RE: Anatomy of the Crypto-Apocalypse - The Ripple Pump n' Dump
I am a lot less jaded than you. I don't see crypto as a direct threat to banking or vice versa. There is room for both and the two are not mutually exclusive. Ripple is its own thing. Personally, I like Ripple. It solves several serious problems. It will supplant SWIFT and ACH, and will likely work as an add-on to traditional financial transactions the way most transactions operate today anyway. When you swipe your card at a POS terminal, you have a merchant acquirer, you have a payment network, you have a merchant bank and you have a customer bank. All of these processes are interconnected to allow for verification of funds and authorization of a purchase. The current system is slow and outdated. Ripple can fix that.
I see BTC as the gold standard. A store of value with little practical applicability. It is too cumbersome. In less than a decade it is already outdated tech. Litecoin is silver. Another store of value that seems stable in spite of past pump and dumps in both those currencies. Ether will address contracting. And the host of other altcoins that have a purpose will thrive in their niches. It is the tech that matters to me, not the coin. The coin is the vehicle for driving the tech. And the tech will eventually disrupt every sector of our economy. That is a good thing. And I think the banks see the writing on the wall. Banks won't go away. Many will coopt different aspects of the technology. They have to. But I don't believe there is a vast conspiracy afoot. It is the logical progression of new technology disrupting traditional financial models.
I'm hip to all of those things @coldsteem, I think you've read enough of my work to know that, functionally, I agree with you about all of the things you said about BTC,LTC and ETH. But, the power structure can and will do everything in its power to ensure both their survival and their control. It's who they are.
The wrong people are getting rich and they don't like it.
I hope I'm wrong about all of this and even if I'm right I don't think they win in the long run but they can definitely forestall any effective shift for a few more years and take a lot of people's money in the process.
The banks are insolvent. The EU sovereign debt crisis will hit them hard soon and maybe they'll be too distracted by it to pull this off ... or maybe, they'll pull the plug to recoup a few hundred billion in real cash to shore up their reserves?
Are they that smart? Maybe?
I'm sort of on a middle road. I do know your position and our points of agreement, which are far more than any points of disagreement.
I believe change is inevitable and unstoppable. The technology must supplant the current system because the archaic system is crumbling. It is slow, it is ineffective and vulnerable. Blockchain changes the entire paradigm. When I first read the white paper in 2010, I knew this technology would change the world. I first addressed a large gathering of the financial sector on this issue in 2011. I wrote a white paper on it as well.
I see a future where traditional finance retains some power and decentralized finance slowly increases it's effectiveness. Maybe completely at some point, but I doubt it. There are benefits to having systems in place that coordinate between entities the way Ripple and traditional finance do.
I am excited about the prospects outside of banking. Contracts, complete transparency in voting, medical and medical records, etc. There is a whole world to be explored. I will be talking more about a project I am working on once we get it off the ground. Another potential game changer that traditional bankers may not like, but still with one foot in traditional finance. I wish I could say more about it now. But in due time...
I agree with you that Ripple solves a lot of problems and am skeptical about the application of blockchain to everything, when why not just use an encrypted database.
https://www.crypto-news.net/while-blockchain-exploded-in-2017-has-it-grown-up/
I'm unconvinced about medical records, honestly. But, I'm with you on everything else. My partner in publishing my monthly newsletter is a CEO of a small company trying to solve medical records problems and in his mind we're a long way from any functional solution if it's even necessary.
Also, I appreciate your great dialogue, as always. I am one that will state my mind, but not in a way that is disrespectful or rude. It is one of the great differences of Steemit that we can have honest discussion without the drama of evil-book. You, as always, are a gentleman.
And that's because Steemit rewards you for not being an asshole. If you want an audience treat them well. Abusing your customers is not good for repeat business. And back atcha. This is the platform for being the best version of yourself as opposed to the saccharinized version to ensure you aren't destroyed and humiliated by some fuckwit who doesn't know you but thinks he has a right to piss on your carpet. {insert Big Lebowski reference here}
Carnegie 101... adding stake to one's commentary is Steemit's 'killer app' as it were.