Levine: Crypto could have a stable, successful medium-sized niche without taking over the financial system.
-
-
Feldman: But isn't general trust in the markets a public good?
Show this thread -
Levine: It's possible you need to have decades of scammy markets in order to build the infrastructure for a functioning market, which you then regulate.
Show this thread -
Cowen:
@VitalikButerin is one of the very smartest people I've ever met, and with no formal training has replicated results by Nobel-winning economists.Show this thread -
Cowen: Vitalik is worried that too much of people's trust in Ethereum is just personal trust in him. So the mechanisms [of the Ethereum ecosystem] need to work in a more formal, effective way.
Show this thread -
Kaissar: We're now realizing the negative impacts of social media. What negative effects might blockchain have on the world?
Show this thread -
Russo: Bad guys are already using blockchain for their own benefit. And there's lots of market manipulation and other bad behavior in the crypto space. It's a fertile ground for bad actors.
Show this thread -
Ou: Blockchain could topple the nation-state and lead to ultimate peace and prosperity. Feldman: Having been to Iraq, toppling the nation-state sounds bad.
Show this thread -
Cowen: Bitcoin's flaws actually allow you to hedge against weird things (like the state of hacking technology).
Show this thread -
Cowen: Skeptical of stablecoins. All pegs fail. Bretton Woods failed. The Chinese currency peg failed. How well-capitalized are stablecoins? They will fail.
Show this thread -
Cowen: As crypto matures it will become bureaucratized and institutionalized. Levine: A lot of crypto is rediscovering the (institutional) history of finance.
Show this thread -
Me: Crypto is using enormous and increasing amounts of energy. Currently for Bitcoin it's all being used for either speculation or crime. It threatens to.undo the decoupling of growth from energy use. What will save us from the Bitcoin energy apocalypse?
Show this thread -
Russo: Bitcoin might be worth it. It still uses less energy than gold mining. And it uses electricity in places where electricity is cheap. Cowen: Bitcoin is relatively minor as far as energy usage goes, but it's a real problem. Levine: Lighting network and proof-of-stake.
Show this thread -
Ou: Bitcoin energy usage is like war - a necessary use of energy to maintain competitive position. Feldman: But war is bad.
Show this thread -
And that's a wrap! Tomorrow we'll have two more panels: One on the economics of A.I., which I will be on, and one on regulation of big tech, which I will live-tweet! See you tomorrow!
Show this thread
End of conversation
New conversation -
-
-
putting a lot of faith in intelligent people to not be extremely dumb here
-
as an intelligent person who knows many intelligent people, we all constantly make extremely poor decisions
-
As an intelligent person who is an intelligent person, I make some extremely poor decisions.
End of conversation
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.