For millennia governments survived with cash in circulation. Crypto is no real threat to their existence.

Regulating it with a heavy hand will do more harm than good. Those innovators will just move offshore.

Crypto's been a think for almost 15 years now. I think we can dispense with the narrative that there's anything innovative going on.

Money of account (debits and credits on ledgers) have existed for 30,000 years

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_money

But a system that takes the concept of ledgers, and makes it tied to pseudonymous addresses instead of persons, is distributed across the world, resilient to tampering, and which gives its users control over their money, and which has been in use for 15 years is

1. “Not innovative”, and

2. That in the span of 30,000 years that 15 years is enough time to really tell if this is something that will survive or if it’s just a dumb idea that will die out.

I think that Bitcoin is a wonderful system, and I think that more people should take time to study Bitcoin in detail. Do not let the crypto bros and the people that only care about measuring Bitcoin in dollars distract you from the real point of Bitcoin.

> But a system that takes the concept of ledgers, and makes it tied to pseudonymous addresses instead of persons, is distributed across the world, resilient to tampering (...) is 1. “Not innovative”

Well, it is innovative, in the same sense a jet engine is. What you don't do with jet engines is using them to keep static structures in the air indefinitely. You use steel beams or concrete for that.

Crypto tech as cash alternative is pretty much jet engine as a steel tower alternative.

That's a fantastic analogy for how incredibly wasteful Bitcoin & similar cryptocurrencies are just to maintain a steady state!

Beer has been a thing for ~5,000 years but we've only had beer hats for the last 28. Our society could benefit from extensive investment into ongoing research and development of beer hat related industries, as we clearly haven't had enough time to determine if they're bullshit novelty garments.

Beer hats are both funny, and in some cases practical.

I don't personally own any beer hats. But I see how they are useful at a baseball game for example.

Thanks for reminding me that beer hats exist. Now, if only I can find a store that sells beerhats for BTC :thinking_face:

The difference between cash and crypto is like the difference between building a room on top of a tall tower, vs. strapping a few jet engines to it and pointing them downwards. Both methods solve the same problem - but one does it mostly passively, while the other one wastes absurd amount of energy simulating the same thing you normally get for free.

> Those innovators will just move offshore.

Yes, let them move offshore. Being able to more easily commit tax fraud and money laundering isn't the kind of innovation we need to keep.

So the point is that a large amount of people think that banning cash would be completely absurd and therefore this isn't just some issue that is relegated to obscure crypto fans.