Nostr

Monero supply is unlimited, there's hard forks every six months, it's more unsecure and mediocre to provide any meaningful privacy improvements.

But the only question really is, why would anybody store their wealth on something less secure and rely on weaker assurances? 🤔

bitcoiner7 nym 2y ago

But isn't it that we have two, distinct, very different use cases here?

One is a long term store of value. Cold storage. Significant percentage of one's savings. Protection from inflation.

On this one, I think Bitcoin clearly wins vs Monero.

Scarcity. Network effect. Market cap. Adoption level.

The other use case, in my view, is a use for daily transactions. Hot wallets. Frequent payments. Fees matter. Speed matters. Privacy matters.

For this, we probably need to compare Monero with Lightning.

On this one, I think the verdict is less evident. I can imagine a scenario where I convert my Bitcoin, small amounts, to Monero, using some non-kyc exchange and using Monero for some transaction where privacy is very important for me, eg to buy a VPN , where I want to make sure the vendor cannot identify me. Does that make sense?

But yes, perhaps equally well or better, I could use Bitcoin for this, with coin joins and lightning, to achieve privacy and speed and low fees. Without a need to convert to a different cryptocurrency...

I think time will tell which one becomes more popular. Today both options are complicated.

My heart is closer to Bitcoin. For sure as a digital gold, probably also for day to day transactions.

One more scenario is also possible. Neither Bitcoin nor Monero becomes widely adopted for a daily use, in our lifetime, and so it will only be a long term store of value, treasury reserve asset.

For this use case, I definitely bet on Bitcoin.

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Discussion

Saberhagen The Nameless 2y ago

Agree with you. Just different use cases. Bitcoin or Monero can't do it all. Spread focus too thin between many things and you'll suck at everything.

I partially disagree with comparing Monero to Lightning. You're comparing an L1 to an L2 instead of another L1. And with that comes many downsides to Lightning (requires active node to secure your funds, less secure, requires funding channels to use, centralized hubs, only the illusin of final settlement, not truly p2p, etc, etc)

All without ever achieving solid privacy in the first place. Reciever privacy is bad and amounts can be derived by a passive adversary. Sender privacy is ok.

In a high fee environment, Lightning isn't that cheap, and unexpected forced closed channels make paying high on chain fees unavoidable. npub169n9eaf0t20j0nefwqlqtnqcpsym22k2nw6e3tevtrrru4et7wrsh5w47v

bitcoiner7 nym 2y ago

Yes, good point, too. Thanks for sharing. Indeed I compared L1 with L2 and for sure lightning has drawbacks... Good news is, I think it will continue getting better over time.

Saberhagen The Nameless 2y ago

I think some things can improve to a certain extent, but others are just unavoidable trade offs based off the nature of lightning network itself.