Yes, with Bitcoin.
All of this to say that Bitcoin is obviously the way forward for global transactions, despite the fact it processes transactions as slow as molasses and the only way to make it faster (Lightning Network) is to sacrifice the checks and balances that maxis praise as the hallmark of Bitcoin lol
All lies.
> unless you store a hard wallet in your intestines and memorize the recovery words (better hope you don't forget any or your life savings is gone!)
Lies. Just write them down and store them securely. You can memorize them if you like. It's also wise to store multiple physical copies in various locations to avoid this exact scenario.
> The cool thing about all of this is that it's a feature of Bitcoin to be able to irreversibly lose your life savings, without any ability to recoup your losses.
Yes, you can't be utterly careless (and I'm not sure what the argument is for wanting to be).
> the only way to make it faster (Lightning Network) is to sacrifice the checks and balances that maxis praise as the hallmark of Bitcoin
Yes, which makes sense for small transactions between trusted parties. Large transactions can and should be done on-chain (also with trusted parties).
--
I'll continue to listen to the signal [1], not the noise. What makes me happiest is that the people who deserve to win the most will win over the people who deserve it the least. It will be the greatest wealth transfer humanity has ever seen and it won't require any violence or coercion.
[1] https://twitter.com/LightningTipB0t/status/16150147987979919...
Doesn't bother to point out what part of it was a lie (because it isn't a lie)
> Lies. Just write them down and store them securely.
Welcome to the future of finance, make sure you don't lose your seed phrases written down on paper (it's the future, trust me bro)
> Yes, you can't be utterly careless
Contradicts saying that I was lying that you can lose your life savings due to phishing, scamming, or hacking, and that if you lose your seed phrases and can't access the wallet then your digital doubloons are gone forever
etc.
This "constantly being at risk of losing your life savings due to phishing, scamming, hacking, etc." is a lie. There is no inherent property of Bitcoin that makes you vulnerable to these. Any vulnerability in those regards is an individual issue, just like with the current system. You could mitigate those away with paid services under a Bitcoin standard (which is great because you could actually pick the vendor you thought could do the job best).
> Welcome to the future of finance, make sure you don't lose your seed phrases written down on paper (it's the future, trust me bro)
Perhaps you prefer steel? https://www.amazon.com/Safe-Seed-Stainless-Recovery-Passphra...
> Contradicts saying that I was lying that you can lose your life savings due to phishing, scamming, or hacking, and that if you lose your seed phrases and can't access the wallet then your digital doubloons are gone forever
Fair enough. This is where an exchange comes in. You still have the option to trust a third-party to hold your Bitcoin if you wish. But of course, that comes with its own risks, just like trusting a bank (which can only ever guarantee up to $250K worth of your money under FDIC).
The whole point is that it's immutable and transactions are not reversible. That means users are susceptible to losing their money with no recourse.
Seed phrases are also a pain in the ass. No one wants to deal with that, and average consumers would absolutely lose/forget/misplace them and lose access to their wallets.
The risk of ruin in crypto is ridiculously high compared to traditional finance.
Of course, wealth transfer from the poor rubes to the rich fools.
It's not a feature of cash that it can be stolen, every object can be stolen. The distinctive attribute is transactions are public and immutable.
A car can be driven by its owner anywhere they like. If someone described a car to you as a suicide box you can crash and die in - you might say yes, the fact that cars can be driven freely by their owners means you might drive into someone else. But that's a consequence of the feature, not the feature itself.
Overall you get more control of your money. If you think of money as just another kind of information, it's normal to expect it to evolve in the digital age we are living in.
unless you store a hard wallet in your intestines and memorize the recovery words (better hope you don't forget any or your life savings is gone!)
Enough with the jokes! Real question: Sometimes you read about FBI chasing down ransomware groups and recovering Bitcoins. How do they do it? If they can identify the wallet, how do they lay claim? Do they find where the wallet is hosted and force exchange to transfer wallet to FBI?
Please don't read this post as an attempt to defend Bitcoin, nor say that FBI is a good way for me to reverse a fraudulent Bitcoin transaction!
Either one seems like a major downside for the seller.
That's up to the business owner, but considering the utter destruction its done to the world I would say most businesses should not extend any credit.
The nice thing about Bitcoin is it's a transaction layer and people can build services on top of it. Someone could start a guarantor business that other businesses pay to verify creditworthiness. They do that already now, the difference being that it's a completely dark system controlled by people with no incentive to fairly or accurately represent your worthiness.
