[ANN][NOTE]DNotes - Celebrating DNotes 3rd Birthday - Forum Now Open

[digitsu]

Thanks for your response.

I don't see what DNotes brings to the table that Bitcoin doesn't.  I admit I have not read through the 200 pages of forum post here.  But I did read the first couple and all I saw was a bunch of marketing statements without any technical explanation.  For one, how do you plan on effecting price stability?  Why do you think that DNotes can deliver where the bitcoin core developers and community can't?  Why is Dnotes insta-mined and who were the initial miners?  How is CRISP going to help students pay for their fees? Did you convince a school to accept them as a money-substitute?

From the way you structured your questions, I got the impression that you are most likely someone with a financial/accounting/business background.

You would be correct.

Very detail and complete answers are indeed found in our 285 pages of forum posts, in many cases, repeat over a few times. From the technology prospective we have added nothing of material significant to the currency or Blockchain side of the technology though there are some interesting added features. Creating a new currency using Bitcoin open source is easier and cheaper than inviting and cooking a decent meal for weekend party of fifty. It cost some money and takes an effort but any who wants to can do that. Being too easy turned out to be a painful and costly problem. Perhaps as many as two thousand coins have been created and about 500 are still being traded. Check out as many of them as you can. It is a required lesson if you want to be a serious investor.

I think the onus is on DNotes to post a summary of such things as a sticky post at the beginning of this thread.  Expecting someone to have to read through 200 pages of posts to eek out bits of information makes for a very poor prospectus, and I doubt many people will have the time nor inclination to do so.  Myself included.

Aren’t there other coins that have more technologies, features, and innovations than DNotes.

Absolutely. At this point, we are not competing for technology. We are competing for mindshare. We are creating a trust worthy stable digital currency for everyone not just for the nerds or limiting our exposure to our industry. And don’t forget to visit DNotesVault. The innovations and technologies of DNotesVault are quite remarkable and invaluable from a pure economics standpoint. If you ever get to the point of a complete understanding of all our moving parts you will gain a better understanding of DNotes true value. We are much more than Bitcoin as a currency and the Blockchain as a technology. And we are just getting started.  

I think the reason why Bitcoin works is because it is neutral and completely agnostic.  I don't believe any altcoin which is based solely on a philosophy or a mindshare will stand the test of time.  Money doesn't have an opinion in the market.  It just facilitates it.  What are the bullet point selling features of the DNotesVault over any old web wallet, say Coinbase? Or Blockchain.info?

For one, how do you plan on effecting price stability?


DNotes’ stability is the result of many different factors which I never have enough time or space to list. Here are just a few of them. Central to its success is; collectively a majority of DNotes stakeholders share a common mindset of a long term commitment to protect and promote DNotes, based on the belief that as a group our ultimate accomplishment will be significantly more valuable than any single individual can accomplish. DNotes has never experienced a single pump that could have drastically increased the price of DNotes to an unsustainable level. DNotes projects are privately funded by a small number of stakeholders and we do not ask for any donation from our community. This enables projects to be kept under the radar until it is ready for launch. The unknowns essentially have kept DNotes undervalued, allowing its community to continue to acquire DNotes for long term investment, without the fear of over paying for it. DNotesVault along with its family of CRISP with over 13 million DNotes on Deposit is another factor.

The next phase when fully implemented will provide even more stability. In the coming months, one or more companies will be incorporated to become the legal owners of DNotes ecosystem. This new company will be loaded with a basket of value including 10 million DNotes contributed by a few major stakeholders who purchased every single DNotes through the exchange. Up to 25% of the company will be owned by DNotes the currency. One of its first major projects is to develop a world class regulated exchange. It has a plan to raise significant funds through various rounds, including crowdfunding to support anticipated rapid growth path.

It can also be said DNotes is stable because the total traded daily volume is little more than 500 USD, an asset which is barely traded is by definition going to be stable.  That being said, I just did a bit of research and it looks like the price of DNotes has risen in the last month from 0.00004 to 0.00005.  That is a 20% increase in less than 2w.  If this kind of move were to happen in the forex markets, I don't think the word 'stable' can be used to describe it.

Additionally, arguing that something is stable "because it has shown to be in the past" is not quantitative reason.  It is in fact the kind of reasoning that we explicitly warn readers about on mutual fund prospectuses. "Past performance should not be used as a basis for future expectation".

Why do you think that DNotes can deliver where the Bitcoin core developers and community can't?

Up to this point and over the near future Bitcoin core developers and the industry will deliver substantially more technologies and innovations than any single coin is capable of achieving, and being open source will be made available to everyone. At this point we owe the industry and we are very appreciative of their contribution. Once DNotes achieved a certain level of success, it is our plan to be a significant contributor to the open source. DNotes is very systematic and practical. Being very strategic and only executing at the most opportune time are among strengths. We follow at the appropriate time and lead at the most opportune time.

Forgive me when I say that that is a wonderfully eloquent way of saying... "we can't do any better than Bitcoin at this point, but when we can, then we will".

Why is Dnotes insta-mined and who were the initial miners?

One of our objectives was shared-stake concept based on the philosophy that DNotes was created for everyone and not just the privileged few. The recipient of DNotes may want to comment on this. We have made huge and repeated efforts to give away DNotes to as many people as possible. We still have a small amount left and being given away. Anyone, signing up for CRISP For Students will receive 500 DNotes without having to pay for it. I do not own a single DNotes that I did not pay for and have personally given away over 2 million DNotes that I have paid with my own money and I am just a hard working average wage earner living on limited income. That is among the main reason I am so passionate to make DNotes a big success so that many can gain some financial freedom.

I do not mean any offence, for obviously you have some stake in this, but this is the classic definition of a ponzi scheme.  All schemes start out with "Just and Honourable Causes and Ideals to Serve the Public Good".  And even if it is categorically NOT a ponzi scheme, which I will for the time being assume, then it is at the very least nothing more than a proverbial printing press churning out valueless coupons, and handing them out (or worse) selling them, to people.  There is a fine line between ponzi/pyramid scheme and a real digital money, and that fine line is drawn on whether or not the token is mined (requiring work) or instantly created. 

How is CRISP going to help students pay for their fees? Did you convince a school to accept them as a money-substitute?

CRISP For Students is a newly launched project that is still in pilot stage. I have been in communication with hundreds of students and other faculty members around the world. There is a very strong interest being expressed. We are expecting a slow ramp up starting this fall. Our major campaign will begin early next with significant funding and support stuff.

CRISP For Student is not a total handout. It will be a bad training, if it is. I personally worked very hard for whatever little I have. The program is intended to give interested students a head start. Any student signing up for CRISP For Students at DNotesVault today will receive 500 DNotes without having to pay for it. This gives them the experience of owning digital currency hopefully leading them to develop a good savings habit and be more proactive in addressing their student loan debts before they come due. Since DNotes is still at its infancy, there is the potential of significant capital appreciation that can turn out to be of enormous help. We also have planed to use this program as a conduit to scholarship funds and other financial aids.

Forgive me once again, for I mean no personal offence, but you probably would make a much bigger difference to students if you just gave them some equivalent fractional amount of Bitcoins. (I see DNotes trading at 0.00005-6BTC today).

It looks like either the marketing wagon for CRISPS have gone ahead of the horse and started selling a product before it is even fully formed, or I misunderstood your description of how owning a (essentially worthless) digital token is going to really help students with the costs of their education, or help them in any way to learn the value of saving.

Wow. I didn’t realize that I just burnt up two hours answering a few simple questions, but they are very important. Hopefully the answers have been helpful. If you have additional questions, please ask the one or two at a time and our community should be able to assist you. I normally have very little time available to support the forum, though that is what I enjoy doing. Again welcome to our community and looking forward to seeing you often.

They have been very helpful, and I sincerely thank you for them. 

As it stands I see the DNotes project as has having very little substance to it, and it seems like the only value it has presently is a wealth of extremely well spoken, and well meaning marketers and journalists working in its community.  Being a firm believer in the markets, I would read this as evidence of why the DNotes price is less than a US penny at this point.

 

[Dyna]

Thanks for your response.

I don't see what DNotes brings to the table that Bitcoin doesn't.  I admit I have not read through the 200 pages of forum post here.  But I did read the first couple and all I saw was a bunch of marketing statements without any technical explanation.  For one, how do you plan on effecting price stability?  Why do you think that DNotes can deliver where the bitcoin core developers and community can't?  Why is Dnotes insta-mined and who were the initial miners?  How is CRISP going to help students pay for their fees? Did you convince a school to accept them as a money-substitute?

From the way you structured your questions, I got the impression that you are most likely someone with a financial/accounting/business background.

You would be correct.

Very detail and complete answers are indeed found in our 285 pages of forum posts, in many cases, repeat over a few times. From the technology prospective we have added nothing of material significant to the currency or Blockchain side of the technology though there are some interesting added features. Creating a new currency using Bitcoin open source is easier and cheaper than inviting and cooking a decent meal for weekend party of fifty. It cost some money and takes an effort but any who wants to can do that. Being too easy turned out to be a painful and costly problem. Perhaps as many as two thousand coins have been created and about 500 are still being traded. Check out as many of them as you can. It is a required lesson if you want to be a serious investor.

I think the onus is on DNotes to post a summary of such things as a sticky post at the beginning of this thread.  Expecting someone to have to read through 200 pages of posts to eek out bits of information makes for a very poor prospectus, and I doubt many people will have the time nor inclination to do so.  Myself included.

Aren’t there other coins that have more technologies, features, and innovations than DNotes.

Absolutely. At this point, we are not competing for technology. We are competing for mindshare. We are creating a trust worthy stable digital currency for everyone not just for the nerds or limiting our exposure to our industry. And don’t forget to visit DNotesVault. The innovations and technologies of DNotesVault are quite remarkable and invaluable from a pure economics standpoint. If you ever get to the point of a complete understanding of all our moving parts you will gain a better understanding of DNotes true value. We are much more than Bitcoin as a currency and the Blockchain as a technology. And we are just getting started.  

I think the reason why Bitcoin works is because it is neutral and completely agnostic.  I don't believe any altcoin which is based solely on a philosophy or a mindshare will stand the test of time.  Money doesn't have an opinion in the market.  It just facilitates it.  What are the bullet point selling features of the DNotesVault over any old web wallet, say Coinbase? Or Blockchain.info?

For one, how do you plan on effecting price stability?


DNotes’ stability is the result of many different factors which I never have enough time or space to list. Here are just a few of them. Central to its success is; collectively a majority of DNotes stakeholders share a common mindset of a long term commitment to protect and promote DNotes, based on the belief that as a group our ultimate accomplishment will be significantly more valuable than any single individual can accomplish. DNotes has never experienced a single pump that could have drastically increased the price of DNotes to an unsustainable level. DNotes projects are privately funded by a small number of stakeholders and we do not ask for any donation from our community. This enables projects to be kept under the radar until it is ready for launch. The unknowns essentially have kept DNotes undervalued, allowing its community to continue to acquire DNotes for long term investment, without the fear of over paying for it. DNotesVault along with its family of CRISP with over 13 million DNotes on Deposit is another factor.

The next phase when fully implemented will provide even more stability. In the coming months, one or more companies will be incorporated to become the legal owners of DNotes ecosystem. This new company will be loaded with a basket of value including 10 million DNotes contributed by a few major stakeholders who purchased every single DNotes through the exchange. Up to 25% of the company will be owned by DNotes the currency. One of its first major projects is to develop a world class regulated exchange. It has a plan to raise significant funds through various rounds, including crowdfunding to support anticipated rapid growth path.

It can also be said DNotes is stable because the total traded daily volume is little more than 500 USD, an asset which is barely traded is by definition going to be stable.  That being said, I just did a bit of research and it looks like the price of DNotes has risen in the last month from 0.00004 to 0.00005.  That is a 20% increase in less than 2w.  If this kind of move were to happen in the forex markets, I don't think the word 'stable' can be used to describe it.

Additionally, arguing that something is stable "because it has shown to be in the past" is not quantitative reason.  It is in fact the kind of reasoning that we explicitly warn readers about on mutual fund prospectuses. "Past performance should not be used as a basis for future expectation".

