Hey Travis and gang, Here's a really good audiobook that does a deep dive into all things cryptocurrency. It was written by a couple of Wall Street Journalist. The link below is to audible.com. It answers a lot of the questions you are asking.
******************************************************************** Hi, I've listened to this audiobook, "The Age of Cryptocurrency: How Bitcoin and Digital Money Are Challenging the Global Economic Order" by Paul Vigna, Michael J. Casey, and thought you would enjoy it, too. It's totally free and you won't need a credit card if it is your first time accepting an Audible book from a friend. Get it here <http://a.co/69VdGfJ> --------- After you accept the book, you will be prompted to download the Audible app to start listening. Enjoy! -Sean On Fri, Nov 17, 2017 at 1:43 PM, Travis Johnson <t...@ida.net> wrote: > Hi, > > I agree with most of what you said here... however, the original premise > for BTC was that everyone was tired of the "banks" controlling the money... > and charging fees to do so. I just really don't see how that has changed > much... I currently have 4 or 5 bank accounts, all at different banks... > and I control all of them from my computer. I can > send/receive/wire/transfer money in and out of any of them at my own will. > > Also, how is sending BTC from wallet to wallet not free? I have sent BTC > to other people without being charged a fee... I was doing it from my own > wallet on a computer, not using a service. > > For me it just doesn't make sense... I can have a totally free bank > account with an ATM/VISA card that I can use anywhere and not have to worry > about getting hit with fees or the value of my "money" changing every 5 > seconds... and it's insured and if there is an issue (fraud, etc) the bank > covers it. I get none of those features with BTC, and I have to pay a much > higher "fee" to use it. > > The current state of BTC is not how it was envisioned when it was first > created. It has become commercialized and everyone is after their 1.5% fee. > :( > > Travis > > > > On 11/17/2017 12:28 PM, Chris Wright wrote: > >> Many of the negative things you say here about BTC are questions I had >> when I was still learning. Let me clear some things up. >> >> Coinbase charges for when you want to buy BTC with fiat (USD). They have >> a business to run. Everyone here knows that processing debit/ACH payments >> is NOT free. Onboarding your US dollars to crypto currency will require a >> gateway, and every gate requires a gatekeeper, and every gatekeeper has >> mouths to feed. >> >> Sending BTC from wallet to wallet is not free. Current transaction fees >> on Bitcoin are ~$10 USD at the time I'm writing this. Other crypto >> currencies like Ethereum are more robust in this area (~$0.30 currently). >> Every transaction needs to be written to the blockchain, which requires >> mining time, electricity, and processing. >> >> Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are doing what the banks have been >> doing for years... it's an electronic ledger. What's a bank statement >> worth? It's only a piece of printed paper or numbers on a screen that show >> how much currency to which one is entitled. It has no value in and of >> itself. A US dollar bill is simply paper; its value is whatever we all >> agree it is. The *big* thing cryptocurrencies bring to the table is that >> your "bank account" is no longer controlled by one central building. Your >> account, or "digital wallet" is controlled by thousands of computers, each >> checking themselves against the other. >> >> The only way someone can hijack the blockchain would be if they >> controlled more than 50% of the compute power in the mining world. Think >> about how many vectors of attack from which our traditional banks are >> vulnerable. >> >> This video answered even more questions I didn't even think to ask... I >> highly recommend giving it your time. >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBC-nXj3Ng4 >> >> Chris Wright >> Network Administrator >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of Travis Johnson >> Sent: Thursday, November 16, 2017 1:42 PM >> To: af@afmug.com >> Subject: [AFMUG] BTC >> >> Hi, >> >> The entire idea and goal of bitcoin was to take away the financial >> institutions from having "control" and charging fees to handle money. In >> exchange for no fees (sending or receiving BTC is free), you also have no >> security. Once it's sent, it's gone. >> >> However, now the banks have just been replaced with places like >> Coinbase... bitcoin "exchanges" that charge roughly 1.5% for every buy/sell >> transaction... and they take 7-10 business days to convert btc to cash or >> visa versa. >> >> I don't see how this is a long term thing? Once all the "mining" is being >> done by huge datacenters (for another 3-4 years is all), then I don't see >> it becoming the new money standard like everyone thinks. You will still >> have to pay fees, and someone else is still in control of your money. :( >> >> Travis >> >> >> >> >> >
