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You Can't Seriously Expect Your Banker to Tell You About This
By Chris at www.CapitalistExploits.at
Years ago I had the misfortune of sitting adjacent a colleague who was a pretentious moron. We were both young and of no real importance at the investment bank which had hired us. This particular guy became so entranced with the absurd things that rich people with more money than sense can fall victim to.
A pair of £20 jeans which should have just been picked up at the Sunday flea market instead had to be bought for £200 from some peculiar store in Notting Hill, run by a strange woman who fussed over you as if you were a 5-year old. All of this was immensely important to this colleague.
The absurdity ran deep. Hosted parties no longer offered anything to eat. No sausage rolls, no little snacks that a human could identify. Snapped peas stuffed with yoghurt made from the breast milk of an Australian mongoose and the like. It was meant to be sophisticated but it just fell into the absurd. These sort of affairs drove me nuts. I'd rather have walked the streets of Brooklyn with an "I hate blacks" t-shirt.
I was reminded of this colleague just yesterday when I received a message from an old workmate who found the website. Turns out the pretentious moron is now heading some unit in the bank focused on "disruptive threats" to the business or something of that nature. If he's anything like the dunce he was years ago - and my friend assured me he is - then his ability to identify anything other than an Armani suit made specifically for pedophiles is vanishingly thin.
So why am I telling you all this, you might wonder?
Consider that in 2008 hotel executives around the world where sipping Evian, scanning the landscape to see who their competitors were. Not a single one of them identified a website which allowed people to list, find, and rent accommodation.
Today Airbnb eats hotels' proverbial lunch. It operates in 34,000 cities, 192 countries and has nearly 2 million listings.
Massive change is coming but don't expect your local banker to identify it coming and let you know. The list of ways to make the financial services industry better could rival the magna carta. High fees and endless hours waiting for automated call centres in Mumbai are just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, recently I wired money to someone in the US from an Asian bank and it took 4 days to get there. It would have been faster to take it myself. That's due to change.
A while ago I read an article from a banker who does understand the change coming to the industry. The former CEO at Barclays, Antony Jenkins, summarizes it nicely:
"We will see massive pressure on incumbent banks which will struggle to implement new technologies at the same pace as their new rivals."
The banks have been looked after very nicely indeed with taxpayer-funded bailout packages and sweetheart financing deals from the central banks and it is ironically this which may well aid in their downfall. It's made them fat and lazy.
Lurking just on the horizon is a technology which we believe will see their business models turned upside down. And as they scramble to adjust to a new reality, there will be no bailouts to save their overweight behinds this time around.
That new reality involves the blockchain, the technology underpinning Bitcoin. I wrote about this recently in this report. If you've not read it yet I recommend doing so as a short primer.
Though we've discussed the topic before in these missives, the futurist Peter Diamandis does an excellent job in distilling some of the core features and a smattering of the industries at risk of major disruption:
"At its core, bitcoin is a smart currency, designed by very forward-thinking engineers. It eliminates the need for banks, gets rid of credit card fees, currency exchange fees, money transfer fees, and reduces the need for lawyers in transitions… all good things. Most importantly, it is an "exponential currency" that will change the way we think about money. Much the same way email changed the way we thought of mail. (Can you remember life before email?)"
The bitcoin evolution is gathering momentum. We are involved with and constantly looking at companies in this sector. One thing is for sure: there will be a dramatic improvement in customer experience, making peoples' lives better, and this will drive user adoption. When this takes place Moore's law kicks in and before you know it the world is a different place. Consider the evolution of the publishing, taxi, music, and hotel industries which have already seen disruptive technologies shake their world.
It all starts with a few early adopters, and once decent user interfaces are built then adoption skyrockets and the world changes forever. We're on the brink of this now.
Next week I’ll talk about potential USD alternatives. It's probably not what you're expecting and it's certainly not mainstream thinking.
Have a wonderful weekend!