Why do you think that DNotes can deliver where the Bitcoin core developers and community can't?

Up to this point and over the near future Bitcoin core developers and the industry will deliver substantially more technologies and innovations than any single coin is capable of achieving, and being open source will be made available to everyone. At this point we owe the industry and we are very appreciative of their contribution. Once DNotes achieved a certain level of success, it is our plan to be a significant contributor to the open source. DNotes is very systematic and practical. Being very strategic and only executing at the most opportune time are among strengths. We follow at the appropriate time and lead at the most opportune time.

Forgive me when I say that that is a wonderfully eloquent way of saying... "we can't do any better than Bitcoin at this point, but when we can, then we will".

Why is Dnotes insta-mined and who were the initial miners?

One of our objectives was shared-stake concept based on the philosophy that DNotes was created for everyone and not just the privileged few. The recipient of DNotes may want to comment on this. We have made huge and repeated efforts to give away DNotes to as many people as possible. We still have a small amount left and being given away. Anyone, signing up for CRISP For Students will receive 500 DNotes without having to pay for it. I do not own a single DNotes that I did not pay for and have personally given away over 2 million DNotes that I have paid with my own money and I am just a hard working average wage earner living on limited income. That is among the main reason I am so passionate to make DNotes a big success so that many can gain some financial freedom.

I do not mean any offence, for obviously you have some stake in this, but this is the classic definition of a ponzi scheme.  All schemes start out with "Just and Honourable Causes and Ideals to Serve the Public Good".  And even if it is categorically NOT a ponzi scheme, which I will for the time being assume, then it is at the very least nothing more than a proverbial printing press churning out valueless coupons, and handing them out (or worse) selling them, to people.  There is a fine line between ponzi/pyramid scheme and a real digital money, and that fine line is drawn on whether or not the token is mined (requiring work) or instantly created.  

How is CRISP going to help students pay for their fees? Did you convince a school to accept them as a money-substitute?

CRISP For Students is a newly launched project that is still in pilot stage. I have been in communication with hundreds of students and other faculty members around the world. There is a very strong interest being expressed. We are expecting a slow ramp up starting this fall. Our major campaign will begin early next with significant funding and support stuff.

CRISP For Student is not a total handout. It will be a bad training, if it is. I personally worked very hard for whatever little I have. The program is intended to give interested students a head start. Any student signing up for CRISP For Students at DNotesVault today will receive 500 DNotes without having to pay for it. This gives them the experience of owning digital currency hopefully leading them to develop a good savings habit and be more proactive in addressing their student loan debts before they come due. Since DNotes is still at its infancy, there is the potential of significant capital appreciation that can turn out to be of enormous help. We also have planed to use this program as a conduit to scholarship funds and other financial aids.

Forgive me once again, for I mean no personal offence, but you probably would make a much bigger difference to students if you just gave them some equivalent fractional amount of Bitcoins. (I see DNotes trading at 0.00005-6BTC today).

It looks like either the marketing wagon for CRISPS have gone ahead of the horse and started selling a product before it is even fully formed, or I misunderstood your description of how owning a (essentially worthless) digital token is going to really help students with the costs of their education, or help them in any way to learn the value of saving.

Wow. I didn’t realize that I just burnt up two hours answering a few simple questions, but they are very important. Hopefully the answers have been helpful. If you have additional questions, please ask the one or two at a time and our community should be able to assist you. I normally have very little time available to support the forum, though that is what I enjoy doing. Again welcome to our community and looking forward to seeing you often.

They have been very helpful, and I sincerely thank you for them.  

As it stands I see the DNotes project as has having very little substance to it, and it seems like the only value it has presently is a wealth of extremely well spoken, and well meaning marketers and journalists working in its community.  Being a firm believer in the markets, I would read this as evidence of why the DNotes price is less than a US penny at this point.

 

Sometimes it is best for history to be the judge and this is one of those times. I certainly do not agree with your opinion but I place a high value on everyone's right to respectfully disagree.

[qiwoman2]

Thanks for your response.

I don't see what DNotes brings to the table that Bitcoin doesn't.  I admit I have not read through the 200 pages of forum post here.  But I did read the first couple and all I saw was a bunch of marketing statements without any technical explanation.  For one, how do you plan on effecting price stability?  Why do you think that DNotes can deliver where the bitcoin core developers and community can't?  Why is Dnotes insta-mined and who were the initial miners?  How is CRISP going to help students pay for their fees? Did you convince a school to accept them as a money-substitute?

From the way you structured your questions, I got the impression that you are most likely someone with a financial/accounting/business background.

You would be correct.

Very detail and complete answers are indeed found in our 285 pages of forum posts, in many cases, repeat over a few times. From the technology prospective we have added nothing of material significant to the currency or Blockchain side of the technology though there are some interesting added features. Creating a new currency using Bitcoin open source is easier and cheaper than inviting and cooking a decent meal for weekend party of fifty. It cost some money and takes an effort but any who wants to can do that. Being too easy turned out to be a painful and costly problem. Perhaps as many as two thousand coins have been created and about 500 are still being traded. Check out as many of them as you can. It is a required lesson if you want to be a serious investor.

I think the onus is on DNotes to post a summary of such things as a sticky post at the beginning of this thread.  Expecting someone to have to read through 200 pages of posts to eek out bits of information makes for a very poor prospectus, and I doubt many people will have the time nor inclination to do so.  Myself included.

Aren’t there other coins that have more technologies, features, and innovations than DNotes.

Absolutely. At this point, we are not competing for technology. We are competing for mindshare. We are creating a trust worthy stable digital currency for everyone not just for the nerds or limiting our exposure to our industry. And don’t forget to visit DNotesVault. The innovations and technologies of DNotesVault are quite remarkable and invaluable from a pure economics standpoint. If you ever get to the point of a complete understanding of all our moving parts you will gain a better understanding of DNotes true value. We are much more than Bitcoin as a currency and the Blockchain as a technology. And we are just getting started.  

I think the reason why Bitcoin works is because it is neutral and completely agnostic.  I don't believe any altcoin which is based solely on a philosophy or a mindshare will stand the test of time.  Money doesn't have an opinion in the market.  It just facilitates it.  What are the bullet point selling features of the DNotesVault over any old web wallet, say Coinbase? Or Blockchain.info?

For one, how do you plan on effecting price stability?


DNotes’ stability is the result of many different factors which I never have enough time or space to list. Here are just a few of them. Central to its success is; collectively a majority of DNotes stakeholders share a common mindset of a long term commitment to protect and promote DNotes, based on the belief that as a group our ultimate accomplishment will be significantly more valuable than any single individual can accomplish. DNotes has never experienced a single pump that could have drastically increased the price of DNotes to an unsustainable level. DNotes projects are privately funded by a small number of stakeholders and we do not ask for any donation from our community. This enables projects to be kept under the radar until it is ready for launch. The unknowns essentially have kept DNotes undervalued, allowing its community to continue to acquire DNotes for long term investment, without the fear of over paying for it. DNotesVault along with its family of CRISP with over 13 million DNotes on Deposit is another factor.

The next phase when fully implemented will provide even more stability. In the coming months, one or more companies will be incorporated to become the legal owners of DNotes ecosystem. This new company will be loaded with a basket of value including 10 million DNotes contributed by a few major stakeholders who purchased every single DNotes through the exchange. Up to 25% of the company will be owned by DNotes the currency. One of its first major projects is to develop a world class regulated exchange. It has a plan to raise significant funds through various rounds, including crowdfunding to support anticipated rapid growth path.

It can also be said DNotes is stable because the total traded daily volume is little more than 500 USD, an asset which is barely traded is by definition going to be stable.  That being said, I just did a bit of research and it looks like the price of DNotes has risen in the last month from 0.00004 to 0.00005.  That is a 20% increase in less than 2w.  If this kind of move were to happen in the forex markets, I don't think the word 'stable' can be used to describe it.

Additionally, arguing that something is stable "because it has shown to be in the past" is not quantitative reason.  It is in fact the kind of reasoning that we explicitly warn readers about on mutual fund prospectuses. "Past performance should not be used as a basis for future expectation".

Why do you think that DNotes can deliver where the Bitcoin core developers and community can't?

Up to this point and over the near future Bitcoin core developers and the industry will deliver substantially more technologies and innovations than any single coin is capable of achieving, and being open source will be made available to everyone. At this point we owe the industry and we are very appreciative of their contribution. Once DNotes achieved a certain level of success, it is our plan to be a significant contributor to the open source. DNotes is very systematic and practical. Being very strategic and only executing at the most opportune time are among strengths. We follow at the appropriate time and lead at the most opportune time.

Forgive me when I say that that is a wonderfully eloquent way of saying... "we can't do any better than Bitcoin at this point, but when we can, then we will".

Why is Dnotes insta-mined and who were the initial miners?

One of our objectives was shared-stake concept based on the philosophy that DNotes was created for everyone and not just the privileged few. The recipient of DNotes may want to comment on this. We have made huge and repeated efforts to give away DNotes to as many people as possible. We still have a small amount left and being given away. Anyone, signing up for CRISP For Students will receive 500 DNotes without having to pay for it. I do not own a single DNotes that I did not pay for and have personally given away over 2 million DNotes that I have paid with my own money and I am just a hard working average wage earner living on limited income. That is among the main reason I am so passionate to make DNotes a big success so that many can gain some financial freedom.

I do not mean any offence, for obviously you have some stake in this, but this is the classic definition of a ponzi scheme.  All schemes start out with "Just and Honourable Causes and Ideals to Serve the Public Good".  And even if it is categorically NOT a ponzi scheme, which I will for the time being assume, then it is at the very least nothing more than a proverbial printing press churning out valueless coupons, and handing them out (or worse) selling them, to people.  There is a fine line between ponzi/pyramid scheme and a real digital money, and that fine line is drawn on whether or not the token is mined (requiring work) or instantly created.  

How is CRISP going to help students pay for their fees? Did you convince a school to accept them as a money-substitute?

CRISP For Students is a newly launched project that is still in pilot stage. I have been in communication with hundreds of students and other faculty members around the world. There is a very strong interest being expressed. We are expecting a slow ramp up starting this fall. Our major campaign will begin early next with significant funding and support stuff.

CRISP For Student is not a total handout. It will be a bad training, if it is. I personally worked very hard for whatever little I have. The program is intended to give interested students a head start. Any student signing up for CRISP For Students at DNotesVault today will receive 500 DNotes without having to pay for it. This gives them the experience of owning digital currency hopefully leading them to develop a good savings habit and be more proactive in addressing their student loan debts before they come due. Since DNotes is still at its infancy, there is the potential of significant capital appreciation that can turn out to be of enormous help. We also have planed to use this program as a conduit to scholarship funds and other financial aids.

Forgive me once again, for I mean no personal offence, but you probably would make a much bigger difference to students if you just gave them some equivalent fractional amount of Bitcoins. (I see DNotes trading at 0.00005-6BTC today).

It looks like either the marketing wagon for CRISPS have gone ahead of the horse and started selling a product before it is even fully formed, or I misunderstood your description of how owning a (essentially worthless) digital token is going to really help students with the costs of their education, or help them in any way to learn the value of saving.

Wow. I didn’t realize that I just burnt up two hours answering a few simple questions, but they are very important. Hopefully the answers have been helpful. If you have additional questions, please ask the one or two at a time and our community should be able to assist you. I normally have very little time available to support the forum, though that is what I enjoy doing. Again welcome to our community and looking forward to seeing you often.

They have been very helpful, and I sincerely thank you for them.  

As it stands I see the DNotes project as has having very little substance to it, and it seems like the only value it has presently is a wealth of extremely well spoken, and well meaning marketers and journalists working in its community.  Being a firm believer in the markets, I would read this as evidence of why the DNotes price is less than a US penny at this point.

 

Sometimes it is best for history to be the judge and this is one of those times. I certainly do not agree with your opinion but I place a high value on everyone's right to respectfully disagree.

DNOTES is helping to educate and inform newbies and others into the intrinsic value of and future of digital currency..The fact that it is encouraging long term saving as opposed to gung ho speculative practices is very commendable in my books.. The markets can be pretty fickle and that's why I believe DNOTES will hold a lot more value in the future..More people who value and trust DNOTES and the Ethos behind it will easily be able to drive up its value..Fiat has a crap load of value purely build on the brainwashing of govts and banks yet is is built from fresh air the fractional reserve banking system dumped on us by some peeps in Venice a few hundred years back..So why should DNOTES be put down? Just my 2 NOTES..