The transaction layer is arguably the least interesting service the credit card and other incumbent transaction/payment networks provide.
Deciding whether to move money, and possibly whether to move it back, is where the value is created.
It isn't until you can't transact over it because your government blocked it or received an international sanction that prevents you, an innocent citizen from transacting. Or, if you reside in a country where that network does not exist.
> Deciding whether to move money, and possibly whether to move it back, is where the value is created.
Incorrect. The ability, not the decision, is where the value resides. I can decide all I want that I'd like the bank to send $20K to someone overseas for me, but that likely means jumping through several hoops to do it. With Bitcoin, I can just do it.
Today, I can shop at pretty much any merchant on the web, under the reasonable expectation that my bank will file a dispute for me if the merchant makes a run for it and I never receive any goods or services. Even in case of merchant bankruptcy, I'm not exposed to any risk.
In a world of non-reversible payments, I'd probably stick to Amazon exclusively. That seems pretty bad for small/new/independent merchants.
Because it would force people to be honest in order to eat. Economic activity as a whole would become a lot more transparent because people will avoid hiring you or buying from you if you have a bad reputation. The inverse is also true, rewarding the business owner who invests in quality and customer service.
> if the merchant makes a run for it
Again, this is a discernment issue not a systems issue. In that particular case, you can set up an escrow transaction that only releases funds if the transaction goes through. EBay has already proven, too, that most people are honest by default so this is a non-issue.
> In a world of non-reversible payments, I'd probably stick to Amazon exclusively. That seems pretty bad for small/new/independent merchants.
That's a personal choice.
But how do I detect honesty in first interaction with an unknown party?
> [...] people will avoid hiring you or buying from you if you have a bad reputation [...]
As a merchant, what if I have no reputation? How do I ever get my first customer?
> EBay has already proven, too, that most people are honest by default [...]
...on a centralized platform that can arbitrate trust!
It should be obvious. The guy who shows up to your intro meeting well-dressed, prepared, etc with references is going to be preferable to the guy who shows up smelling like vodka in tattered clothes.
> As a merchant, what if I have no reputation? How do I ever get my first customer?
The same way you do under the current system. Go work for someone else to build up credentials/experience, or, offer to do stuff for free in exchange for referrals and testimonials.
> on a centralized platform that can arbitrate trust!
Can, but often doesn't need to.
Do you regularly hold in-person intro meetings for ordering sub-$100 items online?
> Go work for someone else to build up credentials/experience, or, offer to do stuff for free in exchange for referrals and testimonials.
And then passport it to my own store how, exactly? "Trust me, I'm honestseller897 on Amazon/eBay"?
>> on a centralized platform that can arbitrate trust!
> Can, but often doesn't need to.
The fact that it does, when required, is the reason for rarely needing to.
Of course not but you can use the same heuristic by looking at the presentation of what's being sold. Just like in-person, it will be obvious. The only exception would be if you're doing something dubious which already has risks.
> And then passport it to my own store how, exactly? "Trust me, I'm honestseller897 on Amazon/eBay"?
I don't understand what you're asking. By doing that work and building those relationships, you've established a reference to someone who can vouch for you and your work.
> The fact that it does, when required, is the reason for rarely needing to.
Great. Use a business (or start one) to mitigate that risk for you and pay with Bitcoin using escrow.
Which works until the scammers begin making nice websites. They already do, not sure if you've noticed - phishing sites typically look almost identical to the target site. I've even seen known scam shopping sites look completely legitimate. Stripe lookalike checkout page, with full emulation of every behavior of the page, address look up, the whole nine yards. The reason why it's not worse than it currently is, is because CC theft is not as easy as it could be, if it were all crypto (irreversible transactions + immediate theft that can be shuffled around within seconds and hidden).
I could see some sort of popup or embed that the actual company can put on their site that can only be validated via DNS. Then, users can look for that and have it validate the company by having the service email the user from the authentic domain, via that popup's backend. If the popup can't validate that the email sent via the vendor is from the validated domain, it rejects it and sends a warning back to the buyer that the site isn't authentic. The business being to mitigate spoof attempts on the behalf of sellers and building trust with customers.
Make it simple enough for any seller to use and you incentivize sales by being a "BlorgTron Validated Seller."
All of these problems have solutions, they just (likely) don't exist yet. We're effectively entering a "financial industrial revolution," and just like back then, new solutions will be required to move forward. That doesn't make Bitcoin bad, it just needs the missing services layered on top (identical to the existing banking system).