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198 points aorloff | 2 comments | | HN request time: 0.414s | source
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Synaesthesia ◴[] No.44470362[source]
I was also around when bitcoin just started out. Many people wanted it to be a global revolution in finance.

But instead it turned into a game of "hodl" to get rich.

Scams were openly perpetrated in the forums.

I became completely disillusioned. What exactly does bitcoin offer the world today?

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hx8 ◴[] No.44470672[source]
> What exactly does bitcoin offer the world today?

Aside from perhaps gold, bitcoin is the most successful currency in the world not associated with a central bank and state.

It's the most liquid asset that is not issued by a central bank. At any point you can issue a transaction to anyone else in the world, without the possibility of a third party intervention. I've had issues pulling cash out of banks, or limited sizes available for money orders, or having debt/credit card transactions incorrectly flagged as fraudulent and blocked.

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raggles ◴[] No.44471010[source]
I don't really follow bitcoin, but last I checked over 75% of block confirmations came from the top 3-5 mining pools. That seems a hell of a lot more centralized than the traditional finance system.
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cyphertruck ◴[] No.44471096[source]
The traditional finance system is that a single central bank, owned by a cartel of rich banks- chase, jpm, etc-- issue the currency, charge us to use it and get first dibs on the benefits of monetary inflation -- google "cantillon effect".

The now much more diverse mining space is much better than completely centralized in one entity current system.

And bitcoin community has a way of working to fix weaknesses wherever they find it... there is active campaigns to diversify mining, as you pointed out those are pools-- and pools are being made obsolete. behind those pools are thousands or tens of thousands of mining operators, of all sizes, as it's viable at industrial as well as individual scale-- many use it to heat their house for less than the alternative, the earnings don't have to cover the full cost to be beneficial to people.

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Shaanie ◴[] No.44471294[source]
FED is owned by private corporations?..
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aziaziazi ◴[] No.44471430[source]
OP mixed the "central bank" as an unique one (it doesn’t exists, although MFI could be representative for the west) and the multiple national ones (FED for the US). They arguments doesn’t hold as the national ones creates money and the are much more numerous and diverse in interest around the world than the ~5 bitcoin pools mentioned ahead.

The FED is quite powerful and US strongly influence many other banks but that’s by situation, not by design.

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HumanOstrich ◴[] No.44473795[source]
Reading your comments is rather painful with all the typos. I recommend improving your typing and proofreading habits.
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aziaziazi ◴[] No.44474389[source]
May you point them out? Not English native and I’ll be glad to improvise my writing.
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1. jazzyjackson ◴[] No.44476609[source]
evem tho unique starts with a vowel, we say a unique, not an unique, I guess because it's pronounced like "younique", long u. Short u would still be an tho. As in, "An understanding"

"It exists" is correct

"It doesn't exists" is incorrect, exists becomes exist, "it doesn't exist"

the "does" in "doesn't" absorbs subject-verb the conjugation, does is now the verb that needs to agree with the subject, it. Exists returns to it's infinitive (unconjugated) form, exist.

"They arguments doesn’t hold" typo they ought to be the, those or their, not sure what you meant. Since arguments is plural you want don't, not doesn't, alternately "the argument [singular] doesn't hold"

'national ones creates money' subject verb agreement again, either one creates or ones create

"and the are" s/the/they

"bitcoin pools mentioned ahead": ahead doesn't quite apply to comment threads, like on a road you have cars in front (ahead) and in back (behind), but with comments it's above and below, because you scroll up and down, not forward and backward. You could also say aforementioned referring to something mentioned earlier.

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2. aziaziazi ◴[] No.44478714[source]
Thank you so much, I appreciate.