PayPal’s Objectionable Terms Are Back, $2500 Fines for Content They Don’t Like (opens in new tab)

>How will Bitcoin fix it?

The problem is theft of your funds without your consent over your unpopular political speech. Bitcoin cannot be taken from you by any third party, provided you self-custody and adequately protect your keys.

>If I buy a video card with bitcoin, but get sent a brick instead, how does "Blockchain as Arbiter" get my bitcoins back?

Unrelated to the problem being discussed, but still a problem. Unfortunately, this is not a problem unique to Bitcoin, nor a problem adequately solved by PayPal, as explained in other comments, so it's hardly a robust criticism against BTC.

Full dislcosure: I own BTC, but less than 0.5% of my net worth, I do not own it for speculative reasons, and I do not view it as an investment or store of value, only as an alternative payment network.

Paypal refused me a refund after someone didn't even send me a brick, but just sent me someone else's FedEx shipment confirmation. Didn't even say my address and was delivered before I ordered. I was instantly denied because their shitty AI dispute process just checks the FedEx zipcode. Paypal wouldn't even let me talk to a real person. Fuck that company.

Use a credit card instead. Luckily, I payed paypal through a credit card. So I disputed it through the bank instead.

Bitcoin fixes it by reducing the number of scammers in the chain. if you deal with a seller and paypal, either the paypal or the seller can scam you. paypal is immune to bad press because their reputation is already rock bottom, so they don't even lose any reputation anymore by rampantly thieving and scamming. At least if, with a cryptocurrency, the seller scams you, you can voice it somewhere their reputation will be at risk. It doesn't delete the risk but the fixes the problem of "middle man is a scammer and thief and nobody is willing to do anything at all about it" that exists with paypal.

lets you decide who to trust to have the power to approve chargebacks instead of defacto trusting the fed

Quick, someone build a $hitcoin escrow service to fix the GPU-brick problem.

You do realise that money was created to deal with a lack of trust, and that every time you ‘transact’ in money you’re actually expressing your lack of trust in your counterpart’s ability to “make good” on a barter?

New flash - you're always going to be trusting humans.

The blockchain is a great ledger, but the ledger is worthless if it does not match reality.

What reality is (especially with regards to money exchange) is a complicated and turbulent topic.

How does bitcoin handle any form of fraud, misrepresentation, or contract dispute?

It does not. At all. You have to go right back to trusting humans to solve those problems. Either in the courts, through an escrow, or through banks.

> Cash

Slowly being phased out.

> checks

Already spotty usage.

> Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover

Censorship possible.

> barter

Viable, but foolish considering it's cumbersome and we live in an age where perfectly viable technological solutions exist. It's like having an iron but pressing your shirts between books out in the sun.

Paypal owns Venmo.

Zelle is more restrictive then paypal, and heavy limits, $500 daily - and more of a black hole then paypal.

they'd much rather kill regular cash instead - and they will