from the create-your-own-fiat-currency dept.
Submitted via IRC for AndyTheAbsurd
I don't think it needs introduction about the current hype that is going on with Blockchain, bitcoin, Ethereum and other initiatives. To get more feeling about what it is and how it works I decided to have a go with Ethereum as it promises to be a possible disruptive solution for lots of different use cases. Without going into the theoretical background of Blockchain or Ethereum (there are already lots of docs written about it) this post will focus on how I set up a private Ethereum network on my MacBook. I will use Docker containers as Ethereum nodes and use Mist browser on my Mac to 'connect' to the private network.
Source: https://pragmaticintegrator.wordpress.com/2017/10/28/set-up-private-blockchain-with-ethereum-part-1/
Related Stories
User mistakenly takes control of hundreds of wallets containing cryptocurrency Ether, destroying them in a panic while trying to give them back
Unlike most cryptocurrency hacks, however, the money wasn't deliberately taken: it was effectively destroyed by accident. The lost money was in the form of Ether, the tradable currency that fuels the Ethereum distributed app platform, and was kept in digital multi-signature wallets built by a developer called Parity. These wallets require more than one user to enter their key before funds can be transferred.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/nov/08/cryptocurrency-300m-dollars-stolen-bug-ether
This is less than 1% of the entirety of the total value of Ethereum (as perceived by speculators). One must remember that the national debts of issuers of some fiat currencies could effectively destroy 100% of those currencies, so is it appropriate for dollar users (which indirectly is all of us) to sneer at cryptocurrency users for this apparent weakness which will, presumably, be fixed and never happen again?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Snow on Wednesday November 01 2017, @08:07PM (6 children)
I don't get it...
A few months ago, I went to a bitcoin meetup. It was the first meetup I have ever been to. There were about 20 people there. Of those 20 people, there were maybe 3 of us that actually had a clue. The rest of them had heard of this 'blockchain thing' and were trying to shoehorn ideas onto it with the goal of becoming filthy, filthy rich.
I'd say a good 50% of ideas went something like this:
1) Create private blockchain
2) Put something on it (Art, house titles, medical records, electricity tokens, company shares)
3) Get filthy rich.
No one seems to understand that a private blockchain is worthless. A private blockchain is just a shitty, poor performing sql server. It is not immutable. It doesn't 'prove' anything. Anyone remember when arstechnica decided to hop on the bandwagon and create their own shitcoin, ArsCoin?
A blockchain solves the problem of a trustless distributed ledger. A private blockchain is neither trustless nor distributed.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 01 2017, @08:34PM (2 children)
I am interested in obtaining some of your Snowcoin, I hear your blockchain is very high-tech! If i get in on the ground floor, can you make me filthy rich? Yours, former Bernie Madoff investor.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday November 01 2017, @08:52PM (1 child)
I know! Let's put energy in this blockchain then we can trade it!
If i get in on the ground floor, can you make me filthy rich? Yours, former Enron investor.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 02 2017, @01:12AM
I'm filthy rich and I have blockchains to thank. All you need is a little confidence in yourself and a $200 to create a superior mining rig. In my book you can learn all the steps, you can get it from Amazon with fee shipping!
(Score: 2) by arslan on Wednesday November 01 2017, @10:02PM
It smells doesn't it? That's the problem, the blockchain buzzword is being overloaded and sold like it has all the shiny that Bitcoin has but behind the scenes it is being stripped down and tweaked for specific use-cases. It reeks like a snake-oil salesman expo.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 02 2017, @01:32AM (1 child)
Being "private" doesn't necessarily mean that it's only in control of a single entity. It could just mean that the unwashed masses are not invited to participate. Such private-club blockchains are what is being mooted for use with inter-bank transfers and whatnot.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 02 2017, @04:04AM
I nominate this comment for the most ignorant comment on SoylentNews in 2017. Can he win a prize?
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Wednesday November 01 2017, @08:47PM (3 children)
I have an argument for the perpetually increasing value of bitcoin. My understanding is that there is a limit to the total number of coins that can be mined, but more and more people are "investing" in it. Also my understanding is that it gets harder and harder to mine. Sometimes someone will die or be incapacitated without telling anyone their wallet password, thereby removing coins from circulation. There was a cautionary video on Facebook by a young woman who made a lot of money on bitcoin - but forgot her password!
An argument for decreasing value of bitcoin is that cryptocurrencies are increasing in number. The ones I have heard of are bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin and ripple. These will draw "investors" away from bitcoin.
A really cool get-rich-quick scheme is to invent a new cryptocurrency, mine yourself a zillion coins then convince everyone else to put it into common use.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday November 01 2017, @08:57PM (1 child)
Nobody has ever thought of that one.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 5, Informative) by Snow on Wednesday November 01 2017, @09:24PM
Haha, true that!
MDC, check out https://coinmarketcap.com/ [coinmarketcap.com]
They don't even list all coins, and they have over 1200 coins listed. All but /maybe/ 5 are complete shit.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 02 2017, @02:07AM
Well since you can trade fractions of a coin there really ISN'T a limit! Just keep inflating the price and dividing by whatever number makes your bank account bigger.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Wednesday November 01 2017, @08:50PM (1 child)
While building a website that I don't call a job board [soggy.jobs], I am repeatedly finding posts seeking candidates with the following skills. (Not all at once):
blockchain
full stack developer
artificial intelligence
How hard can it be to learn all about blockchains? If you know blockchains, you can get lots of equity at a venture-backed startup.
However I strongly suspect that all these blockchain startups are participating in a tulip bubble.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 01 2017, @11:20PM
Basically,
1) Get data
2) Hash said data
3) Include hash of 2 in a new set of data
4) GOTO 2
There you have it... a block chain (as I explained it to my father-in-law last weekend).
Of course there is a bit more to it, but that is optional depending on the situation.
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Wednesday November 01 2017, @08:55PM
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 4, Interesting) by crafoo on Wednesday November 01 2017, @09:54PM (2 children)
Isn't Ethereum the trojan horse currency backed by Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, etc.? If I understand it properly (and I probably do not), the public ledger is what for wanking into. The real control and trades are made privately, and centrally controlled. It's like an oversized bobble-head mask to hide the big nose of central banking.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 02 2017, @11:09AM
Any links about that? Up to now I thought Ripple is the banks coin.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 02 2017, @08:34PM
the entities mentioned have a consortium where they are building their own private tech using eth technology. so fucking what?