I was asked a question about the difference between a credit card network compared to a crypto network. This was my reply
Sorry if this i a dumb question. I don't really know anything about it, I'm a headline-reader of sorts. I just don't get it. Don't the bitcoin miners have warehouses full of the most powerful computers in the world? It is astonishing to me that one of the main problems is that they can't handle the calculations involved to make simple transaction at whatever volume. That tech is already here, I used my debit card twice today in practically an instant both times.
It's not dumb at all, it is good to ask these questions. The difference is night and day between the two debit/crypto network. Crypto currency is literally people like us going up against gov't and corporations because the people/citizens keep getting taken advantage of. Since revolution of the past of overthrowing gov't is no longer feasible, this is the first iteration of a global revolution in its infancy using currency. That description might be a bit over the top but if you look at the spread of crypto, it is a global phenomenon and the main differentiator of the dot bomb. Its one of the first times the people of the world are getting behind something at the same time and not being overly nationalistic while coming together.
This is the datacenter of the VISA credit card facility.
This is a Chinese bitcoin mining outfit.
You might ask, why can the equipment be so different? The difference is the security is built into the protocol itself. Everything is taken care of for you with blockchain protocol when it comes to security, authorization, and transfer. All these things make it slower for transaction processing, from the level of encryption to the safeguards against cheating the network. In the debit/credit world, you offload that to the credit card company. What seems like an instant transaction is really not. This is why you see the word "pending" on statements right when you use your card, similar sending bitcoin payment. The key difference is the cc gateway, visa authorizes the payment first for the 2.9% fee (+/- negotiated rate), the settlement follows. The bank doesn't actually get the money until settlement which usually posts a day later. So in essence you borrow first, this is why over-drafting exists and banks just slapped a fee on it. Hence my post above it, we've become conditioned to borrowing money without realizing it. I made a video at the bottom to illustrate the differences at a very high level.
The difference between a crypto payment vs. a credit payment