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Post by Admin on Jan 4, 2018 17:16:55 GMT
Hunter is this week's administrator
Original Posts by Thursday, January 11th by 11:59pm
Peer Responses by the start of class on Monday, January 15th
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Post by Hunter Prementine on Jan 8, 2018 4:32:09 GMT
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Post by Olivia Girdwood on Jan 9, 2018 13:15:30 GMT
Bitcoin and Blockchain technology are new concepts to some people. This being said, I do not trust this idea. In addition to it not being well known, “Blockchain technology is still in its infancy” (The Conversation). When cigarettes and tobacco were still new, none of the health risks that we know now were available then, harsh realities come with time. It is not to be trusted, yet. Bitcoin has the potential to be a decent technology in the future, making cryptocurrencies the “money of the future”. Nothing, at this stage at least, can be determined. On a different note, blockchain may be a way to modernize voting. It would make voting computerized, but allow the votes to be tracked at the same time. To make this change happen, states could begin to introduce this voting at township levels. Testing the software at smaller elections before moving up to voting for who the next president will be, removing any bugs in the process to make it the best it can be over time. The idea of a decentralized system is very intriguing. Many times citizens of a country get fed up with their government because the government has too much control; decentralized systems like blockchain may help appease the citizens. The citizens would feel in more control and may, in turn, be less likely to revolt or rebel against the government. After all of this, “[Bitcoin] is, for now, a frankly terrible currency built on top of a potential transformative technology” (The Atlantic). I, personally, would not invest in bitcoin until it is proven that it is safe and works to its best potential. It would not be of good interest for me to invest anytime soon considering I do not have much money, in comparison to the amounts the articles reference, and it would not be worth it for me to transport bitcoin in small quantities (Bitcoin).
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Post by Meghan Miller on Jan 11, 2018 0:22:50 GMT
Bitcoin and Blockchain are examples of remarkable leaps in technology and show how communal interfaces can work as checks for authenticity. If this technology is applicable to other avenues, as suggested by the Times article, for banking and elections. Cryptocurrencies most likely will not be the currency of the future because governments will want to handle the exchange of money and be in control of the economy as much as possible.
Blockchain has the potential to make voting more modern modem but it would need to go through rigorous testing for possible tempering. Now elections are an extremely charged time and there is already rumors of interference with current systems (such as with the United States and Kenya). There is also the possibility of citizens not accepting online votes as legitimate voter choice (similar to Catalonia’s election). Even though blockchain has “ a decentralized group of individuals with powerful computers that approve transactions” it does not guarantee that this group of people are incorruptible (The Atlantic). The integrity of the blockchain system also relies on the trust of “ the underlying software technologies…[and the] understanding of market incentives that influence behaviour of the many distributed processing nodes that run blockchains”(the Conversation). Creating a trust in these systems enough to use them for elections is going to take a long time but maybe in the future they will be secure enough to utilize for elections.
Cryptocurrency maybe less centralized but that may not always be a positive. The less a currency system is centralized then the less it can be monitored and controlled. This type of currency leaves a lot of room for error with trade values and the amount of currency available (even though Bitcoin has a set amount of coins available, according to the Atlantic). The instability of the cryptocurrency and the inflation bubble would make me steer clear of investing in these currencies (the Atlantic). These investments do not seem clear enough for me to feel comfortable with purchasing this type of share.
My question: Do you think blockchain is corruptible?
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Post by Brooke Gentile on Jan 11, 2018 12:21:05 GMT
Bitcoin is an online currency that grows on human interest. Personally I feel that Bitcoin and Blockchain technology have plenty of faults yet to be discovered. Bitcoins are the number one currency on the dark net which draws some negative attention to the Bitcoin. People are able to purchase illegal items without being traced. I feel that this type of currency will not last long due to the amount of flaws it already has. If these kinks however get fixed, this system may be useful for voting purposes. People could then vote from the comfort of their own homes rather than having to miss and or leave work in order to get their vote in. Recently people have began to be afraid of voting at the poles due to the harsh treatment of the opposing parties. For this to become possible the government would have to issue new regulations that monitored everyone’s identity and the amount of times they have voted. The Bitcoin is the internet’s newest form of currency which has plenty of flaws that in my opinion are dealbreakers. The fact that Bitcoin is already the number one currency on the dark net should most definitely tell everyone something about this new currency.
