back to article The architecture for sharing tokens across blockchains promises traction

In April, the Cosmos project raised about $17m in half an hour on the promise to someday let users freely share tokens among Bitcoin, Ethereum and other popular blockchain protocols. On Friday at the Global Blockchain Summit in Shanghai, China, the Switzerland-based nonprofit behind it committed that Ethereum support is high …

  1. Sorry that handle is already taken. Silver badge

    Hah

    Wake me when they're done.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Hah

      IMO sounds like a bit of "I'd like a bit of that pie" mixed in with "a finger in every pie" then finished with "If we are the ones giving certs out for pies..."

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    '$17m in half an hour'

    Wow! There's fast easy money in virtual currencies....

    So, did they pay with Fiat currency or Virtual Coin?

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Virtual

    And here I thought I was already doing the equivalent when I converted Bitcoin to Etherium via cash in my Coinbase account.

    1. David Roberts

      Re: Virtual

      I assume that this is trying to prevent the use of cash as an intermediate step.

      It hadn't occurred to me that an exchange couldn't trade directly between say Bitcoin and Ethereum. I wonder why not? If you can convert to and from currency it doesn't seem an order of magnitude different to agree a notional dollar value for the transaction and do an integrated buy and sell.

      Given previous comments on El Reg about the low trading volumes in "real cash" terms and the impact on notional value if somebody tried to cash out a million dollar/pound/whatever holding at one go, perhaps this is an attempt to sidestep a lack of liquidity in the market?

      I assume also that if you convert to real money at any point there is the risk of a large transaction raising its head in the real banking system and being traceable.

      It is all very well being a Bitcoin millionaire but at some point you may want to spend it on mundane things like a house, car, and beer.

      It does also raise the prospect of automated currency trading bots manipulating the unregulated market to make virtual fortunes at the expense of the average punter.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Virtual

        It does also raise the prospect of automated currency trading bots manipulating the unregulated market to make virtual fortunes at the expense of the average punter.

        Why do you think the big merchant banks are interested? FX and interest rate rigging have been (supposedly) stamped out, mis-selling is under a cloud. HFT is the current way to rob regular punters, but that's under a bit of regulatory scrutiny, so has probably maxed out the profits.

        The Goldman's of this world need a new way of leeching the money for the billions they hand out in bonuses, and the convoluted, illiquid, unregulated work of block chain currencies is an absolute gift. No rules, no oversight, and probably no complaints from those who lose out.

        1. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

          Re: Virtual @Ledswinger

          No rules, no oversight, and probably no complaints from those who lose out. …. Ledswinger

          Virtual currency traders never lose out ….. They have the Gift that Keeps on Giving.

          Agree …. and Everything Prospers beyond All Expectation.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Roberts Re: Virtual

        The reason I titled my post "virtual" is because a place like coinbase does not have to use the "cash" as anything but a simultaneous notional exchange value. It does not really have to sell your 1st cyber currency for real cash in the real world before buying the 2nd cyber currency in the real world. It is somewhat analogous to a brokerage firm keeping clients trades in house where the stocks street name is the brokerage firm, albeit even easier since the cyberexchange deals with a relatively small number of currencies, albeit thinly traded.

    2. Sorry that handle is already taken. Silver badge

      Re: Virtual

      An idea making no sense, or being impractical even if someone manages to define it, is no barrier in cryptospace!

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I like

    Polkadot-coloured Tulips.

  5. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Coat

    Is anyone hearing the words of Frank Herbert?

    He who controls the hub controls the world.

    If your wealth can be cancelled by issuing a token it's not really your wealth, is it?

    1. The Man Who Fell To Earth Silver badge
      WTF?

      Re: Is anyone hearing the words of Frank Herbert?

      You mean if a court can order the seizure your bank account, it's not really your wealth, is it?

      1. MonkeyCee

        Re: Is anyone hearing the words of Frank Herbert?

        If it's a normal bank account in your name, then it's not your money anyway. As with most things, in practice it's more complex.

        The money belongs to the bank, it's their asset.

        Your bank account is a liability they have (future payable debt). By depositing your money with them, you are trusting they will be able to repay their debt to you.

        A bank run occurs when that trust is gone, so everyone wants their debt paid back now. The bank does not have enough assets on hand to cover those repayments, other people won't lend to it (since they might not get their money back), so comes up short.

        Since bank runs and collapses are generally a Bad Thing, many governments insure the first x thousand in your bank accounts. So that in the event that the bank can't repay you, you still get your money back, you are less likely to rush down and try and withdraw it all.

        Some accounts are specifically *not* the property of the bank, they act as administrators for them.

