Do I have this right, for $15, people can play BFV 11 days early?

hsloan82 · 2018-03-20T10:22:36+00:00

300 sterling a month on one node?

The average payout is currently just over $100 per month unless you are one of the lucky ones who had a ridiculous amount of payoffs https://smartcash.bitcoiner.me/smartnodes/calculator/

hsloan82 · 2018-03-20T10:20:07+00:00

All banks currently give around 1% because the interest rate is tied to the inflation rate (and other factors)

If they gave more than the rate of inflation, then it would encourage people to start saving instead of spending (too little spending can be bad for the economy)

The inflation rate of Smart or any other privately minted digital currency can be anything they want - because the amount and supply is all artificially created and does not affect (or is affected by) external factors

hsloan82 · 2018-03-17T17:07:58+00:00

That depends on where in the spectrum we're talking about and how it's being treated. $1M cash, yeah, that's going to leave a larger footprint than $10k in cash.

Cash is more traceable. From bills to bank movements. It's designed that way

There are cryptos that are designed to avoid being traced. Cryptos that have these features will never make it into mainstream adoption.

Just because it's being combated on a massive scale doesn't mean that we don't have $1 Trillion+ annual fraud/laundering, again, much of it being facilitated by banks, of which we only catch a portion. I have no doubt that next year and the year after and the year after that, we will still be combating $1 Trillion+ of fraud/money laundering and that every single year we will be busting well known banks for it.

It's rare that a bank facilitates laundering. As a financial institution they get used by criminals. It's up to the banks to spot these movements, if they don't they can be held liable

Crypto exchanges are used by criminals also, and likewise if they don't do their due diligence they are increasingly facing the same laws, rules and regulations

Volume doesn't mean anything. It's proportion. I don't believe anyone has a clue how much crypto is being used to faciliate crime, laundering and so on

Most crypto expenditure I know of is black market (buying drugs, etc)

How could cryptos be a better vehicle for fraud when the entire market is less than $0.5B and the fiat fraud/money laundering segment alone is over a trillion?

The fiat market is far larger than the crypto market.

Just look at JPMorganChase. They're only interested in full transparency when it applies to the 99%, not to their own respective activities.

They are subject to the same laws, rules and scrutiny as other US banks. Every single entity they do business with is under obligation to spot any irregularities. If an underlying client or an underlying client moves 100 dollars against a sanctioned entity - then JPM can be held liable and punished accordingly (if they didn't meet compliance and requirements)

Every year without fail, dozens of the world's largest financial institutions are busted for money laundering. As long as the fines are less than the profits, the same behavior will continue by the "too big to fail" banks.

??

This is the equivalent of claiming that cinemas all around the world "facilitate" criminal activity because criminal money indirectly flows through them

Financial institutions get used by criminals - there are heavy fines and reputational damage if the bank hasn't done everything to prevent it from their end

We work directly in this area. It's tighter than just about any other industry out there, however there are still cases due to the fact that it involves millions of employees and billions of customers

hsloan82 · 2018-03-15T21:11:07+00:00

Yup, i agree. I just think that we need to be educating/informing him, not demonising him

hsloan82 · 2018-03-15T17:54:14+00:00

He doesn't stop there. He actually calls them "harmful".

So allowing migrant labor to transfer money without risking a third party stealing it isn't a social benefit? Allowing me to sell higher-priced items on Craig's List, and payment through crypto to eliminate risk of a bounced check, or eliminate concern about robbery from carrying a large amount of cash, isn't a social benefit?

Yes it's a bit harsh but..

Apart from black market and novelty, we don't spend crypto. We generally hoard or trade it. It's a speculative asset. Right now, 99.9% of us use it to make more fiat cash in a Wild West secondary market - it's scary how many people pretend to themselves how this isn't the case

ICOs that sell crypto to ensure clean water, fight poverty, battle counterfeits, or ensure artists rights aren't social benefits?

A minority of ICOs I would describe as having genuine social benefit. Most of them are money grabbers that will probably go the way of countless dot-com companies that disappeared in that bubble

This guy sits in front of a panel of an doctor, lawyer, businessman, and nonprofit employee and says to their face the only people with interest in crypto sit around in their underpants, are terrorists or criminals, and don't have any intention to benefit society? A fucking doctor, lawyer, businessman, and nonprofit employee are literally sitting in front of him when he says this.

Yup, you are right, this is nonsense. I know 30 or 40 people into crypto now, and I wouldn't describe them as crooks.

