Not arguing about the merits of blockchain, but if your money is in a bank, it is on a computer that depends on cryptography (TLS) for controlling access.
edit: Well, ok, at least then it’s not just crypto standing between your assets and someone else. Then there’s going to be at least another layer, like multifactor authentication, VPN/MPLS, etc., depending on the point being attacked.
I think generally the big issue that people have with crypto is that there are so many irreversible mistakes you can make, not that the underlying security is worse/better than a bank. There are lots of ways to securely manage crypto, but most people don’t have the tools, expertise, and discipline to do so. Even simple things like being diligent about randomly generating strong passwords, hardening your accounts and devices against account theft and social engineering, etc.
At the end of the day if you lose your bank password, account details, etc, you can go to a branch with your id and get access. If you are scammed and money is transferred from your account, the bank will generally make you whole or be able to reverse the transaction. None of those safeguards exist in crypto, and many would say that is a feature, not a bug. Which is fine, I get it, I was a crypto early adopter because I liked the math side of it. But it’s not what most people need or can integrate into their life.
I will also say that I laughed long and hard about reports of NFT smart contracts being used to execute malicious code sent as an NFT, which is a massive security issue, but I don’t think it’s fair to lump the whole crypto ecosystem into the NFT cesspool.
I wish the technology itself was used to replace the stock market, i.e. blockchain to take care of transactions in a truly transparent fashion, coins as a replacement for stocks. Other than that there isn’t much that crypto can do better and more efficiently than the systems in place right now except maybe international money transfers in certain countries…
Not arguing about the merits of blockchain, but if your money is in a bank, it is on a computer that depends on cryptography (TLS) for controlling access.
edit: Well, ok, at least then it’s not just crypto standing between your assets and someone else. Then there’s going to be at least another layer, like multifactor authentication, VPN/MPLS, etc., depending on the point being attacked.
I think generally the big issue that people have with crypto is that there are so many irreversible mistakes you can make, not that the underlying security is worse/better than a bank. There are lots of ways to securely manage crypto, but most people don’t have the tools, expertise, and discipline to do so. Even simple things like being diligent about randomly generating strong passwords, hardening your accounts and devices against account theft and social engineering, etc.
At the end of the day if you lose your bank password, account details, etc, you can go to a branch with your id and get access. If you are scammed and money is transferred from your account, the bank will generally make you whole or be able to reverse the transaction. None of those safeguards exist in crypto, and many would say that is a feature, not a bug. Which is fine, I get it, I was a crypto early adopter because I liked the math side of it. But it’s not what most people need or can integrate into their life.
I will also say that I laughed long and hard about reports of NFT smart contracts being used to execute malicious code sent as an NFT, which is a massive security issue, but I don’t think it’s fair to lump the whole crypto ecosystem into the NFT cesspool.
I wish the technology itself was used to replace the stock market, i.e. blockchain to take care of transactions in a truly transparent fashion, coins as a replacement for stocks. Other than that there isn’t much that crypto can do better and more efficiently than the systems in place right now except maybe international money transfers in certain countries…
I kinda love cryptocurrency but you nailed the problem. For me all of the features sound like power. To others they sound like risk.