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0 pointsTaek9y ago0 comments

> Blockchain today doesn't fulfill any human needs.

I am more than happy to disagree with that. Bitcoin is a monetary system that is fully independent of any existing financial system, and it's super robust. It's a great hedge against the existing financial system.

It offers permanent, irreversible settlement in under an hour, with payments to anywhere in the world. It offers irreversible logging and time-stamping, in a way that is programmatic and accessible. People are using this today, every day and gaining value out of it.

It's money that you can own without anyone realizing that you have it. Including oppressive governments. It's money that can't be seized. It's money that can't be censored. You balance can't be frozen because PayPal wants to run an investigation, or found some tiny ToS violation.

Bitcoin has a huge amount of value that a lot of people are actively making use of. If you can't see that, it's either because you don't understand, or because you are outside the group of people who benefit from this truly unique money.

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4 comments · 2 top-level

j_s9y ago· 2 in thread

Can you share anything about how BitCoin has met any of your specific needs (without violating your privacy or anything, no pressure).

It all sounds great, in theory. I'm more interested in how it works out in practice though.

TaekOP9y ago

I've had my credit card frozen while traveling abroad. Was able to get by on bitcoin.

I've gotten refunds for things like plane tickets in bitcoin too. Way easier than setting up bank stuff or proving mailing addresses for checks, or going through the hassle of having them pick your flights, etc.

These are all first world use cases though. I also keep Bitcoin in case of substantial problems. The financial system melting, war, discrimination, or political change that might threaten the life I lead.

It also gives me independence in a way you can't get anywhere else. The US uses it's status as the world's reserve currency to make a lot of political moves. The USD is a huge engine for pushing US agenda. Bitcoin operates outside of that, and this is something I find valuable, and it makes it easier for me to sleep at night.

j_s9y ago

Thanks much, this feels like a much better line of reasoning to reach people like me!

Which airline refunds via BitCoin?

jgalt2129y ago

> It offers permanent, irreversible settlement in under an hour

I assume that's only true for those willing to pay higher transaction fees. Otherwise, it seems the transaction backlog is growing again. 165,00 as of May 12.

http://www.newsbtc.com/2017/05/12/bitcoin-network-backlog-gr...

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