- Chris
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math is a human construct? fail.
2 + 2 = 4 is the truth.
it would still be the truth even if no humans existed.
Right, but the symbols 2 + 2 = 4 and the word math are symbols and letters, human constructs.
As are Bitcoin, computers, and the Internet.
Fuck. If you have 2 apples, and you put 2 apples next to them, how many apples in total have you got? Whether to you it is four, or quattro, or yon does not matter - the total number is still the same. It is human pereception that relies on symbols, certainly, but we do not control the total number of apples!
That is incorrect. For example at the atomic level atoms have atomic weights represented by numbers. They interract with each other differently depending on that atomic weight , whether that be 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 99 etc. They follow a perfect mathematical equation in their interraction with each other depending on their number of electrons , protons etc. Same with larger molecular structures and solar systems and galaxies. All follow precise universal mathematical equations , these are not a human construct and exist with or without human observation.
right, all those are symbols, human constructs.
but the underlying truth that those symbols reference exists whether or not humans and their symbols exist.
2+2=4 does not exist in Squirrel World.
"nothing on the Internet is secure"
That would include your bank account, which in fact isn't even yours:
http://allnewspipeline.com/Surprise_Surprise_Did_You_Know.php
Which is to say, good luck with what "already exists." I'll take algorisms over the construct of crony capitalist money printing any day.
I agree with you about the bank account.
I choose Silver and Gold, tangibles here before humanity.
They have no intrinsic value either, only what the market (humanity) determines it do be.
Stop wasting your breath. All of your arguments have already been destroyed. bitcoin is already winning hands down. You've already lost mate , you may as well move onto something else.
Bitcoin system does not care who owns what amount of its units. The only thing it cares is if the transaction signature is valid. If it's valid the transaction is accepted and there's nothing a government or a court can do to mandate otherwise.
Your comparison of Bitcoin and OTC stock is ill-advised. Bitcoin is a computer network that provably MOVES data, akin to the Internet, which is a computer network that COPIES data. If you have a facility that is provably guaranteed to move data numerous potential applications emerge. First of such applications is currency. Then follow deeds and legal titles, stocks and bonds. This is is nothing short of Nobel prize worthy invention.
SO how many transactions per second can the blockchain environment handle?
Go ahead, look it up. I'll wait.
Aw fuggit, I'm impatient...the answer is SEVEN. SEVEN FUCKING TRANSACTIONS A SECOND.
VISA = 56,000
Paypal = 115
Keep the blockchain block sizes at 1MB and Bitcoin WILL NEVER EVER GET ANY FASTER. Never. Did I stutter? Never. Ever.
Seven...and it is going to save the fucking world. Tits or GTFO.
Actually , the bitcoin protocol itself has no limit , it can scale up as necessary. It's current capacity is limited by an arbitrary software switch (block size limitation) which can be changed in any revision of the software. Shouting and swearing won't change the fact that it can scale way beyong VISA/Mastercard and SWIFT speeds combined.
It's a good thing BIP-100 and BIP-101 exist to increase the block size. By the way, did you know that initially Bitcoin didn't have limit on block size? It was put in place as anti-spam measure. And sidechains are exactly the vehicle for small denomination transactions. And lightning network is coming online soon.
So, care to revoke your "never ever"?
it supports as many transactions as are necessary
for future requirements bitcoin will be updated and improved as it becomes necessary - lookup lightning network, segregated witness, etc
(visa is just a dumb layer over existing banking system,
you should compare bitcoins fully trusted decentralized and confirmed transaction, which is done in minutes, cost cents and has pretty much unlimited value vs interbank transactions which take DAYS or even weeks and cost you an arm and leg)
It will eventually get banned and they will start targeting people that use BitCoin. Gov't want there cut from tax revenue and Bitcoin is designed to prevent them from tracking transactions. Sooner or later the US/EU/Asia will all pass new laws forbiding the use of Bitcoin. and it will remain soly as a blackmarket trade. Consider that many countries are targeting cash. Bitcoin is Cash 100x since it even more difficult to track. Theith is also a bit problem with BitCoin, since its most people use unsecure systems (aka Windows, and even OSX) which would be targeted by thiefs. The majority of people fall for phishing scams, or other methods. Also Bitcoin has had some very bad press with Mt Gox and the dozen of other BitCoin financial firms that turned out to be complete frauds.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R3_(company)
Note the scale of the collusion on this one. Here is a key quote:
"a sign the industry is gathering behind R3 in one potential implementation of the distributed ledger technology behind the currency bitcoin."
