I think the crucial factual error in the article is "Our current monetary system works". If you subscribe to that notion, then anything goes.
Topic: 2013-06-05 TheGlobeandMail : Why Bitcoin doesn’t have what it takes (Read 1005 times)
June 06, 2013, 11:15:33 AM
(Also, the first rule of tautology club is the first rule of tautology club).
Oh, that was funny.
June 06, 2013, 10:25:03 AM
The points about lending are reasonable, and actually when I first found Bitcoin I felt it wasn't particularly revolutionary (lol) because the long term prognosis was that people would put their bitcoins back into Bitbanks in order to earn interest, and then those bitbanks would do fractional reserve banking, and we'd end up back at the start.
Since then I did a lot more R&D and discovered there are ways to do decentralised lending and credit as well. See my 2012 talk for more details on this. Such topics are obscure and it's unsurprising Hirsch has not learned about them yet.
Since then I did a lot more R&D and discovered there are ways to do decentralised lending and credit as well. See my 2012 talk for more details on this. Such topics are obscure and it's unsurprising Hirsch has not learned about them yet.
What points? The point that bitcoins are perfectly compatible with legal contracts, but if you aren't willing to use the legal system you aren't willing to use the legal system. (Also, the first rule of tautology club is the first rule of tautology club).
June 06, 2013, 10:15:55 AM
The points about lending are reasonable, and actually when I first found Bitcoin I felt it wasn't particularly revolutionary (lol) because the long term prognosis was that people would put their bitcoins back into Bitbanks in order to earn interest, and then those bitbanks would do fractional reserve banking, and we'd end up back at the start.
Since then I did a lot more R&D and discovered there are ways to do decentralised lending and credit as well. See my 2012 talk for more details on this. Such topics are obscure and it's unsurprising Hirsch has not learned about them yet.
Since then I did a lot more R&D and discovered there are ways to do decentralised lending and credit as well. See my 2012 talk for more details on this. Such topics are obscure and it's unsurprising Hirsch has not learned about them yet.
I think lending bitcoins is an interesting problem that merits a lot of discussion. However, the author's only complaint about lending is that "the appeal of Bitcoin to some is that it can be used outside the law", which is somehow going to stop the rest of us from honoring bitcoin loans. Am I the only person who thought it was an illogical argument?
June 06, 2013, 09:59:36 AM
The points about lending are reasonable, and actually when I first found Bitcoin I felt it wasn't particularly revolutionary (lol) because the long term prognosis was that people would put their bitcoins back into Bitbanks in order to earn interest, and then those bitbanks would do fractional reserve banking, and we'd end up back at the start.
Since then I did a lot more R&D and discovered there are ways to do decentralised lending and credit as well. See my 2012 talk for more details on this. Such topics are obscure and it's unsurprising Hirsch has not learned about them yet.
Since then I did a lot more R&D and discovered there are ways to do decentralised lending and credit as well. See my 2012 talk for more details on this. Such topics are obscure and it's unsurprising Hirsch has not learned about them yet.
June 06, 2013, 08:06:35 AM
Quote
The second condition poses a bigger hurdle. For Bitcoin to become a serious global currency, you’d need people willing to lend them. Borrowing and lending is the traditional role of banks and as imperfect as they can sometimes be, banks are one of the foundations on which the modern economy is built.
[...]
Our current monetary system works precisely because of, not in spite of, those peering eyes of government.
[...]
Our current monetary system works precisely because of, not in spite of, those peering eyes of government.
Isn't it obvious who signs this guy's pay check (http://www.atb.com/about/Pages/our-history.aspx)
The banking industry is starting to get its talking points together. It's important that we not underestimate the potential power of
In that vein, the Globe is traditionally a very conservative paper, and would normally be expected to support any and all traditional institutions, including the banking system. It is VERY influential among "suits" in Canada. The author of this piece, Todd Hirsch, "was recently recognized as one of Alberta's 50 Most Influential People in 2011". Alberta (the oil patch province) is arguably Canada's most conservative region these days and is the power base for Canada's present conservative prime minister. Opinions generated here tend to become government policy and vice versa, at least in this political cycle.
We can learn about the form, sources and intensity of organized pushback against BTC by studying trends and commonalities in articles like these - worldwide. It's good not to get too hung up only on whether they tell truth or not, although obviously that is an important component.
June 06, 2013, 04:24:10 AM
Totally lost.
This one goes in the basket labelled - "Better to keep your mouth shut and have people wonder if you are an idiot than to open it and have all doubts removed."
This one goes in the basket labelled - "Better to keep your mouth shut and have people wonder if you are an idiot than to open it and have all doubts removed."
June 06, 2013, 01:05:03 AM
Quote
The second condition poses a bigger hurdle. For Bitcoin to become a serious global currency, you’d need people willing to lend them. Borrowing and lending is the traditional role of banks and as imperfect as they can sometimes be, banks are one of the foundations on which the modern economy is built.
[...]
Our current monetary system works precisely because of, not in spite of, those peering eyes of government.
[...]
Our current monetary system works precisely because of, not in spite of, those peering eyes of government.
Isn't it obvious who signs this guy's pay check (http://www.atb.com/about/Pages/our-history.aspx)
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