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Signal adds a payments feature with a privacy-focused cryptocurrency

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544 points josh2600 | 1 comments | 06 Apr 21 16:23 UTC | HN request time: 0.211s | source
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rvz ◴[06 Apr 21 18:34 UTC] No.26715568[source]▶
So when Keybase added Stellar support for payments, this was met with lots of hostility and disappointment, such as 'cryptocoin bullshit' [0] or 'Yeah, I am not going to use any product associated with anything cryptocurrency. Just smells bad. [1]

Now the same thing has happened on Signal; HN's favourite messaging app. So why is this met with warm welcoming arms especially when they are also going into cryptocurrencies?

Maybe the HN sentiment back then was filled with those who missed the crypto bull-run of late 2017 and the same ones have missed it again last year.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16545092

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16546963

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1. leppr ◴[06 Apr 21 18:48 UTC] No.26715752[source]▶
I think it's 2 factors.

First, indeed the sentiment changed radically between now and then. For some reason, this subject has always attracted irrationality on HN. Back then any comment vaguely positive about cryptocurrencies would accumulate downvotes, now threads are full of clearly invested shills (you can see it in this very thread).

Secondly and more specifically, Stellar, being a simple Ripple fork with an equally dubious token distribution, was a weird fit for Keybase.

MobileCoin, while having some of the same downsides (federated, centralized token holders distribution) has a more interesting design, and is closer to the actual cryptocurrency/cypherpunk spirit thanks to its fully private transactions and balances.