[Dyna]

Here is one of the best interviews I read in a long time. It is definitely worth reading. I will be posting my comments later today.


Allen Scott
Cointelegraph:
2015-05-27 07:56 PM
 http://cointelegraph.com/news/114401/cato-institutes-mark-calabria-expect-another-crisis-within-the-next-decade

Cato Institute's Mark Calabria: ‘Expect Another Crisis Within the Next Decade

CoinTelegraph spoke with Mark A. Calabria, the Director of Financial Regulation Studies at Cato Institute, about the institute’s views on Bitcoin and the impact of burdensome regulations on cryptocurrencies and the U.S. economy as a whole.

“I don’t think the Bitcoin community should be complacent about the current regulatory environment. The potential to get a lot worse is definitely there.”
— Mark A. Calabria, Cato Institute

CoinTelegraph: What do you think about Bitcoin and its underlying blockchain technology?
Mark A. Calabria: While I’m an economist, not a tech guy, I’m very excited about Bitcoin, as I am about alternative currencies in general, and perhaps even more interested in the blockchain. Whether Bitcoin succeeds or not, the decentralized ledger offers tremendous potential in a number of areas, from land title to electronic payments. I am optimistic that both Bitcoin and the blockchain technology offer avenues to disrupting our current financial system, which I believe is badly needed.

CT: Many would argue that the mission of Cato Institute is almost identical to that of many Bitcoin advocates. What is Cato’s position on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies?

MC: Well Cato itself does not take positions, its scholars do. But that said, pretty much everyone at Cato, to varying degrees, is supportive of Bitcoin. A number of Cato staff own Bitcoin, as well as a few other alt-currencies. Sure there’s some skepticism about whether Bitcoin is “the one” but there’s a strong desire to see it given a chance and a concern that the financial regulators may hamper its further development.

CT: What was the reason for the ‘08 crash, in your view? What do you see as the fundamental problem in today’s financial system?  

MC: The ‘08 crash was certainly large by any measure, but its causes were not that uncommon as far as crises go. At the risk of oversimplification, we had an asset boom, largely but not exclusively in the property market, driven by loose monetary policy in the U.S. and large global flows of capital into the U.S. As those funds increased demand in an environment of relatively inelastic supply, particularly in housing markets like California, prices shot up. As with any boom, the momentum attracted fraud and resulted in a general reduction in underwriting standards.

“I certainly expect another crisis within the next decade or so.”

All of this was made especially fragile by government guarantees, both explicit and implicit, that increased leverage and reduced market discipline. While booms occurred across property types, U.S. housing policy resulted in our single family housing market being far more leveraged than other property markets. So while office, retail and apartments boomed to the same degree, they were not as leveraged and not as interconnected to our capital markets as was single family housing. Lots of really bad policy choices over the years, few of which have been reversed, some of which have been made worse. I certainly expect another crisis within the next decade or so. The fundamental problem facing our financial markets today is a lack of market discipline.

CT: What do you see as the potential solution?

MC: Foremost we need to eliminate the various government guarantees of risk-taking in our financial markets, including deposit insurance, Federal Reserve rescues of too-big-to-fail companies, and guarantees in the mortgage market, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. We need to deregulate our land markets, so that housing supply becomes more elastic, reducing the size and frequency of booms and busts. It is not a coincidence that California was ground zero for the crisis, while prices didn’t move much at all in Texas. You only get booms and busts when demand and supply can become disconnected. And last but not least, we need a rational, rules-based monetary policy.

“Most members of Congress have little understanding of financial markets or even basic economics. Perhaps even worse, they don’t want to even have that knowledge.”

CT: You have a lot of experience working in Washington DC, having served as a senior staff member on the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. How was that experience, and is there interest within the government to reform the financial system?

MC: Working in the Senate was certainly educational, if not a little disheartening. Most members of Congress have little understanding of financial markets or even basic economics. Perhaps even worse, they don’t want to even have that knowledge. You have a large contingency in the middle that feels the status quo is mostly OK, and sizeable minorities on the left and right that feel the current system is deeply in need of reform.

The problem, of course, is that those who feel the system is broken do not necessary agree on how it is broken and what the appropriate remedies are. Hence, the mushy middle continues to set policy. Ultimately one reason I left the Senate was I felt there was not a lot of leadership there. Politicians are understandably risk averse. They are essentially followers. You have to get the public there first, which in a democracy, is a good thing, even if a little frustrating sometimes.

“[R]egulators have so far been relatively restrained. That may well change if regulators start to see cryptocurrencies as a real competitive threat to banks.”

CT: How much interest in cryptocurrency is there within the government?

MC: At this point it is really more a curiosity than anything else, with a few exceptions. Bitcoin has benefited with an association with the tech community — that’ll help insulate it from attacks from the left (with a few exceptions like Paul Krugman). While there’s been some concern expressed by banks, regulators have so far been relatively restrained. That may well change if regulators start to see cryptocurrencies as a real competitive threat to banks.

On the right the concerns have mostly been about terror finance and money laundering, but since neocons have far less influence than they used to, these concerns have largely been checked. All of the proceeding can change and hence it is important for the Bitcoin community to engage and educate policymakers. I wished we lived in a world where that didn’t matter, but we don’t.

CT: Are you working with any Bitcoin organizations in DC (e.g., the Digital Chamber of Commerce)?
MC: Cato tends to have a, not surprisingly, “go it alone” culture.  So we do occasionally interact and work with Bitcoin organizations but I’d say we aren’t as deeply involved as some of them and we do not, yet, have any staff committed to these issues exclusively. That said, we did launch in the fall our Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives and plan to become far more engaged with policy issues surrounding cryptocurrencies.

CT: What’s your take on the IRS’s classification of bitcoin as a taxable commodity?

MC: I’m not a fan of it. It’s obviously not a commodity in the strictest sense. There is an argument for subjecting it to capital gains taxes, in the same manner you’d apply to a stock or bond, but I do worry that the IRS’s decision will complicate and slow acceptance. If its value relative to the dollar stabilizes, this becomes less of an issue. Of course if lots of users start to use any capital losses to offset other income, I wouldn’t be surprised if the IRS reconsiders. I hope with a future administration this gets reversed.

“I should be clear that even under our expansive securities laws: I don’t see Bitcoin as a security. I’m far more worried about what the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau might do.”

CT: What about the SEC’s position?

MC: Not as bad as I’d normally expect, but then the SEC is deeply divided at the commissioner level, and Chair Mary Jo White has been more restrained that I might have initially feared. You don’t quite have as much curiosity among SEC commissioners as you do with, say, CFTC Commissioner Mark Wetjen. I should be clear that even under our expansive securities laws: I don’t see Bitcoin as a security. I’m far more worried about what the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau might do.

CT: Do you think the government is following a planned strategy here, or are they scratching their heads with regards to this disruptive tech?

MC: It’s more a head scratching. There’s no coordinated DC approach to Bitcoin. Some of that is a result of the fact that regulators still have their hands full with Dodd-Frank. Some of it has arisen from a lack of pressure from Congress. There’s also been little public demand, so far, to “do something” about Bitcoin. So far, it has really been driven by distinct individuals in key policy roles.

There’s still a lot of opportunity, and need, to educate policymakers. Those individuals will move on at some point. There’s no guarantee that future appointees will not be hostile. I don’t think the Bitcoin community should be complacent about the current regulatory environment. The potential to get a lot worse is definitely there.
CT: What do you think about regulating Bitcoin? Should or can it be regulated, under the NY BitLicense, for example?

MC: Setting aside any practical politics, as an economic matter, I’d prefer we not regulate Bitcoin at all. My experience has been that regulation generally just creates barriers to entry and protects established incumbents. That said, private exchanges should adopt rules that protect users. We do not know ex-ante what the right set of rules are going to be, so I think it's critical we have some room here for experimentation. Does that mean some people will lose some money? Absolutely. But then Bitcoin isn’t for the faint hearted, at least not yet.

CT: You studied how policy changes in Washington affect low- and moderate-income households. What kind of impact have recent policies had on these households, compared to the higher classes? Do you think cryptocurrency has the potential to democratize money and offer a more egalitarian financial system for the public?

MC: The post-crisis financial reforms have unfortunately raised the costs of credit to lower income families, while also reducing its availability. If these reforms resulted in a more stable economy, then that might be a tradeoff worth making, but unfortunately they do not. And of course the post-crisis monetary policy we’ve had has largely benefited higher income families, as easy money has driven up the stock and property markets. Regulatory changes, for instance, have done tremendous harm to the flow of remittances, which for many emerging economies are a crucial source of capital and income.

“Misguided and harmful regulations almost always weigh heaviest on the poor, as they are least able to avoid them.”

Cryptocurrencies already helped there, but have considerable potential to do more. The same is true for other types of payments. Of course, like most technologies, the first movers have been and will be the non-poor. That’s best, since these first-movers are able to shoulder any losses. But as we build to greater scale and separate out the good from the bad, there can be a tremendous benefit for moderate and low income families. It’s especially for that reason that we need to be cautious on the regulatory front. Misguided and harmful regulations almost always weigh heaviest on the poor, as they are least able to avoid them. The rich can always move to Monaco, or transfer their dollars into Swiss Franc.

Technology can be a great disrupter of the establishment, toppling entrenched incumbents. Accordingly I hope we allow cryptocurrencies considerable room to develop.

[DNotes]

Source: http://bitcoinist.net/smokeys-daylily-gardens-dnotes-bitcoin/

[DNotes]

Added an employee request form, which will allow employees to engage the DNotes to work with their respective companies.

Also, working on a way to incorporate the DNotesVault registration form with the employer registration form, to make it more seamless for users who do not currently have a DNotesVault account.

Then we will be looking into a couple of the suggestions we have received.

[TeeGee]

Thanks for your response.

I don't see what DNotes brings to the table that Bitcoin doesn't.  I admit I have not read through the 200 pages of forum post here.  But I did read the first couple and all I saw was a bunch of marketing statements without any technical explanation.  For one, how do you plan on effecting price stability?  Why do you think that DNotes can deliver where the bitcoin core developers and community can't?  Why is Dnotes insta-mined and who were the initial miners?  How is CRISP going to help students pay for their fees? Did you convince a school to accept them as a money-substitute?

From the way you structured your questions, I got the impression that you are most likely someone with a financial/accounting/business background.

You would be correct.

Very detail and complete answers are indeed found in our 285 pages of forum posts, in many cases, repeat over a few times. From the technology prospective we have added nothing of material significant to the currency or Blockchain side of the technology though there are some interesting added features. Creating a new currency using Bitcoin open source is easier and cheaper than inviting and cooking a decent meal for weekend party of fifty. It cost some money and takes an effort but any who wants to can do that. Being too easy turned out to be a painful and costly problem. Perhaps as many as two thousand coins have been created and about 500 are still being traded. Check out as many of them as you can. It is a required lesson if you want to be a serious investor.

I think the onus is on DNotes to post a summary of such things as a sticky post at the beginning of this thread.  Expecting someone to have to read through 200 pages of posts to eek out bits of information makes for a very poor prospectus, and I doubt many people will have the time nor inclination to do so.  Myself included.

Aren’t there other coins that have more technologies, features, and innovations than DNotes.

Absolutely. At this point, we are not competing for technology. We are competing for mindshare. We are creating a trust worthy stable digital currency for everyone not just for the nerds or limiting our exposure to our industry. And don’t forget to visit DNotesVault. The innovations and technologies of DNotesVault are quite remarkable and invaluable from a pure economics standpoint. If you ever get to the point of a complete understanding of all our moving parts you will gain a better understanding of DNotes true value. We are much more than Bitcoin as a currency and the Blockchain as a technology. And we are just getting started. 

I think the reason why Bitcoin works is because it is neutral and completely agnostic.  I don't believe any altcoin which is based solely on a philosophy or a mindshare will stand the test of time.  Money doesn't have an opinion in the market.  It just facilitates it.  What are the bullet point selling features of the DNotesVault over any old web wallet, say Coinbase? Or Blockchain.info?

