of legal oversight is ultimately a fatal flaw. Unfortunately it's a fundamental part of these ideas.

I didn't see it coming as I'm not from traditional banking.

Yes, there's legal oversight: But what is much worse is that the legal system may often not be capable of correctly enforcing as e.g. they can't do anything against cryptography.

So I think fundamentally compliance, oversight and regulation will have to come from within the space.

> A path out of the dark forest, or at least towards finding a guiding light that could illuminate it, lies, in my opinion, in improving the current provenance system through algorithmically-aided positive reinforcement and better documentation.

Do you mean that the underlying protocols should provide the standard tools of observability and know-your-customer practices in order to enable the existing regulatory system to do its job?

That's a snarky comment and according to the HN guidelines those shouldn't be posted.

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