ElectronicsQuestions on Nostr: The decline of torrenting is one thing that bothers me regarding the "certain" future ...
The decline of torrenting is one thing that bothers me regarding the "certain" future of Bitcoin. Torrenting wasn't (and still isn't) hard, but still most people - the same people - who did it daily just switched over to Spotify and Netflix. I don't think it was morals that caused them to do so (I don't agree one bit that piracy is immoral, for the record), nor do I think it was fear of legal action - everyone knew that it was rare, and VPN:s have existed for a long time - I think it was simply that it requires fewer clicks and can start playing when just a little bit has been downloaded. Today it's hard to find stuff on TPB. Far from everything gets there, while back in the day there were usually at least three torrents of everything I wanted to download. This huge decline despite the fact that the streaming services monitor everything and sell data, and if they decide you can no longer listen to a certain song or see a certain movie or series, you can't.
If the CBDC apps are one bit easier to use, say, automatically determine where to pay to by some form of geolocation or Bluetooth beacons in the stores, or just the fact that more stores accept CBDC than BTC (because they are mandated and/or subsidized to), I'm afraid the vast majority will happily accept complete surveillance and control. We have already seen it go from cash to cards and mobile payments (here in Sweden, it's extreme. Very few people use cash, and many places don't even accept cash).
Sorry for sending out black pills, but I don't like it when everyone ignores a potential problem (and usually then blame me for pointing it out. If someone reading this feel the need to do so, please instead explain why I'm wrong. That helps. Calling me a fiat shill etcetera only convinces me you don't want to look at the problem. Problems exist regardless if you can solve them or not.).
If the CBDC apps are one bit easier to use, say, automatically determine where to pay to by some form of geolocation or Bluetooth beacons in the stores, or just the fact that more stores accept CBDC than BTC (because they are mandated and/or subsidized to), I'm afraid the vast majority will happily accept complete surveillance and control. We have already seen it go from cash to cards and mobile payments (here in Sweden, it's extreme. Very few people use cash, and many places don't even accept cash).
Sorry for sending out black pills, but I don't like it when everyone ignores a potential problem (and usually then blame me for pointing it out. If someone reading this feel the need to do so, please instead explain why I'm wrong. That helps. Calling me a fiat shill etcetera only convinces me you don't want to look at the problem. Problems exist regardless if you can solve them or not.).