For one, how do you plan on effecting price stability?


DNotes’ stability is the result of many different factors which I never have enough time or space to list. Here are just a few of them. Central to its success is; collectively a majority of DNotes stakeholders share a common mindset of a long term commitment to protect and promote DNotes, based on the belief that as a group our ultimate accomplishment will be significantly more valuable than any single individual can accomplish. DNotes has never experienced a single pump that could have drastically increased the price of DNotes to an unsustainable level. DNotes projects are privately funded by a small number of stakeholders and we do not ask for any donation from our community. This enables projects to be kept under the radar until it is ready for launch. The unknowns essentially have kept DNotes undervalued, allowing its community to continue to acquire DNotes for long term investment, without the fear of over paying for it. DNotesVault along with its family of CRISP with over 13 million DNotes on Deposit is another factor.

The next phase when fully implemented will provide even more stability. In the coming months, one or more companies will be incorporated to become the legal owners of DNotes ecosystem. This new company will be loaded with a basket of value including 10 million DNotes contributed by a few major stakeholders who purchased every single DNotes through the exchange. Up to 25% of the company will be owned by DNotes the currency. One of its first major projects is to develop a world class regulated exchange. It has a plan to raise significant funds through various rounds, including crowdfunding to support anticipated rapid growth path.

It can also be said DNotes is stable because the total traded daily volume is little more than 500 USD, an asset which is barely traded is by definition going to be stable.  That being said, I just did a bit of research and it looks like the price of DNotes has risen in the last month from 0.00004 to 0.00005.  That is a 20% increase in less than 2w.  If this kind of move were to happen in the forex markets, I don't think the word 'stable' can be used to describe it.

Additionally, arguing that something is stable "because it has shown to be in the past" is not quantitative reason.  It is in fact the kind of reasoning that we explicitly warn readers about on mutual fund prospectuses. "Past performance should not be used as a basis for future expectation".

Why do you think that DNotes can deliver where the Bitcoin core developers and community can't?

Up to this point and over the near future Bitcoin core developers and the industry will deliver substantially more technologies and innovations than any single coin is capable of achieving, and being open source will be made available to everyone. At this point we owe the industry and we are very appreciative of their contribution. Once DNotes achieved a certain level of success, it is our plan to be a significant contributor to the open source. DNotes is very systematic and practical. Being very strategic and only executing at the most opportune time are among strengths. We follow at the appropriate time and lead at the most opportune time.

Forgive me when I say that that is a wonderfully eloquent way of saying... "we can't do any better than Bitcoin at this point, but when we can, then we will".

Why is Dnotes insta-mined and who were the initial miners?

One of our objectives was shared-stake concept based on the philosophy that DNotes was created for everyone and not just the privileged few. The recipient of DNotes may want to comment on this. We have made huge and repeated efforts to give away DNotes to as many people as possible. We still have a small amount left and being given away. Anyone, signing up for CRISP For Students will receive 500 DNotes without having to pay for it. I do not own a single DNotes that I did not pay for and have personally given away over 2 million DNotes that I have paid with my own money and I am just a hard working average wage earner living on limited income. That is among the main reason I am so passionate to make DNotes a big success so that many can gain some financial freedom.

I do not mean any offence, for obviously you have some stake in this, but this is the classic definition of a ponzi scheme.  All schemes start out with "Just and Honourable Causes and Ideals to Serve the Public Good".  And even if it is categorically NOT a ponzi scheme, which I will for the time being assume, then it is at the very least nothing more than a proverbial printing press churning out valueless coupons, and handing them out (or worse) selling them, to people.  There is a fine line between ponzi/pyramid scheme and a real digital money, and that fine line is drawn on whether or not the token is mined (requiring work) or instantly created. 

How is CRISP going to help students pay for their fees? Did you convince a school to accept them as a money-substitute?

CRISP For Students is a newly launched project that is still in pilot stage. I have been in communication with hundreds of students and other faculty members around the world. There is a very strong interest being expressed. We are expecting a slow ramp up starting this fall. Our major campaign will begin early next with significant funding and support stuff.

CRISP For Student is not a total handout. It will be a bad training, if it is. I personally worked very hard for whatever little I have. The program is intended to give interested students a head start. Any student signing up for CRISP For Students at DNotesVault today will receive 500 DNotes without having to pay for it. This gives them the experience of owning digital currency hopefully leading them to develop a good savings habit and be more proactive in addressing their student loan debts before they come due. Since DNotes is still at its infancy, there is the potential of significant capital appreciation that can turn out to be of enormous help. We also have planed to use this program as a conduit to scholarship funds and other financial aids.

Forgive me once again, for I mean no personal offence, but you probably would make a much bigger difference to students if you just gave them some equivalent fractional amount of Bitcoins. (I see DNotes trading at 0.00005-6BTC today).

It looks like either the marketing wagon for CRISPS have gone ahead of the horse and started selling a product before it is even fully formed, or I misunderstood your description of how owning a (essentially worthless) digital token is going to really help students with the costs of their education, or help them in any way to learn the value of saving.

Wow. I didn’t realize that I just burnt up two hours answering a few simple questions, but they are very important. Hopefully the answers have been helpful. If you have additional questions, please ask the one or two at a time and our community should be able to assist you. I normally have very little time available to support the forum, though that is what I enjoy doing. Again welcome to our community and looking forward to seeing you often.

They have been very helpful, and I sincerely thank you for them. 

As it stands I see the DNotes project as has having very little substance to it, and it seems like the only value it has presently is a wealth of extremely well spoken, and well meaning marketers and journalists working in its community.  Being a firm believer in the markets, I would read this as evidence of why the DNotes price is less than a US penny at this point.

 

Hi digitsu,

I thought I might spend a small sum of time addressing your comments. For one you are correct that the onus is on DNotes to provide a summary as a sticky, this is something I will work on over the following week. Over the last month I have made some rather large draft posts to later draw content from, but my uni and work commitments have left me with not as much time as I like. I have been a member of this community since ~June last year, and I have personally gained a lot by focussing my attention on this meaningful project, rather than what I was doing beforehand - philosophical / political discourse and argument on social media. The following is my personal opinion of possibilities.

Like many here have said, the information, mantra and strategic goals of DNotes have frequently been posted on this forum. The onus is on prospective investors to analyse data and get in early on pilot programs before they become mainstream. A Digital Currency in its incipient form, will struggle to maintain stability if it markets itself aggressively too early. This has been observed with many former 'top tier' cryptos' that are now long gone. I'm sure the DNotes team loves more attention and growth, but the team has prudentially flown DNotes under the radar until the ecosystem's infrastructural capability meant an intrinsic value supporting the price at the exchanges. Your questions surrounding DNotesVault versus Coinbase are valid, but again, ecosystems take time to build, and I'm sure many new features will grace DNotesVault and other DNotes owned properties in the coming months and years. You appear to be attacking pilot programs on the grounds that they are newer, and hence, not as far developed. What you miss I believe, is that competing for technology is an expensive endeavour at this stage - the technology has not 'settled' yet, and why spend millions developing technology that can 1. be superseded by many competitors and 2. does not contribute any benefit to serving the functions of money? Currently, the blockchain is the only innovation worth keeping, the rest can be developed later. This is a strategy of long-term survival.

"I don't believe any altcoin which is based solely on a philosophy or a mindshare will stand the test of time.  Money doesn't have an opinion in the market.  It just facilitates it."

Bitcoin has a mindshare of decentralisation, efficiency and escaping reckless Central Banking policy. Bitcoin appealed to philosophically consistent adherents and now that it is accepted as a transfer of value, it has gained more mainstream attention.  Money doesn't have an opinion, its users do, and whatever its users' thinks is money, becomes money. What you currently call money (fiat), is backed by government mandated violence should you use anything that they can't print more of... What I believe Dyna meant by 'competing for mindshare' - is to separate the long-term investors from the short-term speculators; to make clear that self-interest lies in mutual benefits; to attract the consumer that they want. DNotes is choosing its consumers just as much as consumers choose DNotes. Again, this is my personal insight and not representative of those of anybody who constitutes DNotes.


digitsu - "It can also be said DNotes is stable because the total traded daily volume is little more than 500 USD, an asset which is barely traded is by definition going to be stable."

Nope, daily trading volumes change frequently, an asset barely traded is NOT a definition, nor a character of being stable, this would better be described as the trading volume compared to order depth... A less well known currency will have less order depth, and generally lower trading volumes. This also means that when people come to buy or sell a meaningful stake of a small currency, it will cause significant changes. I'm sure you know this, so I'm not sure why included it in your post. You said you believe in markets, and clearly, if people want to buy, there are going to be upswings. That is another reason why DNotes talk about 'reliable appreciation' re- the earlier message about flying under the radar and not outgrowing your shoes.


"That being said, I just did a bit of research and it looks like the price of DNotes has risen in the last month from 0.00004 to 0.00005.  That is a 20% increase in less than 2w.  If this kind of move were to happen in the forex markets, I don't think the word 'stable' can be used to describe it."

It does happen in the forex markets: Euro, Ruble, Swiss Franc... in the last year... The only thing that prevents these crashes more often, is the Government makes all other tender 'illegal' that they can't print more of themselves. This will be an interesting obstacle for Digital Currencies. It is also interesting that you first say "of course DNotes is (more easily) stable with low market cap / traded volume", but then contrasted it with massive market cap forex markets to highlight 'instability'... you should know as an accountant that forex markets are only stable because the market caps are many billions, and the trading volumes in the many millions. The order books are large, and even when an actor comes along with $10 or $50 million, it doesn't make too much of a difference in exchange rate value (but hey, setting interest rates / Official Cash Rate sure does!). I therefore call to question what you actually think? Is it the markets with small daily traded volume more stable, or the large ones that you contrasted against? Its not unreasonable to presume that if any Digital Currency had the same market cap / order depth of a nation states government backed currency, there would be similar stability seen as with Government backed currencies. This shouldn't be too difficult considering a Digital Currency has the entire planet as potential users. Large market cap currencies are stable, smaller ones are not.


"Additionally, arguing that something is stable "because it has shown to be in the past" is not quantitative reason.  It is in fact the kind of reasoning that we explicitly warn readers about on mutual fund prospectuses. "Past performance should not be used as a basis for future expectation"."

Have you ever traded using technicals? what about news? (ECB and FED announcements / predictions based on economic conditions?)

"ive me once again, for I mean no personal offence, but you probably would make a much bigger difference to students if you just gave them some equivalent fractional amount of Bitcoins. (I see DNotes trading at 0.00005-6BTC today)."

Not really, such a plan would presume that the team are bullish on Bitcoin, which much of the forum content here includes the obstacles Bitcoin faces and its shortcomings. DNotes has gone up some 60 times against Bitcoin since it was first traded. I'm not sure how you came to your conclusion, but the student CRISP goal is for capital appreciation and eventual transactional value for money exchange, something many in this forum are not confident Bitcoin is addressing.

"I do not mean any offence, for obviously you have some stake in this, but this is the classic definition of a ponzi scheme.  All schemes start out with "Just and Honourable Causes and Ideals to Serve the Public Good".  And even if it is categorically NOT a ponzi scheme, which I will for the time being assume, then it is at the very least nothing more than a proverbial printing press churning out valueless coupons, and handing them out (or worse) selling them, to people.  There is a fine line between ponzi/pyramid scheme and a real digital money, and that fine line is drawn on whether or not the token is mined (requiring work) or instantly created. "

Thank you for the effort you have put into your post. If it's a ponzi, it's not a very good one - there is a blockchain ledger any forensic accountant can easily look through, and the pre-mine was a well orchestrated (albeit not well received method at the time) to launch a crypto that allowed funding of its nascent ecosystem. DNotes is doing great for itself, enjoying lots of press attention, and many world firsts in this innovative industry - with CRISP plans, cryptomoms, Smokey's and other goals. At the end of the day, most people don't believe in crypto, or know about it full stop! so I'm glad you stopped by. I respectfully disagree with you on conclusions that you drew and would encourage you to read more of the forum if you are ever interested.

