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Banks Preparing for Aftermath of Unprecedented Catastrophe Caused by AI: "You can't stop it." (futurism.com)
submitted 3 days ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] 0 points 3 days ago (9 children)

Yet people write off Bitcoin as "for criminals" while glossing over the fact no one can print more of it, and it cannot be taken away from you (without you fucking up).

There is literally no better option in terms of holding and protecting your own wealth.

Yet still, in 2026, I can almost guarantee nothing but down votes and/or replies all about how it's BS, etc, etc.

Not trying to be snarky, it's just sad that the vast majority of people won't ever get a good explanation of how it works.

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  • [–] 15 points 3 days ago (4 children)

    I'm a bit torn on Bitcoin. I used to think the same as you, but now it seems to me that Bitcoin is way too easy to control. State actors could quite easily acquire enough hash power to take over the network, mining is too concentrated already. I think Monero is much more true to the original idea of Bitcoin, probably also one of the reasons it's always branded as a coin for criminals, to prevent people from looking into it.

    It's also, unfortunately, just not that practical. Most people don't want to be their own bank. Your "unless you fuck up" is not quite true, what do you do if someone breaks into your house and threatens to shoot you if you don't hand over your keys? That's the true purpose of a bank, outsourced security.

    While crypto is cool, it's not required to solve this, full-reserve banking would be sufficient.

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  • [–] -2 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (3 children)

    Bitcoin is way too easy to control.

    Bitcoin is the hardest form of money in existence to control. Manipulation is not control. I'm pretty sure you're thinking of manipulation.

    State actors could quite easily acquire enough hash power to take over the network

    With respect, you need to learn more about how Bitcoin works, in particular the concept of "difficulty" and also options for defending against bad actors. Or you think the decade and a half plus Bitcoin has been running, not one single person/entity/state actor would try it?

    mining is too concentrated already

    TOO concentrated? No, otherwise Bitcoin wouldn't exist anymore. Could it be less concentrated? For sure. Couldn't the power the polticians and banks have be less concentrated? And it's within most people's means to be part of the solution against mining concentration...see: OCEAN pool for one.

    Most people don't want to be their own bank.

    Most people don't. Having bitcoin doesn't mean you have to be your own bank. Just that you have that option if and when the need arises. It's not one extreme (be your own bank) or the other (reject bitcoin entirely).

    what do you do if someone breaks into your house and threatens to shoot you if you don't hand over your keys?

    Well, what do you do if someone breaks into your house and threatens to shoot you if you don't hand over your cash, credit cards, and valuable possessions? I for one could a) say that I don't memorise my keys and they are stored outside of my home, b) give them keys to a duress wallet. What can you do?

    I can't say Bitcoin is the only solution to things, but it's by far the best tool we've been given so far. My argument has always been, the only way Bitcoin dies is if the whole advanced world works together to ban it. And if you think the whole world is going to cooperate on anything when self-interest and game theory heavily incentivizes involvement.....

    Just take some time to learn about how it works, not just "what it is". That's what holds people back.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 days ago

    Most people don’t. Having bitcoin doesn’t mean you have to be your own bank. Just that you have that option if and when the need arises. It’s not one extreme (be your own bank) or the other (reject bitcoin entirely).

    Then there's no god damn point. Bitcoin at a Bitcoin bank is just a regular bank with an incredibly, comically inefficient transaction tracking system.

    Well, what do you do if someone breaks into your house and threatens to shoot you if you don’t hand over your cash, credit cards, and valuable possessions?

    Cash and possessions are one thing, but that's not how most people keep their real financial assets. A thief can steal my credit card all they want. They're not getting much use out of it.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 days ago (1 child)

    You're clearly still in the honeymoon phase, so I won't argue further. I know how Bitcoin works and all my points stand. In any case, this thread isn't about crypto, but about banking. As the other person noted, having credit cards in your home is obviously not the same as BTC keys..

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  • [–] 5 points 2 days ago (1 child)

    There is literally no better option in terms of holding and protecting your own wealth.

    Crypto is the glass cannon of financial security. Yes, you optimize for a single variable...at the cost of everything else.

    Crypto is good at resisting computer-based hacking and money printing, but it's far worse than the conventional banking systems at social hacking, physical coercion, or accidental loss.

    Basically, nerds love to latch onto crypto because they view it from its interesting technical properties. But they ignore the real risks to money. Banks aren't being hacked left and right to have their funds drained. But social engineering drains accounts every day. The crypto nerds are more comfortable with computers than with people, so they focus on the computer-centered threats than the human ones.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

    Social engineering is stupid people being stupid and then being surprised that their stupidity has consequences. Unless physical coercion is involved, like in the xckd comic about the wrench, then education is the fix here. I got my account stolen in Habbo once when I was a kid and I was never scammed again in my life.

    You're basically arguing that since people can burn themselves on the stove, that stoves are not as safe as ovens and that ovens are preferable. That's bullshit, getting burnt is part of learning to respect the technology.

    You're the reason all those toys like Mattel's VAC-U-FORM got castrated because some stupid kid got burnt once and the mom went nuclear, cucking all the other kids who wanted to learn how industrial manufacturing actually works.

    I don't need an institutional daddy to safeguard me from the consequences of my own actions. I need the floor to be there so I can smash my face on it and update my priors.

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  • [–] -1 points 3 days ago* (1 child)

    Hey crypto-investor! I'm letting you know I'm about to print my own crypto from the open-source bitcoin! Buy my alt-coins now! Your profits are about to go to the moon! Buy CON-coin! The only difference between it and bitcoin is hype and branding! Get in before it's too late!

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  • [–] 1 point 3 days ago*

    Uh yep, pretty much what I expected 😂

    The hard part is people that seriously think like that don't realize how utterly and completely stupid they sound to anyone who does take the time to understand it. They'll happily go through life saying stuff like that and never actually be able to make a good argument.

    Edit: omg that wasn't satire.....my bad. Sorry I even replied 😂

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