My criticism was on the idea that so many bitcoin proponents put forward that not having any central controlling or regulatory body is a strength of bitcoin. Even if we ignore all of the macroeconomic issues this might cause, you still lose a lot without any regulations. This particular example is the complete lack of consumer protection in any dispute you encounter when dealing with someone in bitcoin.
Instead of trying to improve on the monetary policies and regulations that exists around the world, bitcoin simply tries to replace them and leave nothing in their place. It is like going from the current US government to anarchy. There are a lot of things that can and should be improved in the old system, but that doesn't mean we should throw it completely out and have nothing to replace it.
You can add consumer protection systems on top of Bitcoin; they just aren't forced on every transaction. Even the protocol itself has features that facilitate escrow and similar protections. And the public ledger allows you to prove that you sent BTCs to someone without having to use a third-party service to independently verify that.
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My criticism was on the idea that so many bitcoin proponents put forward that not having any central controlling or regulatory body is a strength of bitcoin. Even if we ignore all of the macroeconomic issues this might cause, you still lose a lot without any regulations. This particular example is the complete lack of consumer protection in any dispute you encounter when dealing with someone in bitcoin.
Instead of trying to improve on the monetary policies and regulations that exists around the world, bitcoin simply tries to replace them and leave nothing in their place. It is like going from the current US government to anarchy. There are a lot of things that can and should be improved in the old system, but that doesn't mean we should throw it completely out and have nothing to replace it.
You can add consumer protection systems on top of Bitcoin; they just aren't forced on every transaction. Even the protocol itself has features that facilitate escrow and similar protections. And the public ledger allows you to prove that you sent BTCs to someone without having to use a third-party service to independently verify that.
Consumer protection is possible in Bitcoin - it's voluntary on the part of the service provider, and should be demanded by customers.