It looks like either the marketing wagon for CRISPS have gone ahead of the horse and started selling a product before it is even fully formed, or I misunderstood your description of how owning a (essentially worthless) digital token is going to really help students with the costs of their education, or help them in any way to learn the value of saving.

You can read more about the particulars for the CRISP for student program here: https://dnotesvault.com/crisp-for-students.php

I'm not so sure what you mean by 'essentially worthless digital token', I don't tend to agree with empty appeals to opinion/authority without substantiation that answers 'why'. From where I'm sitting, students can sign up to get a first hand experience with (~$10) Digital Currency at no cost to them, and DNotes wins the main crypto using demographic... Who knows how that freebie will pan out for them? I wouldn't have minded $10 worth of Bitcoin 3 years ago!

I'm with DYNA, we will need to let history be the judge. If you don't like it, don't invest. DNotes promotes prudential investment strategies in all of its promotional material.

[Chase]

TeeGee, your post was PERFECT!!

I come from a financial background and if I had the kind of valuable information contained in this forum on each one of my investments when they were first being developed, I would be a very wealthy woman.  Maybe the key is to start reading this book backwards.

As far as DNotesVault vs Coinbase goes...  Does Coinbase have interest paying retirement accounts?  Does Coinbase allow me to set up timed send contracts to all my favourite charities over whatever time frame I want (daily, monthly, yearly) and for as long as I want?

There is probably a thousand reasons to choose DNotes, but an investor needs to do their own research beyond the bullet points.

[Chase]

This is an interesting article on how the largest generation in the U.S. is going to affect the banking industry:


The Millennial Generation: Banking’s Big Problem, and It’s a Good Thing

The Millennial generation is proving to be a large force behind the transformation and disruption of the banking industry. Their distinct habits and preferences will be responsible for reshaping the global economy in the decades to come.

Millennials are the largest generation in the U.S. and the fastest growing demographic in the world. Organizations and corporations worldwide are trying to figure out how to engage this generation whose brand relationships and patterns of consumption are distinctive from those of generations past. Young people think differently, consume differently and use traditional services differently. Companies who successfully unlock the keys to the habits of Millennials will reap major profits.

The banking space has felt the effects of this more than any other industry to date. It is pretty safe to say that millennials hate traditional banking. The Millennial Disruption Index is a three-year study based on extensive interviews with over 10,000 respondents who answered questions about which industries were most likely to be disrupted in the coming decades. Key findings include:

Millennials believe banking is at the highest risk of disruption out of all the industries in the survey.
53% think their banks offer nothing different from other banks.
71% would prefer to go to a dentist than listen to what banks are saying.
1 in 3 are open to switching banks in the next 90 days.
Four leading banks — JP Morgan, Citibank, Bank of America and Wells Fargo — are among their least favorite brands.
They also have big ideas on the future of money and finance:

68% believe accessing money will be different in five years.
70% believe paying for things will be different in five years.
33% believe banks aren’t needed at all.
50% believe startups will change the way banks works.
73% would be more excited about a new offering in financial services from Google, Apple, Amazon, Paypal and Square than a nationwide bank.
It’s no wonder that banks may feel threatened and that the executives at these banks believe they could be facing increasing profit-margin pressure and outright disintermediation, as highlighted in a recent Accenture report.

Demographics and Characteristics

Goldman Sachs put out a report on the demographics and characteristics of the Millennials titled “Millennials Coming of Age.” Millennials were born between the years 1980 and 2000 and are considered the largest generation in American history at 92 million. For comparison, Generation X has 61 million and the Baby Boomers have 77 million.

Goldman recognizes five defining characteristics of this generation:

They are the first digital natives — the first generation that has grown up fully connected to smartphones and the Internet.
They have use social media in a profound way and are completely “connected.”
They have less money to spend.

continue reading: http://cointelegraph.com/news/114348/the-millennial-generation-bankings-big-problem-and-its-a-good-thing

The findings are very telling. Banks and financial services must take the changing landscape very seriously and start building new partnership with no other than DNotes. We have made and will continue to make dedicated efforts to serve both the students and the women's market. These are two very dominant forces that cannot be ignored.

DNotes is the only digital currency invited, and I will be a speaker addressing a prestigious group of investors and VCs at : Silicon Dragon NY 2015
Silicon Dragon NY 2015: Innovation Revolution
June 22, 2015, 5:30pm – 9pm
NASDAQ Market Site, 43rd / Broadway

It's quite an honor. DNotes is getting discovered. Check it out: http://www.silicondragonventures.com/events/events-2015/silicon-dragon-ny-2015/

DEALMAKER PANEL
Jim Robinson, Co-founder/Managing Partner, RRE Ventures
Pat Kenealy, Managing Director, IDG Ventures USA
Alessandro Piol, Partner & Co-founder, Alphaprime Ventures
Annemarie Tierney, VP, Head of Strategy and New Markets, NASDAQ
Sandy Carter, General Manager, Worldwide Cloud Ecosystem, IBM
Claudia Iannazzo, Partner, Pereg Ventures
Moderator: Rebecca Fannin, Silicon Dragon / Forbes

INNOVATION SPOTLIGHT: DIGITAL CURRENCIES
Francesco Rulli, Founder, BitLanders & BitCharities
Sarah Martin, VP, Digital Currency Council
Alan Yong, Founder, DNotes
Moderator: Porter Bibb, Managing Partner, MediaTech Capital Partners

"DNotes is the only digital currency invited" - what an honor indeed!  This fact is also very telling. 

[DNotes]

Is anyone interested in helping to create a general write up that can be used for CRISP Programs on the DNotesVault homepage? This can be a general description of the CRISP programs, maybe with a little about each program in no more than 2 paragraphs.

[Dyna]

Here is one of the best interviews I read in a long time. It is definitely worth reading. I will be posting my comments later today.


Allen Scott
Cointelegraph:
2015-05-27 07:56 PM
 http://cointelegraph.com/news/114401/cato-institutes-mark-calabria-expect-another-crisis-within-the-next-decade

Cato Institute's Mark Calabria: ‘Expect Another Crisis Within the Next Decade

CoinTelegraph spoke with Mark A. Calabria, the Director of Financial Regulation Studies at Cato Institute, about the institute’s views on Bitcoin and the impact of burdensome regulations on cryptocurrencies and the U.S. economy as a whole.

“I don’t think the Bitcoin community should be complacent about the current regulatory environment. The potential to get a lot worse is definitely there.”
— Mark A. Calabria, Cato Institute

CoinTelegraph: What do you think about Bitcoin and its underlying blockchain technology?
Mark A. Calabria: While I’m an economist, not a tech guy, I’m very excited about Bitcoin, as I am about alternative currencies in general, and perhaps even more interested in the blockchain. Whether Bitcoin succeeds or not, the decentralized ledger offers tremendous potential in a number of areas, from land title to electronic payments. I am optimistic that both Bitcoin and the blockchain technology offer avenues to disrupting our current financial system, which I believe is badly needed.

CT: Many would argue that the mission of Cato Institute is almost identical to that of many Bitcoin advocates. What is Cato’s position on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies?

MC: Well Cato itself does not take positions, its scholars do. But that said, pretty much everyone at Cato, to varying degrees, is supportive of Bitcoin. A number of Cato staff own Bitcoin, as well as a few other alt-currencies. Sure there’s some skepticism about whether Bitcoin is “the one” but there’s a strong desire to see it given a chance and a concern that the financial regulators may hamper its further development.

CT: What was the reason for the ‘08 crash, in your view? What do you see as the fundamental problem in today’s financial system?  

MC: The ‘08 crash was certainly large by any measure, but its causes were not that uncommon as far as crises go. At the risk of oversimplification, we had an asset boom, largely but not exclusively in the property market, driven by loose monetary policy in the U.S. and large global flows of capital into the U.S. As those funds increased demand in an environment of relatively inelastic supply, particularly in housing markets like California, prices shot up. As with any boom, the momentum attracted fraud and resulted in a general reduction in underwriting standards.

“I certainly expect another crisis within the next decade or so.”

All of this was made especially fragile by government guarantees, both explicit and implicit, that increased leverage and reduced market discipline. While booms occurred across property types, U.S. housing policy resulted in our single family housing market being far more leveraged than other property markets. So while office, retail and apartments boomed to the same degree, they were not as leveraged and not as interconnected to our capital markets as was single family housing. Lots of really bad policy choices over the years, few of which have been reversed, some of which have been made worse. I certainly expect another crisis within the next decade or so. The fundamental problem facing our financial markets today is a lack of market discipline.

CT: What do you see as the potential solution?

MC: Foremost we need to eliminate the various government guarantees of risk-taking in our financial markets, including deposit insurance, Federal Reserve rescues of too-big-to-fail companies, and guarantees in the mortgage market, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. We need to deregulate our land markets, so that housing supply becomes more elastic, reducing the size and frequency of booms and busts. It is not a coincidence that California was ground zero for the crisis, while prices didn’t move much at all in Texas. You only get booms and busts when demand and supply can become disconnected. And last but not least, we need a rational, rules-based monetary policy.

“Most members of Congress have little understanding of financial markets or even basic economics. Perhaps even worse, they don’t want to even have that knowledge.”

CT: You have a lot of experience working in Washington DC, having served as a senior staff member on the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. How was that experience, and is there interest within the government to reform the financial system?

MC: Working in the Senate was certainly educational, if not a little disheartening. Most members of Congress have little understanding of financial markets or even basic economics. Perhaps even worse, they don’t want to even have that knowledge. You have a large contingency in the middle that feels the status quo is mostly OK, and sizeable minorities on the left and right that feel the current system is deeply in need of reform.

The problem, of course, is that those who feel the system is broken do not necessary agree on how it is broken and what the appropriate remedies are. Hence, the mushy middle continues to set policy. Ultimately one reason I left the Senate was I felt there was not a lot of leadership there. Politicians are understandably risk averse. They are essentially followers. You have to get the public there first, which in a democracy, is a good thing, even if a little frustrating sometimes.

“[R]egulators have so far been relatively restrained. That may well change if regulators start to see cryptocurrencies as a real competitive threat to banks.”

CT: How much interest in cryptocurrency is there within the government?

MC: At this point it is really more a curiosity than anything else, with a few exceptions. Bitcoin has benefited with an association with the tech community — that’ll help insulate it from attacks from the left (with a few exceptions like Paul Krugman). While there’s been some concern expressed by banks, regulators have so far been relatively restrained. That may well change if regulators start to see cryptocurrencies as a real competitive threat to banks.

On the right the concerns have mostly been about terror finance and money laundering, but since neocons have far less influence than they used to, these concerns have largely been checked. All of the proceeding can change and hence it is important for the Bitcoin community to engage and educate policymakers. I wished we lived in a world where that didn’t matter, but we don’t.

CT: Are you working with any Bitcoin organizations in DC (e.g., the Digital Chamber of Commerce)?
MC: Cato tends to have a, not surprisingly, “go it alone” culture.  So we do occasionally interact and work with Bitcoin organizations but I’d say we aren’t as deeply involved as some of them and we do not, yet, have any staff committed to these issues exclusively. That said, we did launch in the fall our Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives and plan to become far more engaged with policy issues surrounding cryptocurrencies.

CT: What’s your take on the IRS’s classification of bitcoin as a taxable commodity?

MC: I’m not a fan of it. It’s obviously not a commodity in the strictest sense. There is an argument for subjecting it to capital gains taxes, in the same manner you’d apply to a stock or bond, but I do worry that the IRS’s decision will complicate and slow acceptance. If its value relative to the dollar stabilizes, this becomes less of an issue. Of course if lots of users start to use any capital losses to offset other income, I wouldn’t be surprised if the IRS reconsiders. I hope with a future administration this gets reversed.

“I should be clear that even under our expansive securities laws: I don’t see Bitcoin as a security. I’m far more worried about what the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau might do.”

CT: What about the SEC’s position?

MC: Not as bad as I’d normally expect, but then the SEC is deeply divided at the commissioner level, and Chair Mary Jo White has been more restrained that I might have initially feared. You don’t quite have as much curiosity among SEC commissioners as you do with, say, CFTC Commissioner Mark Wetjen. I should be clear that even under our expansive securities laws: I don’t see Bitcoin as a security. I’m far more worried about what the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau might do.

