What's up it's ya boi JStack,
I have the quick hitters you need in the latest crypto news so let's just jump into it.
Stablecoins don't understand their purpose
https://www.coindesk.com/hyper-stablecoinization-from-eurodollars-to-crypto-dollars
A blockchain maximalist claims people can find shelter for their fiat currencies in stablecoins rather than USD itself. This is an incredibly dangerous sentiment that has been spreading lately and I'd like to express why I believe it's damaging
1. Stablecoins are centralized and subject to be confiscated: Easy as that. USDT has run into the problems lately because they are the most commonly used, but you better believe every USDC transaction gets logged in the Treasury Dept. or IRS now that coinbase is officially their partner in tracing blockchain transactions (more on that later) In order to avoid being shut down, every stable coin will adhere to government requests or take the money and run. There is no major exchange or stable coin looking to sacrifice themselves for others' financial freedom. They are useful, short term, to transfer your currency into a digital currency free of local regulations and fees. They are not meant to be long term safe havens like gold or physical USD, and if you wanted a digital savings account that would aim to minimize price fluctuation, you would buy BTC.
2. They are not backed by anything: I don't care what any of them claim. They don't release audited balance sheets. They can say anything they want. They are also ran by entities that would shut down their stable coin to operate their other areas like exchanges and platforms to build on. Stablecoins are excellent trading pairs for people to not have to worry about "How much is this coin worth in BTC right now and how much is BTC in USD and how do I compare this coins future price to the one I'm trading for's future price..." and are incredibly convenient. USDT has made trading worlds easier and I enjoy the product, but I would not consider it as safe as USD.
3. If Stablecoins start minting their own coins (no longer tied to the fiat) they will just be another layer of inflationary value on top of the naturally inflationary fiat currency. At what level is the GBPT in more circulation than GBP? It is a far away problem, but just two years ago USDT had a market cap of millions, not billions, so it's good to think of ahead of time unlike governments do.
Coinbase will give all your info to the US government and help them track where all the money goes
Close your coinbase accounts. I should not have to explain how this is a death nail for them among real crypto users between the announcement of an IPO (https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/09/coinbase-reported-to-consider-late-2020-early-2021-public-debut/) which would lead to quarterly inspections, annual audits, and subject to governmental agency investigation on money laundering. In an effort to look more appealing to the casual "Oh wow a chuck e cheese bitcoin I can get rich and spend it from an app how neat," they are now auditing blockchains to follow where money goes. Your 2k profit? Sent to the IRS the moment you finalize the transaction. Buying things online without payment processing fees? Nope we're gonna need to collect taxes on that purchase you made to a known wallet associated with a vendor. I withdrew my crypto and washed the funds, I strongly suggest you do the same.
Filecoin is just another delayed crypto project, but the continued interest China shows in mining is major.
https://www.coindesk.com/filecoin-mining-craze-in-china
When Filecoin releases, I do believe it will benefit from having a clear direction and team behind it. I believe the most important part of the story is China's stake in the mining power. They currently hold 85% of filecoin's mining power and 65% of Bitcoin's (even higher once you count pools and internationally located but Chinese owned mining operations) NEO has been surprisingly silent for all of 2020. While I was high on it in 2017 has enjoyed collecting gas, the project itself seems to have fizzled as China invests in other crypto and blockchain projects rather than develop their own. They appear to be getting their say in the processes of coins and blocks by providing a disproportionate amount of the world's mining power. As companies begin to scale, they will have to create their own offchain solutions or look to countries like China for help with mining power.
Bitcoin Gold is successfully 51% attacked for fun, the price goes up.
https://www.coindesk.com/attempted-51-attack-on-bitcoin-gold-was-thwarted-developers-say
I do not understand where the term "thwarted," comes from for the headline. One developer for bitgold said that "the majority of the mining pool followed the honest chain," which means nothing was thwarted it just, fortunately, did not work this time. With a slightly larger attack and a mild amount of coordination from a major node, they are susceptible to casual 51% attacks. The fact the price just went up is confusing as 51% attacks are one of the few objective weak points of some blockchain systems and it fell victim to one. Guess stonks really do just go up.
That's it for my rambling. What are your thoughts on the stories? Am I overreacting to the Coinbase news? Am I underestimating stable coins? Am I making some good points? Let me know!
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