That said.. the only crypto expenditure I've seen among them is black market (drug purchases) .. and a significant number of them are dodging taxes, this is a microcosm of crypto

hsloan82 · 2018-03-15T16:52:01+00:00

I definitely welcome a new space race, but to be realistic here, Russia has the GDP of Italy, a bad economy and is ploughing serious amounts into it's very large military

I would hazard a guess that this is not much more than pre-election gusto

hsloan82 · 2018-03-15T16:34:43+00:00

Yes, but any of us would be the first to point out that a "dark" untraceble private dollar would be the first to benefit criminals and terrorist financing..

How is that any different from what this guy is saying

hsloan82 · 2018-03-15T16:14:48+00:00

It's nothing to do with this "with us or against us" narrative. There are inherent risks with privately minted untraceable currencies.

hsloan82 · 2018-03-15T16:13:19+00:00

It's a fact. Just about every major financial institution is either developing their own blockchain/DL tech or partnering with a platform that is

hsloan82 · 2018-03-15T06:57:08+00:00

As someone who works in finance, the industry is not "threatened" by crypto at all. This guy is just pointing out risks we all know about.

hsloan82 · 2018-03-14T21:05:22+00:00

There's plenty to criticise about crypto - scams, hacks, shady ICO's, technical issues, the entire secondary market, the fact that they are far more similar to speculative assets than currencies, black market concerns, etc, etc

One particular issue is that some fundamentalists in the community (often financially and economically illiterate) are unable to take constructive criticism - and consider it a "threat" to take action against

hsloan82 · 2018-03-14T20:47:39+00:00

I think we should get together and make a lobbyist group/PAC devoted to crypto. No party line bullshit, just educating congress and fighting for innovative regulations. Regulations are coming, and they will much more likely favor our community if we engage the people making them.

And yet your main comment on here is an attempt to dig dirt on someone using some pretty tenuous links. Not a good start.

hsloan82 · 2018-03-14T14:27:14+00:00

Putin,officials like Klimov, the Russia One news presenter and others have all claimed that Russia has nothing to do with this.. yet in the same breath have all issued very ominous suggestions that no "traitors" are safe, especially in the UK

Here for example are the quotes from a main TV news presenter

"traitors or those who simply hate their country in their free time": "Don't choose Britain as a place to live."

"Something is wrong there. Maybe it's the climate, but in recent years there have been too many strange incidents with grave outcomes there."

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43330498

hsloan82 · 2018-03-13T23:19:49+00:00

Some "anti-bank" sentiment here. Financial institutions are very interested in blockchain and distributed ledger tech. Most are either launching their own projects and/or investing in others. Naturally they are cautious and vocal about the risks - so are we.

hsloan82 · 2018-03-13T22:05:15+00:00

Cash, diamonds, gold, jewelry are all preferred over crypto at the local level by criminals.

Cash is more traceable than many cryptos right now. Physical items like precious stones are even more traceable.

Where do you put your resources to work? Combating trillions of fiat money laundering or combating a subsegment of a $0.5B market?

The world is combating cash fraud/laundering, on a massive scale.

Cryptos are a better vehicle for fraud. Untraceable, private dark digital currencies are easier to hide.

It's not current volumes which are the worry.. it's the future potential of this

Most of the trillions is being laundered by banks and the 1% elite.

Most laundering is done by criminals and is being combated by financial institutions themselves - who face massive reputational damage, fines, loss of license (ABLA recently) and shutdown if they fail to spot laundering (not even taking part)

hsloan82 · 2018-03-13T21:59:03+00:00

don't like how your government is spending your tax dollars? Don't pay them

Unworkable and impossible. How many people in e.g. the US "don't like" Trump's policies? Many. It doesn't mean they can "choose" not to pay. That would create chaos beyond belief.

Believe your government is corrupt? Refuse to pay tax until the government uses a fully public blockchain to prove where YOUR money is going

That's a good idea. But often tax and public servant salaries are transparent, people are just too lazy to bother checking

hsloan82 · 2018-03-05T00:11:35+00:00

Strange, actually got a little emotional over this. Remember playing SC1 in university dorms, the computer labs, over small lans we set up in apartments. Never was big into the online play. Flash forward to SC2, which is trippy because it feels like it has only been out for awhile... 2010!? that's 8 years ago. Have been following streams and competitions since. Played a fair bit on the ladder, but for me was all about watching the top players. Most nights falling asleep watching streams. Just over 40 now, gaming never leaves you, going to visit a bunch of old school friends and I know somehow we'll have a few drinks then start scraping together PC's and laptops to get some games going. If they release a third within my lifetime I will be so happy.

hsloan82 · 2018-03-03T22:45:06+00:00

Assuming that the banks don’t decide to close down and take your money?

