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Bitcoin and crypto currencies

Malibuflyer wrote:

I want a state that prosecutes people that kill others, that makes it hard for people who sell drugs to my children

Ah so that’s what they’re doing in Berlin when they create pink zones in parks for drug dealers to operate in the open.

Here’s an amusing anecdote about a Swedish pharmaceutical supplier who got nicked and was thereby forced to hodl a stack of Sats.

The quote in para 6 is a gem. Now the Swedish authorities would like to measure true value in BTC, not their own depreciating negative- or zero-interest central bank sh*coins. :)

Glenswinton, SW Scotland, United Kingdom

Jacko wrote:

The quote in para 6 is a gem. Now the Swedish authorities would like to measure true value in BTC, not their own depreciating negative- or zero-interest central bank sh*coins

This is a misinterpretation of a quote that has already been taken out of context.

What happened is, that the Swedish authorities seized a couple of BTC in connection with a crime but later on due to court ruling had to give back some of them.
The common practice in most countries if police seizes foreign currency is, tho exchange that into local currency at some point in time – and in case one has to give it back either do that in local currency or to change back.

They realized, however, that due to the unpredictable xchange rate development of BTC, this procedure would have put significant risk on the public budgets: If the thing they have seized changes value significantly between seizure and restitution, there could be a tremendous unwanted loss or win with such procedure.

Therefore they (almost as opposite to what you claim) decided that they can not treat BTC like a currency but they have to treat it like a good that they need to keep as it is until it is finally decided that it can not be claimed back.

So nothing at all baout “measuring true value in btc” but more the opposite a public statement that btc is too unreliable to treat it like a currency!

Germany

Over the past few months my company has been testing the Point of Sale function in the Breez wallet (a free, open-source, non-custodial full-service Lighting app for Android and iOS):

https://github.com/breez/breezmobile/wiki/How-to-Get-Started-with-Breez-POS

It seems 100% reliable and as simple to use as Visa or Apple pay – but without the fat fees, fraud and chargeback risks or the 2-3 day delay for funds to percolate through the Centralized Finance system to the merchant’s bank account.

It is 55 years since I got my first Barclaycard (launched by my bank as a charge card in June 1966), and the current full-service Lightning apps seem just as much of a game changer.

I’d be interested to receive a pm from anyone else who has tried Breez (or similar), or would like to do so.

Glenswinton, SW Scotland, United Kingdom

How does this work in reality? Doesn’t the payee have to accept the currency (bitcoin)? Most surely won’t.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Peter wrote:

How does this work in reality?

Not at all!

Peter wrote:

Doesn’t the payee have to accept the currency (bitcoin)?

They not only have to accept bitcoin in principle, but they have to work together with exactly this service provider.

Would they? Well, if the merchants are pretty rich, maybe. Just quoting from the FAQ: “Currently, Breez adds 100k sats of inbound liquidity to the received amount.”
So to deliver on the promise of “without … chargeback risks” the system blocks about 68EUR (!) of the merchants liquidity for every single payment (!) until the payment is finally settled.

Germany

Jacko wrote:

the current full-service Lightning apps seem just as much of a game changer.

What game is it changing. As you said: The best it can do is to be as reliable as ApplePay. Paypal is even quicker these days. Might have been a game changer 30 years ago, but today?

Jacko wrote:

or the 2-3 day delay for funds to percolate through the Centralized Finance system to the merchant’s bank account.

First of all, after the payment I have it in the lighting network – I first have to get it out of the lighting channel to effectively use it (and that requires time and money). After that I still have only btc. As long as I have to pay my rent, taxes, energy bill, etc. in a real currency and not virtual coins, I then have to exchange those btc. And that takes at least these “2-3 days” you complain about (btw. I rarely receive a payment that takes longer than 1 day…).

Germany
Doesn’t the payee have to accept the currency (bitcoin)?
They not only have to accept bitcoin in principle, but they have to work together with exactly this service provider.

Sorry for late reply, but that assertion is rather far from the truth – and obviously so to anyone who can be bothered to learn about it.

Firstly, there’s no need to use the same service provider, or indeed any service provider, to make and receive instant, worldwide and free payments on the Lightning Network. Using a service provider like Wallet of Satoshi, Chivo or Breez merely trades a little privacy and security for the convenience of knowing nothing about payment channels or their liquidity.

Bitcoin is an engineered currency, and like any other engineering product you don’t need to understand how it works in order to use it – you’ll just have to trust the technicians who do understand it.

In theory, other currencies (including Fiat) can run on the Lightning Network. Bitcoin simply provides the indestructible, unforgeable base layer (as gold did for national currencies before our governments became addicted to stealth taxation of poor and middle-income people by inflating the money supply).

Last Edited by Jacko at 05 Dec 12:25
Glenswinton, SW Scotland, United Kingdom

Will we have any aviation-related NTF’s (Non-Fungible Tokens) springing up? Are they the next thing to take off…

Buying, Selling, Flying
EISG, Ireland

The Bored Ape Flying Club? I suppose it’s only a matter of time.

More usefully, perhaps, aviation documents and certificates can be minted as NFTs. Instantly verifiable by anyone worldwide. No room for doubt or fraud. You either own an airman certificate NFT or you don’t.

Same for aircraft ownership and maintenance. Transfer ownership with a smart contract at the speed of light – no banks, escrow, or rent-seeking NAAs charging registration fees.

Last Edited by Jacko at 05 Dec 18:36
Glenswinton, SW Scotland, United Kingdom
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