[Ads-l] bitcoin as generic term for cryptocurrencies

[Barretts Mail]

Band-Aid and the like are, like Velcro that I mentioned the other day, trademark issues. That and the genericization of bitcoin might be the same issue; I’m not sure. C.f. “overextension", such as found in child speech (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Errors_in_early_word_use#Overextension <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Errors_in_early_word_use#Overextension>). 

Crypto doesn’t mean “hidden”. It means “cryptography” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrency <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrency>).

FWIW, cryptocoins with an emphasis on privacy/anonymization are generally known as “privacy coins”. I have seen an argument that anonymization is really the focus and so “privacy coin” is a misnomer. 

BB

> On 6 Oct 2017, at 13:08, Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> Two thoughts:
> 
> A version of the Band-Aid / Kleenex / Xerox issue.
> 
> Why the "crypto" in cryptocurrency? What is "hidden" about them? Not a
> great name.
> 
> DanG
> 
> On Fri, Oct 6, 2017 at 3:57 PM, Barretts Mail <mail.barretts at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> 
>> Unfortunately, I didn’t save the tweet, but someone once noted that
>> “bitcoin” is sometimes used as a generic term for cryptocurrency.
>> 
>> In "IMF director Christine Lagarde: Bitcoin is too expensive for me at
>> the…” (https://www.cnbc.com/video/2017/10/06/imf-director-
>> christine-lagarde-bitcoin-is-too-expensive-for-me-at-the-moment.html),
>> Christine Lagarde says in response to a question from Sara Eisen:
>> 
>> —
>> You know, what the Chinese authorities have decided is to just ban the
>> initial offering of bitcoins
>> —
>> 
>> China recently prohibited initial coin offerings (ICO).
>> 
>> N.B. She is not a native speaker of English.
>> 
>> Benjamin Barrett
>> Formerly of Seattle, WA


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