The 'coin Wars

Minds has jumped onto the blockchain train, and hey, good for them. But I have to ask: what's the value added?

I'm not an expert on the technology, merely a dilettante and interested observer, but even I am aware of the tremendous potential that blockchain has for contracts (like Etherem,) voting (check out Liquid Democracy if you don't believe me,) distributed processes, and doubtless scores of other things of which I'm unaware.

We should absolutely have a vigorous and competitive market ecology for blockchain money; I'd hate it if we made the same damn mistake as we collectively did with social media, of putting all our eggs into one or two baskets and watching them freak out with political slash-and-burns and McCarthy-lite tactics.

Issues have already arisen; many 'coins (I see you, Rothscoin) cannot be purchased save with Bitcoin, and I think it would be stupid to get off that ride at this precise second. In the future, it'll fall and rise and rise and fall, yes, but for now...anyway, back to the main point: Minds.

Okay, I used to work in marketing. The first rule of marketing is this: make it easy for them to give you their money. We should add a corollary here: make it easy for them to *spend* your money. So, @Minds...can I buy your coins with dollars? With Vietnamese Dong, the currency where I live? With euros or yen or pounds? Or are we stuck trading BTC for your unproven money? 

Can I get a Mindscoin ewallet and use it at a restaurant? Can I take it to a bank and withdraw cash? Use it at a big box store?

Or are we supposed to support your currency because we like your social positions, your commitment to free speech, debate, neutrality, and so forth? Is that the value added?

If so, I'm ambivalent. I may throw in and buy a couple hundred dollars worth of coins (hey, it's safer than a lottery ticket and more fun) but that's money I'm basically throwing out as a sacrifice to the gods of political fortune. Less than a donation, more than a mere investment.

Whether I buy in or not, I intend to watch and applaud. But @Minds, until you give us more value added, why should we really care? What sets you apart from all the others rushing to start their own money? 

(For a great book that will help you get up to speed on this basic idea (not blockchains per se, but encrypted e-banking) read Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon. It's a tour de force, as are almost all his books, and one where his problems ending a story are less apparent than in other novels.)

#Minds #Bitcoin #blockchain #LiquidDemocracy