CT: Do you think the government is following a planned strategy here, or are they scratching their heads with regards to this disruptive tech?

MC: It’s more a head scratching. There’s no coordinated DC approach to Bitcoin. Some of that is a result of the fact that regulators still have their hands full with Dodd-Frank. Some of it has arisen from a lack of pressure from Congress. There’s also been little public demand, so far, to “do something” about Bitcoin. So far, it has really been driven by distinct individuals in key policy roles.

There’s still a lot of opportunity, and need, to educate policymakers. Those individuals will move on at some point. There’s no guarantee that future appointees will not be hostile. I don’t think the Bitcoin community should be complacent about the current regulatory environment. The potential to get a lot worse is definitely there.
CT: What do you think about regulating Bitcoin? Should or can it be regulated, under the NY BitLicense, for example?

MC: Setting aside any practical politics, as an economic matter, I’d prefer we not regulate Bitcoin at all. My experience has been that regulation generally just creates barriers to entry and protects established incumbents. That said, private exchanges should adopt rules that protect users. We do not know ex-ante what the right set of rules are going to be, so I think it's critical we have some room here for experimentation. Does that mean some people will lose some money? Absolutely. But then Bitcoin isn’t for the faint hearted, at least not yet.

CT: You studied how policy changes in Washington affect low- and moderate-income households. What kind of impact have recent policies had on these households, compared to the higher classes? Do you think cryptocurrency has the potential to democratize money and offer a more egalitarian financial system for the public?

MC: The post-crisis financial reforms have unfortunately raised the costs of credit to lower income families, while also reducing its availability. If these reforms resulted in a more stable economy, then that might be a tradeoff worth making, but unfortunately they do not. And of course the post-crisis monetary policy we’ve had has largely benefited higher income families, as easy money has driven up the stock and property markets. Regulatory changes, for instance, have done tremendous harm to the flow of remittances, which for many emerging economies are a crucial source of capital and income.

“Misguided and harmful regulations almost always weigh heaviest on the poor, as they are least able to avoid them.”

Cryptocurrencies already helped there, but have considerable potential to do more. The same is true for other types of payments. Of course, like most technologies, the first movers have been and will be the non-poor. That’s best, since these first-movers are able to shoulder any losses. But as we build to greater scale and separate out the good from the bad, there can be a tremendous benefit for moderate and low income families. It’s especially for that reason that we need to be cautious on the regulatory front. Misguided and harmful regulations almost always weigh heaviest on the poor, as they are least able to avoid them. The rich can always move to Monaco, or transfer their dollars into Swiss Franc.

Technology can be a great disrupter of the establishment, toppling entrenched incumbents. Accordingly I hope we allow cryptocurrencies considerable room to develop.

To: Mark Calabria
Director, Financial Regulation Studies at Cato Institute

From: Alan Yong
Co-Founder, DNotes

Hi Mark,

Thank you very much for accepting my invitation to be added to your professional network on LinkedIn. I am deeply involved in digital currency with an aggressive growth path, in part, fueled by our own ecosystem. You may Google “DNotes Alan Yong” to learn more about my involvement.

Your recent interview on Cointelegraph concerning Bitcoin and other digital currencies was outstanding. We are delighted to learn that “pretty much everyone at Cato, to varying degrees, is supportive of Bitcoin. ….   Cato staff own Bitcoin, as well as a few other alt-currencies”. I trust that sooner or later, some of them will be the proud owners of DNotes.

Unfortunately, you are probably correct to characterize the current level of interest within the government as a “curiosity”. This is the sad truth we all have to deal with and the price, as a result of missed opportunities, is high.

Digital Currency and the Blockchain technology of decentralized ledger based on a very innovative consensus system will be the greatest technology revolution in the history of mankind. It will be highly disruptive, resulting in a quantum shift affecting multiple industries including our current financial system, with world changing implications. Even more so than the Internet, it will be the engine of massive job and wealth creation.

I hate to be reminded that, “Most members of Congress have little understanding of financial markets or even basic economics. Perhaps even worse, they don’t want to even have that knowledge.” Dealing with people who are uniformed, misinformed, or totally misguided, can be frustrating, especially, when strong opinions are expressed out of blatantly false conclusions. We certainly have to deal with that in our industry, on occasions. We look forward to the opportunity of working with you to help change that.

Both DNotes and CryptoMoms were started over a year ago and have gained great respect and admiration from our industry. DNotes is the most stable digital currency among over 500 coins. CryptoMoms has a worthy mission to encourage and assist women to participate in the digital currency world dominated by men. DNotesVault is a secure and easy to use web wallet, with 100% deposit guarantee that is verifiable to be always in excess of the total amount on deposit, and stored in cold storage at different locations. Its family of CRISPs (Cryptocurrency Investment Savings Plan) is designed for everyone worldwide; from the unborn to the most senior, from the poor to the super rich
to participate with the opportunity to benefit from potential high returns, albeit high risk.

Our strategic plans and execution can best be characterized as highly scalable building blocks, positioned for rapid global adoption at the most opportune time. Compared to the rest of the industry, DNotes is uniquely different, both in substance and in style. It is built for mass acceptance, with every attempt to progressively make it as frictionless and user friendly as fiat currency, while exploiting many superior capabilities that only digital currency and the Blockchain technology can deliver.

We cordially invite to support us in building a trustworthy global digital currency for everyone and not just the privileged few. Once accomplished we can then engage the top 2% and other international organizations to join force with us and help alleviate some of the global problems confronting our world today, including the 2.5 billion unbanked. DNotes Forum:  https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=470155.msg11239121#msg11239121

CryptoMoms Forum: http://cryptomoms.com/forum/index.php?action=recent

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or like to participate in our efforts to promote mass acceptance of digital currency. For your convenience I have provided some links below.

Best Regards,

Alan Yong

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/bitcoin-alternative-dnotes-launches-worlds-first-digital-currency-employee-incentive-benefits-plan/
http://themanwiththecap.blogspot.com/2015/05/interview-alan-yong-of-dnotes.html
http://www.thestreet.com/story/13144131/1/smokeys-daylily-gardens-accepts-chicagos-digital-currency-dnotes-and-bitcoin-for-daylily-purchases.html
https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/crypto-moms-year-crypto-gender-equality/
http://www.bloomberg.com/research/markets/news/article.asp?docKey=600-201504161027PR_NEWS_USPRX____NY82016-1
http://research.tdwaterhouse.ca/research/public/Markets/NewsArticle/100-090p1384-1
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/digital-currency-student-debt-solutions-094800790.html
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=470155.msg10411355#msg10411355
http://cryptomoms.com/forum/index.php?action=recent
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-alternative-dnotes-celebrates-one-100000522.html
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/stable-bitcoin-alternative-dnotes-launches-022500001.html
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/18908/dnotes-cryptocurrency-savings-plans-children-first-many-unprecedented-digital-currency-savings-instruments-sponsored-dnotesvault/
https://coinreport.net/cryptomoms-increase-female-involvement/
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1993-05-20/business/9305200013_1_pen-based-dauphin-technology-risc-system

[wheelz1200]

Officially sent out 8 genesis DNotes physical coins.  2 left before they are sold out.  Accepting DNotes for payment.  Have a great weekend all.

Wheelz1200

[DNotes]

Officially sent out 8 genesis DNotes physical coins.  2 left before they are sold out.  Accepting DNotes for payment.  Have a great weekend all.

Wheelz1200

That is great wheelz1200, glad to hear the sales are going well!

[digitsu]

DNOTES is helping to educate and inform newbies and others into the intrinsic value of and future of digital currency..The fact that it is encouraging long term saving as opposed to gung ho speculative practices is very commendable in my books.. The markets can be pretty fickle and that's why I believe DNOTES will hold a lot more value in the future..More people who value and trust DNOTES and the Ethos behind it will easily be able to drive up its value..Fiat has a crap load of value purely build on the brainwashing of govts and banks yet is is built from fresh air the fractional reserve banking system dumped on us by some peeps in Venice a few hundred years back..So why should DNOTES be put down? Just my 2 NOTES..

I certainly wouldn't compare it to gov fiat.  I am not a fan of gov fiat money either, but though the ethos of DNotes seems commendable, I don't think it can successfully become a money.  Because any premined currency is in essence a fiat.  Though without the gov backing it.  (just that of a community or a company). 

[kanus1113]

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/prnewswire/press_releases/Georgia/2015/05/26/NY16848?ana=prnews

Haven't had a chance to check out the CRISP for employee yet, but the press release is excellent. Love it.

[DNotes]

Haven't had a chance to check out the CRISP for employee yet, but the press release is excellent. Love it.

Thank you kanus1113, please do try it out and let us know if you have any suggestions on making it easier.

[SmokeysGardens]

 Wow, TeeGee. A measured, accurate response to some valid questions. It seems some of the questions were asked because of the lack of knowledge of crypto currency in general. Some of the questions also showed the lack of knowledge of how DNotes is different from all the other Digital Currencies out there. It seems we need to figure out how to do a better job in both areas to help educate folks. A sticky does seem in order. Again, TeeGee, I am excited to have plans to work with you personally.

Smokey

[digitsu]

is that competing for technology is an expensive endeavour at this stage - the technology has not 'settled' yet,

The issue that most people miss is that it is not technology that matters here, when we are creating money.  It may be in the beginning, just like the intrinsic value of gold as a commodity money was based on its uses as a commodity, but the subsequent value of gold grew to be much more than its intrinsic value.  That extra value, is its value as a medium of exchange.  Among cryptos, that value is only present in Bitcoin, and only Bitcoin.  This is because there is only the need for one commodity money (medium of exchange) in any given locality.  In the bimetallic days of the past, silver gave gold competition only because it was used in different localities around the world where silver was more readily available for use.  This gave silver a base value because it was used by some other people in another locality and in order for foreign trade and exchange to happen it was needed.

This isn't the case in crypto, given the locality of users is the internet.  So there can necessarily be only one dominant digital money, because there are no local barriers to adoption of the currency, giving no room, no use case, and no value to others.  And since Bitcoin has already reached 'money' status (being worth more than its intrinsic base value) that dominant money can only be Bitcoin. 

What you currently call money (fiat), is backed by government mandated violence should you use anything that they can't print more of...

Actually I was using the term money generally.  Of course there are only 4 kinds of money, commodity money which can spring into existence spontaneously because the market creates it, fiat money which is declared to have value, credit money, which are IOUs which stand as claims on other assets, and money-substitutes (such as token money or some types of liquid securities, bearer bonds etc).  I am in no way a supporter of gov fiat, as I do believe the gov's monopoly on violence is unjust and its monopoly on money is equally such.

digitsu - "It can also be said DNotes is stable because the total traded daily volume is little more than 500 USD, an asset which is barely traded is by definition going to be stable."

Nope, daily trading volumes change frequently, an asset barely traded is NOT a definition, nor a character of being stable, this would better be described as the trading volume compared to order depth... A less well known currency will have less order depth, and generally lower trading volumes. This also means that when people come to buy or sell a meaningful stake of a small currency, it will cause significant changes. I'm sure you know this, so I'm not sure why included it in your post. You said you believe in markets, and clearly, if people want to buy, there are going to be upswings. That is another reason why DNotes talk about 'reliable appreciation' re- the earlier message about flying under the radar and not outgrowing your shoes.

You are correct, it was poor choice of language.  Not 'by definition' buy 'by matter of consequence' will be price stable.

I bring this up only as a reaction to the DNotes marketing pitches heavy claims about the laurels of DNotes price stability, but no explanation of how this is going to be achieved.

"That being said, I just did a bit of research and it looks like the price of DNotes has risen in the last month from 0.00004 to 0.00005.  That is a 20% increase in less than 2w.  If this kind of move were to happen in the forex markets, I don't think the word 'stable' can be used to describe it."