        Mainly it's who gets served the court order to freeze or seize them that changes :D

  6. Brewster's Angle Grinder Silver badge

    I've recently bought some betamaxcoins. I think they'll be sire winners in the coin wars.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      There must have been a story where old VHS tapes became legal tender after the "fall" of society? ;)

  7. Cuervo

    Isn't this goal already largely accomplished ?

    https://interledger.org

  8. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

    An Absolute Fact in Perfect Fiction... for Heavenly AIdVentures with Global Operating Devices

    There are Quantum Communications Networks at HyperRadioProActive Play here ........ Linux Foundation Rocks to Roll with Memes that EnLiven ...... WeKidU2Not

    It's a Rare Raw AIRabbit to Chase.:-)

    I Kid U Not.:-)

  9. HKmk23
    Trollface

    I have got a lot of monopoly money

    I will swop for bit coins at face value....any takers?

    Seriously this is all just like the emporor's new invisible clothes (hint- he has not got any on) only the the idiots can actually see the new clothes!

    1. Richard 12 Silver badge

      Re: I have got a lot of monopoly money

      It isn't.

      A lot of people have made a huge amount of money from Bitcoin, Etherium etc.

      Unfortunately even more people have lost a huge amount of money, because their value is defined entirely by how many USD someone is willing to pay for these tokens.

      The emperor's clothes isn't a valid analogy. This is tulip mania.

      1. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

        Re: I have got a lot of monopoly money

        Richard 12,

        Does it matter what it is when ITs ProgramMING is So Exciting?

        Something quite fundamentally different which for now only a very few are only now starting to comprehend and understand?

        Grand Masters in the Genre may even think they have all the answers to everything. That can be a trap though, to capture the worthy.:-)

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: I have got a lot of monopoly money

        Tulips of Bitcoin. Both are "imaginary" value (not actual practical/useful work).

        Yes, carrots also have a value, but also have a use. You can eat them. If based with a tulip, bitcoin or carrot, their value will change giving different circumstances. But the tulip and carrot are always edible. :P

        Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are purely trust items. The trust in the setup is "no one else can have these", in Bitcoins case both time to compute and ownership apply. With money it's time to earn (trade of value) and ownership. With blank bits of paper, it's free to earn (no time/almost no cost), but no ownership, as who knows a real TechBen$10 note from a fake one!

        So as with tulips vs carrots vs bitcoins, we have nationally backed and counterfeit protected money vs bitcoin vs a note written by me saying "I O U $10". With bitcoin having more trust than me putting notes on the back of napkins. :P

  10. Alan Sharkey

    It's all just funny money

    Cash in the bank has a defined value - it doesn't go up and down at the whim of the people. Bitcoins etc. are more like shares - you buy them at a certain price and hope their value goes up before you sell them off. Yes, they can be used as currency for a minority of transactions, but personally, I'm staying well away from them (and no, I don't have any shares either since I sold my HP shares at $50 a few years ago)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Coat

      Re: It's all just funny money

      I would say both go up and down at the whim of people. But it is who you trust.

      In reality, Bitcoin and similar virtual currencies are no different from other saving/gift card/voucher schemes. Do you trust that M&S/Walmart voucher/gift card to work if those companies go bankrupt? Expect a refund?

      Virtual currency is good while those in the group of making/using it are of the confidence someone will trade for it. After that point, it's less useful than real money, as that can be burnt or used as bog roll!

      Mines the one with the receipt in the pocket, as I did not want to use the fiver when I was camping and caught short (I'll let you decide if it was to burn as tinder or use as bog roll ;) ).

  11. JimmyPage Silver badge
    Stop

    It will all end in tears ...

    I fear we are running before we can walk, and that we are just going to see recent history repeated.

    Remember that Ethereum "hack" last year ? Of course it was no such thing, but the more astute El Regger will have noticed that the breathless incorrect infantile reporting actually revealed that very few people had any idea what was going on.

    The past 12 months have done nothing to make me think anything has changed.

    I predict we are going see a glut of shonky "smart" contracts emerging which will be moving currency all over the shop with no oversight or means of revocation. This will happen as the Dreamweaver "web developer" emerges in writing smart contracts.

    While we're here, has anyone else had any emails from Chinese BitCoin entrepreneurs who have millions to smuggle out of there ?

    1. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

      Re: It will all end in tears ...

      While we're here, has anyone else had any emails from Chinese BitCoin entrepreneurs who have millions to smuggle out of there ? ..... JimmyPage

      Not yet, JP. Do you have any idea what they be interested in investing and prospering in?

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