PSA: FacebookCoin and similar currencies are not "cryptocurrencies" and don't refer to them as such.

With mass adoption likely coming in the next few years, what we do and what we say will shape how newcomers see cryptocurrencies. Because of this, it is important that we distinguish between decentralised, permissionless blockchain currencies and controlled, censorable currencies. If we refer to the centralised currencies as digital currencies and decentralised currencies as cryptocurrencies and help the public to understand the difference between such currencies even if only at a basic level, then we might just see the masses adopt real cryptocurrencies over a controlled, centralised, dystopian currency like Facebook coin or government issued currencies will likely be.I realise that some currencies such as JPMCoin will likely operate on Ethereum or a private fork of Ethereum, but if the company has any more control over it as it has over Bitcoin or Ether then as far as I'm concerned it's centralised.Also, some of you will argue things like "Ripple or EOS are centralised". While sure, they may be more centralised than Bitcoin or Ethereum, I can almost guarantee that they will be more decentralised than any digital currency released by a company such as Facebook. For the sake of unity and simplicity, it's fair to assume that almost all projects currently in the crypto space in decentralised.TL:DR: We should refer to decentralised currencies as "cryptocurrencies" and centralised currencies as digital currencies, it will help the general public understand that bitcoin and other cryptos are different from currencies operated by companies and governments.

Submitted May 03, 2019 at 09:01AM

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