20 sats \ 7 replies \ @Scoresby 30 May \ parent \ on: Summarizing my thoughts on ecash bitcoin
As are all the other shitcoins, no? Certainly the stable coins like tether aren't much more than "cryptographic IOUs". The real question here is: are ecash tokens shitcoins?
IMHO: yes, kind of, are not even shitcoins, are IOUs.
reply
To me, the ecash conversation would become much more fruitful if we get past the idea that they are custodying anything. Can they be useful to bitcoiners or are they a distraction? Bitcoiners would have a much easier time sorting this out if they did not think the mint was somehow agreeing to custody their btc for them. Why would you ever give up btc if you didn't expect to get something in return? What is a mint giving you when you give them btc and is it worth the cost?
reply
I consider ecash as quick solution to onboard the "poor man" that cannot afford a full UTXO to open a LN channel for himself.
Kind of a more fancy way to use WoS. In the end is the same custodial shit.
The important thing is to educate these poor "entry" users that should not keep using ecash forever and redeem their "trapped" sats from ecash into real LN channels or onchain UTXOs.
One thing is very clear: ecash tokens are NOT sats! Are just IOUs.
reply
reply
Hard to say. Depends on each wallet app and our guides :)
I see a lot pushing this ecash without educating well the users BEFORE use. And that is wrong.
I am using ecash, for testing purpose only and learn more about it, so I will not speak just for the sake of speaking. But I do not consider it as the "ultimate" solution for scaling Bitcoin or more privacy. Privacy do not stand in multiple mumbo jumbo mental gymnastics and added protocols. First of all you have to know WHO you really are so you will know what is private and what is public.
reply
"Do users understand"..... ???
I wish we would stop talking about eCash in public at all. It's gotta be confusing the shit out of regular users.
I see ecash as a technical layer in a larger protocol. In any Mint-based App, the user should simply see how many Sats they have. They do not need to know that it's really eCash.
I have not used Fedimint yet, but I've done a lot of reading on it. I'm praying as hard as I can to Odin himself that when I open the Fedi app for the first time I DO NOT SEE ANY MENTION OF ECASH! I hope the devs are not that stupid. It's part of the protocol, but it should be abstracted away from users just like the layers of the internet, and even fiat banks, are abstracted away from the users. Just show me my Sat balance and let me send it cheaply, privately, and fast, for fuck's sake.
reply
What's the difference between a coin and an IOU?
reply