Wasn't alive for 1980s and it's a controversial take here on HNs but some of the most excitement I've seen has been in the crypto space since the 2010s.
I can't understand this sentiment at all. I feel like HN was absolutely part of the hype cycle.
It wasn't as bad as some forums, since some skeptical voices were present too, but there absolutely was a ton of breathless hype over the years.
Here's just one example, when stripe added bitcoin support [0]
I personally feel like HN sentiment finally "turned" on crypto only after some of the more egregious scams started going really mainstream - in the months leading up to and during the pandemic.
HN, generally speaking, is _very_ vulnerable to hype. It has, collectively, largely dismissed crypto-stuff now, for instance, but it took a _long time_. Up to a few years ago, any story about Bitcoin (or even more obviously nonsense crypto things like DAOs and NFTs) had comments full of breathless “this will change the world” energy.
Alright.. So then there must've been a time in between now and before where HN was accepting of it. Because I know for a fact I've seen posts and comments more so hyping up crypto currencies
I honestly don't remember the time you are describing. As far as I can remember, the most prevalent voices about crypto from HN have been from the naysayers by far. The craze just simply isn't there anymore, which is a very good thing. People who refuse to try and understand cryptocurrencies but tout fanciful things about them shouldn't be the ones representing them.
HN was actually pretty pro-crypto 4-5 years ago, I think the tech world in general has started to see crypto and ICOs as a bubble within the last year or so.
I remember fondly participating in the hype around crypto in 2017 and going in on btc/eth and also building a mining rig etc. The discourse on HN back then is quite different from today. These days we've seen scam after scam, fraud after fraud, failure after failure. From a technology perspective it's neat, but the kinds of individuals it tends to attract make it seemingly not actually all that useful in wider society. These days I'm ultra skeptical of anything crypto.
That's true now but was not always the case, which just proves hammyhavoc's point. Crypto has certainly gone through its own annoying, breathless hype cycle on HN as well. It wasn't that long ago when half the stories on the front page were "blockchain this" and "blockchain that". Everything built with blockchain was going to solve world hunger and all of our other woes, and if you weren't jumping on the blockchain train you were going to be left behind.
HN is boomer central when it comes to crypto. Haven't had a single enlightening discussion about it here.
I see a lot of misconceptions about scams and pump and dump schemes carried over from the 2017 run, and complete neglect of the innovations created since.
If anyone wants a refresher, I'm always willing to chat. I will also write a primer to help get folks up to speed on what's the latest in crypto.
To be fair, I remember HN being initially pretty positive on Bitcoin and blockchains. That’s when crypto discussions were mostly centered around the potential of the tech. But once Bitcoin became a speculative trading darling, the distance between the hype (remember when everyone wanted to use blockchain for everything?) and the reality of what the tech could do grew bigger and bigger. I think that’s when opinions soured and you started seeing more skepticism on HN.
So yes, the HN crowd as a group aren’t cheerleaders for crypto, but IMHO it’s for good reason.
HN has been oddly prejudiced against crypto. Sure there is a ton of hype, but there are some extremely interesting ideas and some incredible innovation taking place.
This is what happens when startups become cool and the people who would have otherwise gotten an MBA and tried to find work at a major bank are now the ones on HN.
HN is quite a bit softer on average on crypto than the broader audience. There's a small but confidently vocal minority of us keeping the light on for sanity.
You find me one thing, just one thing, that crypto is better at than a traditional solution and I'll be all over it. 14 years and counting. 0 killer apps.
I was excited 4 years ago when I first discovered these crypto concepts. As time has gone on and I've learned more about them, they are less interesting and come with a ton of baggage. There are interesting things like formal verification, but I expect that these types of things will be taken without the blockchain.
You shouldn't dismiss HN attitudes as jealousy or asleep, that is derogatory.
My impression is that overall HN was generally enthusiastic about cryptocurrencies and the tech powering them until a few recent scandals and scams. To be honest that is just broadly similar to public opinion (or at least, the portion of the public who have heard of cryptocurrencies)
but you won't find this at the top of HN because vast majority of HN hates crypto-currency, most likely because it was once cool now it's more mainstream so it's not cool anymore. What a shame.
Once you get past the scam/hype bullshit anyway.
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