It does happen in the forex markets: Euro, Ruble, Swiss Franc... in the last year... The only thing that prevents these crashes more often, is the Government makes all other tender 'illegal' that they can't print more of themselves. This will be an interesting obstacle for Digital Currencies. It is also interesting that you first say "of course DNotes is (more easily) stable with low market cap / traded volume", but then contrasted it with massive market cap forex markets to highlight 'instability'... you should know as an accountant that forex markets are only stable because the market caps are many billions, and the trading volumes in the many millions. The order books are large, and even when an actor comes along with $10 or $50 million, it doesn't make too much of a difference in exchange rate value (but hey, setting interest rates / Official Cash Rate sure does!). I therefore call to question what you actually think? Is it the markets with small daily traded volume more stable, or the large ones that you contrasted against? Its not unreasonable to presume that if any Digital Currency had the same market cap / order depth of a nation states government backed currency, there would be similar stability seen as with Government backed currencies. This shouldn't be too difficult considering a Digital Currency has the entire planet as potential users. Large market cap currencies are stable, smaller ones are not.

Exactly.  I think you articulated my point better than I could have done.  When the Swiss central bank unpegged the CHF, it appreciated 20%.  This was not 'stable' by any sense of the word.  Given the admitted rise in price of DNotes, how is it credible to be stating that 'Price Stability' is one of the tenants of the project?  I see no strategy of how it will be effected (besides having stakeholders promise to cooperatively defend the price by buying and selling against the market -- and losing their shirts while doing so), nor do I see any evidence that it is even being done, given this recent jump in the price.

Of course, we are just arguing semantics.  The site should stop using deceptive wording and not speak of "price stability" if "controlled appreciation" is actually your goal.

"ive me once again, for I mean no personal offence, but you probably would make a much bigger difference to students if you just gave them some equivalent fractional amount of Bitcoins. (I see DNotes trading at 0.00005-6BTC today)."

Not really, such a plan would presume that the team are bullish on Bitcoin, which much of the forum content here includes the obstacles Bitcoin faces and its shortcomings. DNotes has gone up some 60 times against Bitcoin since it was first traded. I'm not sure how you came to your conclusion, but the student CRISP goal is for capital appreciation and eventual transactional value for money exchange, something many in this forum are not confident Bitcoin is addressing.

I think if you truly understand money theory, Bitcoin is the only digital currency you can be honestly bullish about.
I just do not see how a PoS coin can ever become a money.  Because all PoS coins are fiat moneys, and in order to create a successful fiat money you must have the power of the gov with their monopoly on violence to enforce its value.

Thank you for the effort you have put into your post. If it's a ponzi, it's not a very good one - there is a blockchain ledger any forensic accountant can easily look through,

True.  But only if the owners are not anonymous.  Are all the holders of DNotes going to be publicly known?  If not, then there is no legal liability, and the system is very easily exploited illegally.

It looks like either the marketing wagon for CRISPS have gone ahead of the horse and started selling a product before it is even fully formed, or I misunderstood your description of how owning a (essentially worthless) digital token is going to really help students with the costs of their education, or help them in any way to learn the value of saving.

You can read more about the particulars for the CRISP for student program here: https://dnotesvault.com/crisp-for-students.php

Thanks for the link.  From that link:

DNotes has been the most stable digital currency, with a 1 year chart showing reliable appreciation that has no equal in the cryptocurrency space. $100 invested in DNotes on march 31st 2014, when it was first traded, is worth $2,900 (march 31st 2014). These high potential return investments typically come with associated risk. Do not invest more than you can afford to lose in the case of a total loss.

Though I have no problem about giving away a $5 worth of investment to students.  It is commendable.  But of course the goal, if one reads between the lines, is to get more of the students to buy more of the coin to appreciate its value.  And I think there is a typo on the dates in there you may want to get someone to fix, btw.

I'm not so sure what you mean by 'essentially worthless digital token', I don't tend to agree with empty appeals to opinion/authority without substantiation that answers 'why'. From where I'm sitting, students can sign up to get a first hand experience with (~$10) Digital Currency at no cost to them, and DNotes wins the main crypto using demographic... Who knows how that freebie will pan out for them? I wouldn't have minded $10 worth of Bitcoin 3 years ago!

The reason why I say it is essentially worthless because I believe any POS coin has no value.  Any present value is temporary, and will eventually go to zero.  POS coins rely on collective perceptions/deception to derive their value.  They have the most in common with fiat money as it is 'willed' into existence by an authority.  POS coins is an experiment in fiat "by the people for the people" instead of "by government".  I do not believe they will work.  The only kind of money that "the people" or the market can create itself is commodity money (because it expends labour to create, thus giving it its initial value), and secondly there can only be one effective commodity money for any given locality**, thus the money of the internet has already been created, and it is Bitcoin.

I'm with DYNA, we will need to let history be the judge. If you don't like it, don't invest. DNotes promotes prudential investment strategies in all of its promotional material.

I'm not looking to invest, I was just curious to know more after I read so many excellent marketing materials and information on the project, and decided to find out who the proponents were.  On a personal level, I find it interesting to talk to and meet the supporters of different alt-coins, because they each have a certain ideological or philosophical drive behind their support.  I often wonder if they would have supported Bitcoin more readily if they only understood it better (or perhaps Bitcoin's media exposure unfolded in a more amenable way).  What wonderful gains can be made if all these people were to work on Bitcoin instead.  But I suppose those thought are very socialist in origin.  Crypto is ultra capitalist after all.



**(no market in a given geographical area of commerce will ever create more than one, because supporting a second reduces the efficiency of both their uses as a medium of exchange, thus the collective value of both monies is less than the value of one alone)

[Chase]

is that competing for technology is an expensive endeavour at this stage - the technology has not 'settled' yet,

The issue that most people miss is that it is not technology that matters here, when we are creating money.  It may be in the beginning, just like the intrinsic value of gold as a commodity money was based on its uses as a commodity, but the subsequent value of gold grew to be much more than its intrinsic value.  That extra value, is its value as a medium of exchange.  Among cryptos, that value is only present in Bitcoin, and only Bitcoin.  This is because there is only the need for one commodity money (medium of exchange) in any given locality.  In the bimetallic days of the past, silver gave gold competition only because it was used in different localities around the world where silver was more readily available for use.  This gave silver a base value because it was used by some other people in another locality and in order for foreign trade and exchange to happen it was needed.

This isn't the case in crypto, given the locality of users is the internet.  So there can necessarily be only one dominant digital money, because there are no local barriers to adoption of the currency, giving no room, no use case, and no value to others.  And since Bitcoin has already reached 'money' status (being worth more than its intrinsic base value) that dominant money can only be Bitcoin.  

What you currently call money (fiat), is backed by government mandated violence should you use anything that they can't print more of...

Actually I was using the term money generally.  Of course there are only 4 kinds of money, commodity money which can spring into existence spontaneously because the market creates it, fiat money which is declared to have value, credit money, which are IOUs which stand as claims on other assets, and money-substitutes (such as token money or some types of liquid securities, bearer bonds etc).  I am in no way a supporter of gov fiat, as I do believe the gov's monopoly on violence is unjust and its monopoly on money is equally such.

digitsu - "It can also be said DNotes is stable because the total traded daily volume is little more than 500 USD, an asset which is barely traded is by definition going to be stable."

Nope, daily trading volumes change frequently, an asset barely traded is NOT a definition, nor a character of being stable, this would better be described as the trading volume compared to order depth... A less well known currency will have less order depth, and generally lower trading volumes. This also means that when people come to buy or sell a meaningful stake of a small currency, it will cause significant changes. I'm sure you know this, so I'm not sure why included it in your post. You said you believe in markets, and clearly, if people want to buy, there are going to be upswings. That is another reason why DNotes talk about 'reliable appreciation' re- the earlier message about flying under the radar and not outgrowing your shoes.

You are correct, it was poor choice of language.  Not 'by definition' buy 'by matter of consequence' will be price stable.

I bring this up only as a reaction to the DNotes marketing pitches heavy claims about the laurels of DNotes price stability, but no explanation of how this is going to be achieved.

"That being said, I just did a bit of research and it looks like the price of DNotes has risen in the last month from 0.00004 to 0.00005.  That is a 20% increase in less than 2w.  If this kind of move were to happen in the forex markets, I don't think the word 'stable' can be used to describe it."

It does happen in the forex markets: Euro, Ruble, Swiss Franc... in the last year... The only thing that prevents these crashes more often, is the Government makes all other tender 'illegal' that they can't print more of themselves. This will be an interesting obstacle for Digital Currencies. It is also interesting that you first say "of course DNotes is (more easily) stable with low market cap / traded volume", but then contrasted it with massive market cap forex markets to highlight 'instability'... you should know as an accountant that forex markets are only stable because the market caps are many billions, and the trading volumes in the many millions. The order books are large, and even when an actor comes along with $10 or $50 million, it doesn't make too much of a difference in exchange rate value (but hey, setting interest rates / Official Cash Rate sure does!). I therefore call to question what you actually think? Is it the markets with small daily traded volume more stable, or the large ones that you contrasted against? Its not unreasonable to presume that if any Digital Currency had the same market cap / order depth of a nation states government backed currency, there would be similar stability seen as with Government backed currencies. This shouldn't be too difficult considering a Digital Currency has the entire planet as potential users. Large market cap currencies are stable, smaller ones are not.

Exactly.  I think you articulated my point better than I could have done.  When the Swiss central bank unpegged the CHF, it appreciated 20%.  This was not 'stable' by any sense of the word.  Given the admitted rise in price of DNotes, how is it credible to be stating that 'Price Stability' is one of the tenants of the project?  I see no strategy of how it will be effected (besides having stakeholders promise to cooperatively defend the price by buying and selling against the market -- and losing their shirts while doing so), nor do I see any evidence that it is even being done, given this recent jump in the price.

Of course, we are just arguing semantics.  The site should stop using deceptive wording and not speak of "price stability" if "controlled appreciation" is actually your goal.

"ive me once again, for I mean no personal offence, but you probably would make a much bigger difference to students if you just gave them some equivalent fractional amount of Bitcoins. (I see DNotes trading at 0.00005-6BTC today)."

Not really, such a plan would presume that the team are bullish on Bitcoin, which much of the forum content here includes the obstacles Bitcoin faces and its shortcomings. DNotes has gone up some 60 times against Bitcoin since it was first traded. I'm not sure how you came to your conclusion, but the student CRISP goal is for capital appreciation and eventual transactional value for money exchange, something many in this forum are not confident Bitcoin is addressing.

I think if you truly understand money theory, Bitcoin is the only digital currency you can be honestly bullish about.
I just do not see how a PoS coin can ever become a money.  Because all PoS coins are fiat moneys, and in order to create a successful fiat money you must have the power of the gov with their monopoly on violence to enforce its value.

Thank you for the effort you have put into your post. If it's a ponzi, it's not a very good one - there is a blockchain ledger any forensic accountant can easily look through,

True.  But only if the owners are not anonymous.  Are all the holders of DNotes going to be publicly known?  If not, then there is no legal liability, and the system is very easily exploited illegally.

It looks like either the marketing wagon for CRISPS have gone ahead of the horse and started selling a product before it is even fully formed, or I misunderstood your description of how owning a (essentially worthless) digital token is going to really help students with the costs of their education, or help them in any way to learn the value of saving.

You can read more about the particulars for the CRISP for student program here: https://dnotesvault.com/crisp-for-students.php

Thanks for the link.  From that link:

DNotes has been the most stable digital currency, with a 1 year chart showing reliable appreciation that has no equal in the cryptocurrency space. $100 invested in DNotes on march 31st 2014, when it was first traded, is worth $2,900 (march 31st 2014). These high potential return investments typically come with associated risk. Do not invest more than you can afford to lose in the case of a total loss.

Though I have no problem about giving away a $5 worth of investment to students.  It is commendable.  But of course the goal, if one reads between the lines, is to get more of the students to buy more of the coin to appreciate its value.  And I think there is a typo on the dates in there you may want to get someone to fix, btw.

I'm not so sure what you mean by 'essentially worthless digital token', I don't tend to agree with empty appeals to opinion/authority without substantiation that answers 'why'. From where I'm sitting, students can sign up to get a first hand experience with (~$10) Digital Currency at no cost to them, and DNotes wins the main crypto using demographic... Who knows how that freebie will pan out for them? I wouldn't have minded $10 worth of Bitcoin 3 years ago!

