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0 pointsJumpCrisscross7y ago0 comments

> once I have acquired dollars and wish to send them to you I must involve a third party

Cash.

(There is no way to send electronic dollars without involving a third party, though more money is laundered using dollars and euros than cryptocurrencies. I'd argue leaving a permanent, public record of transactions is a poor price to pay for decentralized electronic transmission, particularly given the centralized issuer and guarantor problem.)

0 comments

jabits7y ago

Ok, here’s a twenty in the palm of my hand...take it...oh wait...

bduerst7y ago

Mail it.

And if you're going to split hairs by saying DHL, USPS, and FedEx are considered third parties, then so are Comcast, Verizon, and other ISPs who provide you the means to transact.

mateuszf7y ago

Comcast, Verizon, etc. can't intercept your Bitcoins, but DHL, USPS can intercept your cash.

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dwild7y ago

> There is no way to send electronic dollars without involving a third party

Yeah but that third party is everywhere, available to all (US isn't the only country in the world you know?) and isn't aware you are using his service for sharing cryptocurrencies or simply reading Hacker News.

The current third parties for transferring money, well they all fail one or multiple of theses while cryptocurrencies dosen't.

JumpCrisscrossOP7y ago

Cryptocurrencies have an advantage over electronic U.S. dollars in decentralized electronic transmission. I don't think that's a big deal, but the advantage exists.

Stablecoins, on the other hand, have zero advantages over U.S. dollars. Backer goes bust, someone steals the dollars, someone freezes their accounts, et cetera and your currency is worthless. A trusted third party rests at the centre who is less regulated and guaranteed than a bank.

(I'm sceptical that these schemes will pass AML muster. Using a stablecoin over U.S. dollars makes sense if you're (a) incompetent or (b) laundering money.)

rocqua7y ago

With access to an oracle for the USD value, you could make a pretty decent stable coin in Ethereum. You could also create options that trigger on USD-ETH values. This would allow for some hedging against price-moves of ETH without being full-on pegged to the dollar.

The real issue here is getting a USD-ETH oracle.

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