Ie., the boyz are going to implement a competitor to bitcoin.
Yeah , just like compuserve and AOL tried a competitor to the internet. That worked out well.
They will find you if you're a BitCoin user. All they have to do is try:
http://thehackernews.com/2015/07/bitcoin-mining-server.html
You're forgetting that which lurks beneath the surface, has barely been tapped, and against which governments will be playing an increasingly futile game of Whack-A-Mole:
https://media.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/shrinknp_800_800/AAEAAQAAAAAAAANKAAAAJDV...
You can capitulate to this technology today or in a couple of years. Your choice. It's already won the battle. All your arguments can be destroyed in a sentence. But anyway , good luck in your endeavours.
Uh Huh, it will need to become wealthy enough to build its own internet infrastructure that can reach most of the people that want to participate. Talk to me when it gets that wealthy and is not destroyed by "Government Mandate"
I read the book "mastering bit coin". I like the idea of bitcoin a lot especially for a way to create a local currency. What I have a problem with is the mining of bitcoins which, these days, takes excessive amounts of special computing power and electricity. That all seems like a terible waste to me. I believe that in this next financial crisis we will see a breakdown in the internet and technology which will cripple the global internet. In addition you will see countries blacking out the internet to deal with domestic insurrections and cyber attacks which will cut off the accounting system for bitcoin. I think for a local method of payment backed by some sort of local depository of something real like for example "gold" silver food etc. It would work great.
Gold is mentioned the first book of the bible, it's been used as wealth for thousands of years. I'll stick to 'real' goods, gold, silver, lead, land.
"some sort of local depository..." Texas is already building it.
Chuck Noris is running security
I totally agree joe. Bitcoin is for real, BUT it depends on something like the Internet, electricity, and the Powers that be to control these "Highways" for it to work. believe we all know how that's going to end. Buy AU & AG and stash it, you'll be glad you did, sooner than later.
I plan on burying a few bitcoins in the backyard for hard times. Do you think they are waterproof?
This is:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/cryptosteel-the-ultimate-cold-storage...
Every individual who promotes bitcoin on here has a Phd in Computer Science and/or Mathematics and has spent an entire life's career studying these types of systems -
Or.
They read an article or watched a YouTube and trust what they were told by someone else (who may be doing the same blind faith thing).
Will the guys with the relevant Phds and experience please stand up -
Bitch please. It's not about bitcoin, it's about blockchain distributed ledger. I'm not a PhD in maths but I still get it. There is no excuse for you not to get it either. If you don't get it it's because you're refusing to want to.
You guys act as if you're paid to shit on everything that has the potential to change the game. Weird.
I only know I don't understand it.
I'll be one of the last adopters, after everything is switched over and it's down to a push-button to make a trade.
Until then, I'll stick with barbarous relics.
That's the approach that all naysayers, at the very least, should adopt. What, after all, have they got to lose?
I assume you have a PhD in money as debt — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqvKjsIxT_8 — or believe in the imbeciles/fiends who do, while failing to understand that their system is only less digital to the extent that they haven't yet rid the world of the money they can't track:
http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/sep/30/1984-does-a-...
What a stooge you are.
Or just a troll.
The PTB also depend on "the internet, electricity" and all that comes with them, i.e., the economy and their out-of-control control over it.
