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RE: Digix: Hard Money on the Blockchain
I suppose it was just a matter of time before we saw something like this, a combination of hard currency and the blockchain. But I like it. I like the idea of money being backed by something that has value and holds it.
I'm interested in knowing why you're more comfortable with the current Fed system, though? In my mind, it's just gotten worse. We rely completely on being the world's reserve currency, so if that continues to go away, it seems like we're looking at a global economic mega-tsunami.
Thanks, those are good questions and I suppose I could write a bit more about my thoughts.
I think the current system is fragile. It's really bad to have a few people have so much power. I'm a bit surprised, after watching a number of blockchain projects, that those behind the Fed have shown as much restraint as they have.
Compare that to what bad actors in steem have done to vote themselves portions of the rewards pool.
In summary, I think the Fed has done far less worse than it could have, and that has surprised me.
Now, about money. I love the idea of moving to more free market money solutions, which I think cryptocurrency offers. I think free market money is much better for the world overall. But I also think we're going to suffer a lot of pain moving from where we are now, to where we'll be when billions of people use cryptocurrency in the majority of their transactions.
And there will be new things to worry about when currencies like Monero are commonly used. The ability to spend and save in secret is incredibly powerful.
I have always marveled at the resiliency of the US economy, in spite of monetary policy. I'll take your word for it on the Fed showing restraint. I've just considered it a miracle that we aren't a third world country by now (or, maybe better put, we've managed to drag everyone else down with us).
I've been wondering whether or not everyone here believed that moving so many people to STEEM or a combination of different cryptos was going to somehow be this smooth transition. Right now, we're already seen the inequities in the system, not just who holds power, but how much buying power STEEM has in some areas compared to others.
Then, there's the large pools of STEEM and SP just sitting here, which for some places, equates to the size of their entire economy. It's supposed to be a good thing that not all of that is active, but...
There is a lot of power, as you say, in spending and saving in secret. Does that same power translate when it's billions doing it, and it's no longer a secret?
Yes, and it doesn't matter if it is billions or millions, either way, you have incentives and abilities to fund terrible stuff with no chance of discovery.
I am overall in favor of privacy, and I'm not suggesting we try to outlaw this stuff. I just think about how hard it can be to find the really bad bad guys who want to like a city, or release poison gas, or a bioweapon, etc. And it can be funded anywhere.
On a smaller scale, some of the private features of the internet have made it easier for child porn and other horrid stuff. Blockchain storage makes that stuff impossible to delete. That doesn't mean drop blockchains, but it does mean we need to consider what we lose and what we gain when we develop and support these things.
I think a lot about Plato and the Ring of Gyges.
High moral character or lack thereof comes in to play, definitely, whether in the darkest corner or in the revealing light of day, and all points in between.
Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. I read a lot of posts talking about how censorship doesn't exist here, but usually it's while trying to justify some behavior that wouldn't really fly anywhere else.
I think some people think that common decency is akin to censorship.
Privacy vs. fostering criminal acts is going to be an ongoing issue for sure. It's not an easy issue to sort through, especially when you espouse guilty until proven innocent, or not being hauled in until you've actually committed a crime, even if you're threatening and have the means to do it.
It seems like that we have the opportunity to keep things within the daylight side here on the blockchain if we balance it with some security. I don't know. You are absolutely right. A lot more thought needs to go into these kinds of things beyond what's expended to create it, just because we can.