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Post by Brooke Gentile on Jan 11, 2018 12:26:24 GMT
@meghan I completely agree with how you said that people may not find the online voting to be legitimate, and relatiing it to the events in Catalonia. There very well could be lots of controversy over the online voting being that even with the traditional voting here we had many fights and arguments over who was rigging the elections and what not. I never even thought of that, and I think that was an amazing point.  |
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Post by Admin on Jan 11, 2018 13:01:19 GMT
Pleas remember to directly reference the provided articles by Hunter. It should not be an over-generalization or summary of the topic, but specifically use evidence from the articles.
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Post by Olivia Girdwood on Jan 11, 2018 13:08:18 GMT
@meghanmiller
I agree that the government is going to want to take control of the currency, but how would they go about it do you think? If cryptocurrency is monitored by multiple people in different areas, would it be too much work for the government? are they going to want their fingers for more than just signing legislation?
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Post by Maya Borland on Jan 11, 2018 20:19:28 GMT
When I first heard about Bitcoin I thought that it was the weirdest thing in the world to invest in. But after reading about it somethings making sense why people are so interested in this new system that will take us to a new way of living. But even knowing what I know now I still would not use Bitcoin in the futcher. This is because I am more of a pay with cash person.
Now for me all of this computer stuff is a little over my head but, after reading this quote I found why people are interested in Bitcoin software. Here we have a currency you can send and receive, and be assured your transaction will be safely registered, not just in one central computer owned by a dubious company, but in a peer-to-peer database that can't be meddled with. Add on the fact that bitcoin users can maintain their anonymity and you have a monetary system free of government control. ( Gale Group) I think it is great that in today's society that people like, Satoshi Nakamoto are still inventing new ways to live in this world of ours. The thing I am still on the fence about is the privacy of it all. As the quote says that instead of the government or one person is controlling the system that it is run by a “peer-to-peer database.” It just makes my a little nervous that more than one person is control of the system.
I feel that blockchain like any database has faults and problems in it but, over time I think that people will be using it just as much as Google is used. Over time all technology evolves and old databases becomes outdated just how Google might not even be a thing twenty years from now. I do feel that Blackchain should be put on one persons or governments control. With all of these people having control of my information is a little unreving. Someone out there with a better computer, more computer nolleg, and time could alter all of my information on blockchain if they wanted too.
Question: What would you make with the computer software on Blockchain?
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Post by Ricky Mineo on Jan 12, 2018 0:50:23 GMT
Bitcoin being described by Derek Thompson as a "consensual hallucination on psychedelic drugs" is very fitting. Cryptocurrency is a very confusing and almost ridiculous idea until it became a reality that people went crazy over. Cryptocurrency may become the key currency of the future due to the decentralization of the currency, no single person, group, or organization is in charge of the money. Also, according to Mark Staples, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are way more protective because it is impossible to hack or steal. Since the value of bitcoin fluctuates so much more than traditional currency, I cannot see how people will transfer all of their money into cryptocurrency because the value changes a similar way to that of a stock. Although it seems skeptical still, bitcoin has a tremendous opportunity to create the shift from real money to cryptocurrency. Since bitcoin has nobody in charge to run it, it is hard to tell how well bitcoin will perform in the future because it is unregulated and uncontrolled. Depending on the future of bitcoin and how valid it stays, how much the price fluctuates, and how safe the money of the owners is. There is not any evidence or previous information that can help to show how successful bitcoin will be if it becomes the major source of currency. Personally, bitcoin is not something I would be intrested in buying because of the recent plummets in price and the unknown future of it. When/if the time comes, how smoothly would the transition between current currency to cryptocurrency be?
