[Cryptography] Bitcoin is a disaster.

[John Levine]

In article <QrW5fhibJ9kSDhzH2naFPpe0X9XuITEmW5_EeskEEylFFI9ZsDQhpSU_VvBAIYblr_ZVNqyZbfkUfdKoE5NzCSpvLBzPFuvQL7sgmVeVpVA=@makgill.ch> you write:
>Here's another view: it was *because* Bitcoin ran into (unnecessary imo)
>scaling problems that the block time became a problem for day to day
>transactions.
>
>in most cases, the risk of a successful double spend
>on a relatively inexpensive transaction was much lower than the
>risk of a credit card chargeback, and the savings on
>transaction fees more than made up for double spends on the whole.

Since hardly anyone uses Bitcoin for live transactions, sure. (I
managed to buy two cups of coffee, quite a while ago.) On the other
hand, if it became at all popular for on-the-spot transactions and
word got around that you could get away with double spending, the
result would be predictable. Of course, this isn't a problem for mail
order purchases of illegal drugs.

>of certain early devs that Satoshi was wrong. Compare ten minute
>settlement to 60-90 days with credit cards!

Aw, come on. Credit card transactions typically authorize in a few
seconds and merchants get the money overnight. 60-90 days was for
international transactions 30 years ago. If you're comparing it to
something like selling stuff on Amazon, that's Amazon holding back
the funds, not the credit card company.

>But all of that was made less realistic by some people who insisted
>on RBF and a hard cap on the blocksize. 

Right, it's a prototype.

R's,
John