Which is to say that they have as much chance of stopping the cryptocurrency revolution as the Japanese did of holding back the tsunami after the 2011 earthquake.
"exponential currency"
99.9% of you all don't understand what that means nor how fucked up that is.
Your local banker knows nothing and has no ambition to act on anything he or she actually might know. He or She has "aced" several personality profiles to make sure of it in order to get that "coveted" position.
These people are on a "need to know" basis. And they need to know nothing.
Bitcoin and crypto-currencies are a canard, a fantasy.
Does anyone truly believe that the banks/corporations/insurers and their .gov lackeys are going to release the keys to the kingdom?
They will not let their most powerful weapon against us serfs be hijacked. All they have to do is end coin and paper currency and they will have us all corralled.
A few arrests and raids on Bitcoin exchange houses and nodes and it will all be "vaporized". Did the author not hear that Australia raided the home of the Bitcoin founder for "tax" reasons?
More of this, and less of an alternative to bankster hegemony. Why?
Because the police state kleptoligarchies are run by the banks.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-35048309
http://money.cnn.com/2014/01/27/technology/security/bitcoin-arrest/index.html
you mean like they "banned" bittorrent? lol
let me quote:
first they ignore you,
then they laugh at you,
then they fight you,
then you win
The problem with that quote is that it is a little out-dated. We ain't all Ghandis, and besides, he was a British-educated lawyer, so he knew the rules and could play their game. Now when they fight us, in court they drain our money, and in the field, we can't match their weapons simply with numbers anymore. They've got better than muskets now.
I'm not challenging the concept, I applaud it, but things have changed and 100 to 1 strength in numbers means very little against even a sound cannon. With drones, snipers, up-armoured humvees, and robot dogs, how can we oppose a ban on bitcoin if they choose to enforce it? They can just cut the power, after all.
I loved bittorrent. My new provider shut me down for using it. So yeah, bit torrent can go away.
https://www.ipvanish.com/
Well, sure, but on "ipvanish"'s website, they tell you they are based in the US and therefore prohibited from having anything to do with anything in Burma/Myanmar, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria. Further, they say they are allowed to operate, but blocked, in Quatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and China.
So, they offer a service that allows you to be completely anonymous except in countries whose governments don't allow that.
That's kind of the Achilles' Heel of this whole conversation, isn't it. It's absolutely not that I oppose or don't admire blockchain, encryption, VPNs, etc. It's that I try to be realistic about how I will react to armed men torturing me to death. Because that's what we're really talking about here; that's the ultimate "privacy breach."
So they essentially lost another customer.
Smart move of them
The inventor of bitcoin has not been arrested. That's an MSM HOAX.
Shutting a few nodes down in the USA and 20+ other countries will not stop bitcoin , its a peer-2-peer protocol.
You're missing the point; his house was raided for "tax" reasons.
How will he make the taxman go away? With math? P2P protocol?
If people who run exchanges are arrested, how long can it last?
They'll shut it down to stop the "terrorists" - just like cash.
Who controls the Internet? .Gov does, and the M.I.C.
I'm with you all in spirit - but this is a black hole.
Probabilities are on your side. But there are big counterexamples in history. Take the printing press. Ultimately it took out the church's control over the serfs and their vampire squidism of the same as it facilitated the renaissance and enlightenment. All this despite a vicious counter punch from the Inquisition. It is too early to tell, but the probability is better than 0 that the blockchain (not necessarily bitcoin, but something enabled by the idea of the blockchain) will be to the financial "church" what the printing press was to the mystical one.
it will just push bitcoin enterpreneurs to more friendly jurisdictions.
in this growth-starved world, there will definitely be countries who will break ranks with the western kleptocrats and instead welcome a real growth industry
Great -another .1% I'm not part of
Fear not Smedley, for you and I are part of the illustrious .1% who haunt The Hedge.
Aaaaarrragghhh!