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Post by Maddy Crighton on Jan 12, 2018 2:10:21 GMT
Currency comes in all types of forms from dollars to euros to even pesos. However, more recently over the years the idea of digital currency has become quite popular. Bitcoin, a more recent form of decentralized currency, has risen from seventy five cents to twelve hundred dollars, according to the YouTube video, “What is Bitcoin and How Does it Work”? However, even though Bitcoin sounds amazing, the value fluctuates repeatedly. Since Bitcoin is all online, the risk of counterfeit and fraud were very high until the idea of Blockchain. According to The Atlantic, the Blockchain is “an online ledger that records and validates all peer to peer payments to eliminate double-spending.” Blockchain also keeps all transactions anonymous and is managed by individuals known as miners. These miners watch over the transactions and in the end earn bitcoins for their work. With that being said, one might think that the bitcoin supply is everlasting, however that is not true. According to youtube video mentioned above, the Bitcoin supply is capped off at 21 million, ultimately solving “cryptopunk money problems” (The Atlantic).
Since Bitcoin and Blockchain are an online system I would not use it nor trust it. All of your personal accounts and information would be on the web and even though Blockchain claims to protect all of the information, there is still a potential risk for fraud and being hacked. This is another reason I do not believe that online money or cryptocurrencies will be the money of the future. Maybe if one were to develop the system more and make certain that there was no room for errors and fraud, it could become a potential replacement of centralized currency.
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Post by Maddy Crighton on Jan 12, 2018 2:15:56 GMT
@brookee I totally agree with you that bitcoin has a lot of flaws and I like how you brought up the dark net and the negative connotation with Bitcoin
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Post by Maddy Crighton on Jan 12, 2018 2:18:55 GMT
@maya I really like how you incorporated the optimistic view about individuals bringing new ideas to better out world. I also agree that the whole system is a little skeptical because of the peer to peer database. Anyone smart enough could hack it and all the information would be lost, and or stolen.
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Post by Laura Gutauskas on Jan 12, 2018 2:34:13 GMT
I’ve been subconsciously aware of bitcoin for awhile, but never truly intrigued by what it was capable of in the past. What worries me about it is that it is so volatile and unreliable and truly leaves you unimpressed due to the ever growing amount of fees you have to pay for such small micro-transactions. As stated by The Atlantic, “If the predominant use case for any asset is to buy it, wait for it to appreciate, and then to exchange it for dollars, it is a terrible currency … It is a collectible.” Bitcoin has no place in any economy because of this. Yet, because of its value previously taking off, it sparked other cryptocurrencies to become more known in mainstream media (like Ethereum). Most of these share the same application of blockchain which shows true potential for the future on its own compared to Bitcoin. Cryptocurrencies will most likely continue to only be apart of the economy in small aspects like it originally was intended for due to the fact that once one “currency” runs its lifetime, another will have to take its place. Blockchain, on the other hand, doesn’t really have a replacement and seems to be a foolproof system since it “doesn’t run on just one computer” and “there can be a full copy of the database on every node” (The Conversation). It’s almost like a trustworthy version of the balance of power since no single carrier can corrupt the system on their own. I wouldn’t invest in Bitcoin, but I would consider a cryptocurrency that isn’t smothered with fees that go up like the PA turnpike does every year. In regards to voting, it seems to be plausible, but people are very attached to their traditional ballot stations and ripping that away from them seems harder than actually convincing them of the legitimacy of a blockchain system. A start could be to have the system in polling stations in crowded cities since online voting isn’t really a thing yet except with absentee ballots.
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Post by Barbie Cessar on Jan 12, 2018 2:37:23 GMT
In my opinion Bitcoin and the Blockchain technology are useless in the long run. It may be getting a lot of attention now with more than twelve million bitcoins in circulation but the total amount of bitcoins can only reach 21 million. This means the sale of Bitcoins over time will decrease as they get more rare with every purchase. Based on the wavering answers from experts I also believe that there is still so much to discover about Bitcoins and that we have a lot to learn about them before we use them as a future currency. Blockchain technology would not help the current voting system because it’s behavior relies on group of individuals with powerful computers, which will always be vulnerable to corruption. It is no smart to keep one government or company from having all the control but I believe putting total faith in a software to handle elections and currency is even worse. No I would not purchase Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency because it is a risky investment. It is only worth what people are willing to pay for it and does not have a specific value.
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