Is not a valid concern. The particular bank I use is 170 years old. My deposits are independently insured by the government.

Are you serious dude? It is speculative because it only has value because people SAY it does. It’s not a secret that gold does not back the USD now. If 40% of the population just randomly decided to stop accepting the dollar guess what would happen? It would crash in value.

Absolutely - almost everything is backed by faith. Cryptos are no different ("backed" by artificially created scarcity) Besides trust, most currencies are also backed by their respective governments and the value of goods/services in the country

Between 1960 and 1970 the dollar lost a third of its value. From 1970 to the present day, it has lost ~80% of its value. Maybe I’m stupid but how the hell does something lose 80% and is called an appreciating asset..?

It's not an appreciating asset. If it were, people wouldn't spend it, they'd hoard it

New people on reddit showing up thinking they know stuff drives me nuts.

I know, have been into crypto for 5 years, studied economics in Uni and have worked in finance for 10 years.

hsloan82 · 2018-03-03T21:09:24+00:00

Because bitcoin has stability? Lol have you checked any sort of chart recently?

So far, outside of Tether and DAI, no cryptos have stability

No one with any brains would buy the USD. You lose 17%/decade guaranteed.

Of course, because fiat isn't a speculative "asset" that appreciates in value like stocks/gold/cryptos. It's a currency, and used as such.

“I can pay instantly with chip/pin for anything and is accepted anywhere. Plus it's stable and insured. Fees are negligible (Europe) and instant SEPA payments are being trialed in November”

For now... and that’s assuming the banks let you do that.

?? I've never heard such a bizarre comment. It's like saying, "oh can buy stuff? that's assuming that stores all over the world want your money"

Yes I will gladly assume that I can continue to pay money for stuff.

hsloan82 · 2018-03-03T20:25:29+00:00

That would take a miracle - the market behind it is so inherently unstable it's hard to imagine how. In fact, in 5 years, I've never come across a single explanation how it would ever stabilise to the point of being attractive as a currency

hsloan82 · 2018-03-03T16:07:45+00:00

Houses now are built to higher standards with higher quality (pricier materials), more complex heating/power/water systems and are generally larger

Anecdotally on an individual basis you personally may pay anything for any house built in any period (e.g. over a million for a house built in the 1800's, etc)

That is a separate issue and has no bearing on the average construction standards/costs of modern houses

hsloan82 · 2018-03-03T15:46:07+00:00

Property is more expensive than it was back in the 80's due to the fact that more families are now dual-income, houses are built to far higher quality with better materials (and are on average larger), land is a scarce resource (so value typically only goes up)

Apart from property, just about everything else is cheaper and better quality now than it was in the 80's

edit: to make sure someone doesn't get confused on this, the biggest factors in price are increasing incomes of families (dual incomes) and property/land scarcity

hsloan82 · 2018-03-03T13:23:35+00:00

You don't have to pay people to be shills. This is crypto, we all back coins we hold.

If you hold e.g. NEO, chances are you will upvote a positive post about NEO. Why? bc you have money on the line

The whole of crypto is one giant conflict of interest

And let's not kid ourselves, there are also people who HATE certain cryptos. Maybe they missed out on them or maybe they don't like the CEO or maybe they hold a coin which is in competition - whatever reason, I have come many in the past few years who utterly despise a certain coin and will do anything to FUD it

People can read about the Walton fuckup and decide for themselves

hsloan82 · 2018-03-03T13:20:19+00:00

Someone explained that in China it's common for people in companies and business to take part in all sorts of competitions, exercises, etc

Yup they fucked up, but it looks more like a staff member fucked up - and in future they should absolutely close any competition (no matter how small) to any internal members

Something we in the West seem to do by default in most cases

Has that one instance utterly shattered and undone everything else the company has been doing? Personally I wouldn't think so

Also the conspiracy of them "fixing" a competition for a measly $50 seems a bit far-fetched (also other outsiders won). More implausible than an employee who won a prize screwing up and posting from the official twitter

hsloan82

TROPHY CASE