The reason why I say it is essentially worthless because I believe any POS coin has no value.  Any present value is temporary, and will eventually go to zero.  POS coins rely on collective perceptions/deception to derive their value.  They have the most in common with fiat money as it is 'willed' into existence by an authority.  POS coins is an experiment in fiat "by the people for the people" instead of "by government".  I do not believe they will work.  The only kind of money that "the people" or the market can create itself is commodity money (because it expends labour to create, thus giving it its initial value), and secondly there can only be one effective commodity money for any given locality**, thus the money of the internet has already been created, and it is Bitcoin.

I'm with DYNA, we will need to let history be the judge. If you don't like it, don't invest. DNotes promotes prudential investment strategies in all of its promotional material.

I'm not looking to invest, I was just curious to know more after I read so many excellent marketing materials and information on the project, and decided to find out who the proponents were.  On a personal level, I find it interesting to talk to and meet the supporters of different alt-coins, because they each have a certain ideological or philosophical drive behind their support. I often wonder if they would have supported Bitcoin more readily if they only understood it better (or perhaps Bitcoin's media exposure unfolded in a more amenable way).  What wonderful gains can be made if all these people were to work on Bitcoin instead. But I suppose those thought are very socialist in origin.  Crypto is ultra capitalist after all.



**(no market in a given geographical area of commerce will ever create more than one, because supporting a second reduces the efficiency of both their uses as a medium of exchange, thus the collective value of both monies is less than the value of one alone)

You can pick up a lot of important information by reading the DNotes forum.  Does the fact that DNotes is not POS change any of your misconceptions?  The premine has been explained repeatedly - it was used to reward early miners, as well as for bounties and giveaways.  The remaining was used for development which at the time amounted to maybe $5,000.  That's not a lot of money for 15 months of work for multiple people.

 "I often wonder if they would have supported Bitcoin more readily if they only understood it better."  It is because the DNotes team understood all the problems with bitcoin right from the start and created DNotes with a plan to avoid those pitfalls, that DNotes has a greater chance of success.  

What wonderful gains can be made if all these people were to work on DNotes instead.  

[TeeGee]

Hi digitsu,

"The issue that most people miss is that it is not technology that matters here, when we are creating money.  It may be in the beginning, just like the intrinsic value of gold as a commodity money was based on its uses as a commodity, but the subsequent value of gold grew to be much more than its intrinsic value.  That extra value, is its value as a medium of exchange.  Among cryptos, that value is only present in Bitcoin, and only Bitcoin.  This is because there is only the need for one commodity money (medium of exchange) in any given locality.  In the bimetallic days of the past, silver gave gold competition only because it was used in different localities around the world where silver was more readily available for use.  This gave silver a base value because it was used by some other people in another locality and in order for foreign trade and exchange to happen it was needed.

This isn't the case in crypto, given the locality of users is the internet.  So there can necessarily be only one dominant digital money, because there are no local barriers to adoption of the currency, giving no room, no use case, and no value to others.  And since Bitcoin has already reached 'money' status (being worth more than its intrinsic base value) that dominant money can only be Bitcoin. "[/b]

I don't have as much time to post in depth because I have work soon, but luckily I'm a very fast typer. I apologise if I miss any parts out in my explanations / reasoning that follows. I have also included quotes from my previous posts that I believe include further elaboration somewhere in its content as a measure to save my time.

"Hayek’s ‘Denationalisation’ of money is the best known proposal for the separation of currency and state. The proposal includes the abolition of legal tender laws that would allow every individual to issue their own currency, whether in paper tickets (which existed at the time), or digital with their own insignia and names. These currencies would run in tandem to the current dollars, euros and yen that have maintained monopolies by the government. This would mean that DYNA could create DYNA COIN’s, Dnotes could develop Dnotes, I could make TeeGeeCoin, drug users' PotCoin, and shibes Dogecoin. Hayek also suggested the creation of a bank that would issue ‘ducats’ - gold or silver coins that would be issued to be used to price each new currency. This obviously is an exact map of what Bitcoin is to the current Digital Currency realm, and the Nobel Laureate was very confident that these ‘ducats’ would easily out-compete the over-inflated currencies backed by nation states.

The thing about money is it is not demanded, nor required for its own sake. It is not like a computer or food where people can derive utility from its use. Money is demanded for no other reason than that it already functions as money, when people know it can be used to buy and sell as a medium of exchange. Anybody may issue their own currency, but issuance and acceptance are two very different matters. Nobody will accept a new currency as they might new Iphones and TV’s.

Ludwig Von Mises "regression theorem" showed as far back as 1912, that nobody will accept any currency as money unless it has been previously demanded and exchanged earlier. This would make it obvious that one would need to go back in time to the original transaction that would have made such an entity count as ‘money’. Rothbard (1992) postulates that since something can not have been used as money before its first transaction, it could only have been demanded because it is a ‘non-monetary commodity’ and therefore had a preexisting price, even in the era before it began to be used as a medium.

“In other words, for any commodity to become used as money, it must have originated as a commodity valued for some nonmonetary purpose, so that it had a stable demand and price before it began to be used as a medium of exchange. In short, money cannot be created out of thin air, by social contract, or by issuing paper tickets with new names on them”
(Rothbard, M 1992, The Gold Standard: An Austrian Perspective. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath, 1985, pp. 1-17 ).

- TeeGee, september 14, 2014


So, First - Intrinsic value of gold? Well there isn't any unless you want some jewellery or teeth fillings, it's only value lies in its scarcity, and balance of demand and supply. Something I'm sure you're aware of. You are correct that gold and Bitcoin both achieved an 'additional value' as a medium of exchange, so I don't understand how you think that it isn't possible for others to achieve the same feat, when you speak of currencies that prove the possibility yourself.

That extra value, is its value as a medium of exchange.  Among cryptos, that value is only present in Bitcoin, and only Bitcoin.  This is because there is only the need for one commodity money (medium of exchange) in any given locality.

I'm sorry, but I have to disagree, in an industry where users' are not forced to use one currency over another, unlimited digital currencies are possible; Digital Currencies can become a cultural content type, for amusement, fun and personal value.  Like I said though, issuance and acceptance are two different things. Another point to touch on is that Bitcoin is so new and under-developed also, that it is short-sighted to presume it will be the only Digital Currency suitable to facilitate the transfer of value (money), or that it will not be superseded by a better alternative.

"In the bimetallic days of the past, silver gave gold competition only because it was used in different localities around the world where silver was more readily available for use.  This gave silver a base value because it was used by some other people in another locality and in order for foreign trade and exchange to happen it was needed."

There is not only need for one commodity money in any locality (USA before greenback?), and even if that WERE the case... Well, Bitcoin is tradeable for any Altcoin; ergo, Bitcoin currently acts as a reserve currency for all Alt-coins, and facilitates the transfer of value between holders of different alternative currencies. Alt-currencies can be traded as a medium of exchange already.

In case I didn't explain that well - say I have 100 DNotes. You're a merchant, but you don't accept DNotes, but you do like Bitcoin or Monero. I can swap my 100 DNotes instantly with a multi-currency card that auto-exchanges my DNotes for whatever currency your card terminal accepts with no effort on my part. Bitcoin is the exchange facilitator. This makes any crypto asset very valuable, and usable as an means of exchange. Over time, this gives rise to the possibility of overtaking Bitcoin completely; ie. Bitcoin by acting as a reserve currency, is providing the lifeline to allow a second mover to overtake it. DNotes, and all other alt-currencies are usable as transfer of value now, and one will supersede Bitcoin if popularity of one alternative currency reaches Bitcoin's level. I hope that was sufficient, but I'm running out of time.

 
"I bring this up only as a reaction to the DNotes marketing pitches heavy claims about the laurels of DNotes price stability, but no explanation of how this is going to be achieved. "

I think a sticky, or place on the website is a great idea to post this sort of content, and it appears that the developers are getting onto it as a result of your recommendation. It was a good point. One of the problems with forums is great forum posts get lost in myriad of past pages!


"I think if you truly understand money theory, Bitcoin is the only digital currency you can be honestly bullish about.
I just do not see how a PoS coin can ever become a money.  Because all PoS coins are fiat moneys, and in order to create a successful fiat money you must have the power of the gov with their monopoly on violence to enforce its value."


I understand money theory quite well, but you didn't substantiate that statement about why I should be long-term bullish about bitcoin and not any other? DNotes isn't a PoS coin though, I'm not so sure I agree with the monopoly on violence to enforce a fiat (used for currency also?) to achieve a successful money value, market demand decides value, and it is still very early days in this industry. It is another 'wait and see'. I don't think Google just sat there and went "oh no, the Iphone already has too much market share, we shouldn't bother getting Samsung and HTC on board to challenge using our own OS."


Given the admitted rise in price of DNotes, how is it credible to be stating that 'Price Stability' is one of the tenants of the project?  I see no strategy of how it will be effected (besides having stakeholders promise to cooperatively defend the price by buying and selling against the market -- and losing their shirts while doing so), nor do I see any evidence that it is even being done, given this recent jump in the price.

Of course, we are just arguing semantics.  The site should stop using deceptive wording and not speak of "price stability" if "controlled appreciation" is actually your goal.

That is actually how markets work, without a authority with limitless funds, there is no 'exchange rate control'. It is also not possible to sustain long term, especially once market cap rises to the point where just a few stakeholders have to pump out millions of dollars just to keep it stable! Simply not going to happen. Weeding out short-term speculators from long-term investors, not divulging upcoming projects etc does in fact protect to a degree from market vicissitudes. DNotes has a very small market cap, so of course it isn't that hard to see reasonable jumps or declines in value. DNotes has explicitly state that stability is one of the challenges that Bitcoin is not facing very well, imagine if Bitcoin was less a speculative tool, and more of a transactional one? It has yet to make that change. If DNotes can make the change earlier, well it is difficult to speculate on exchange value. DNotes is the most stable altcoin out of 500, by this, we mean that when it's value increases, it tends to hold there, regardless of the daily trading swing - which you are referring to.

Take a look at the charts, and you will see that compared to all other crypto, while Dnotes may rise 20% in a day, it tends to hold there and not crash and burn like nearly all other crypto have only a few days later. This is what is meant by stability, controlling the exact exchange value for such a small market cap would require many times more DNotes in existence all on the order book at once!!! say 100 billion Dnotes at 0.0005 would be a few million dollars... and you would have your perfect stability... except there are only 100 million DNotes in existence. You know that is not a reasonable, nor desirable expectation.

The founders self-funding the endeavour means they don't have to divulge strategic and upcoming plans before product launches, which translates to less exchange volatility. Currencies in lower market caps areas are prone to volatility, many strategies must be employed to grow through the low to medium market cap range without large fluctuations.

True.  But only if the owners are not anonymous.  Are all the holders of DNotes going to be publicly known?  If not, then there is no legal liability, and the system is very easily exploited illegally.

Don't see why holders need to be publicly known, perhaps just the main team? Alan Yong is an easily searchable term in Google, and his other business ventures are all over media attached to the search term "DNotes".

Try a couple of these?
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1993-05-20/business/9305200013_1_pen-based-dauphin-technology-risc-system
http://themanwiththecap.blogspot.com/2015/05/interview-alan-yong-of-dnotes.html



The reason why I say it is essentially worthless because I believe any POS coin has no value.  Any present value is temporary, and will eventually go to zero.  POS coins rely on collective perceptions/deception to derive their value.  They have the most in common with fiat money as it is 'willed' into existence by an authority.  POS coins is an experiment in fiat "by the people for the people" instead of "by government".  I do not believe they will work.  The only kind of money that "the people" or the market can create itself is commodity money (because it expends labour to create, thus giving it its initial value), and secondly there can only be one effective commodity money for any given locality**, thus the money of the internet has already been created, and it is Bitcoin.

While DNotes is not a PoS (did have a pre-mine), there is no argument put forward that present value is temporary and will eventually go to zero even if it was? DNotes is a proof of work coin that uses scrypt mining - I used to mine it myself in the early days. DNotes is not willed into existence by any authority but a mathematical algorithm. I touched on the creation of transactional value from initial commodity money earlier above re-Hayeks denationalization of money theory etc. I also touched on why there is no effective commodity requirement in a given geographical area, and there is no reason to presume that Bitcoin will remain pre-eminent.  

And with that, my time is up!