Live data from Hacker News

Bitcoin hits $10,000

bloomberg.com

241–250 of 389 posts

Re: Bitcoin hits $10,000

#241
post #17

“Rosenstreich at online trading firm Swissquote said bitcoin’s surge harks to the surprises of the U.K. referendum on European Union membership and President Trump’s election. “We have underestimated the populist movements,” he said. “There is growing unease on how central banks and governments are managing fiat currencies. Ordinary people globally understand why a decentralized asset is the ultimate safe haven.”” Th…

>No one likes to talk about that though, they like to demonize bitcoin which actually does something gold could never do. Just playing devils advocate, but you can't replicate/duplicate gold. On the other hand I could create 21M cryptocoins on a blockchain (calling them Bitcoin2 or even just Bitcoin if it pleases). I can make them function identically, similarly or more efficiently than Bitcoin. I can create a new bl…

Why can't you replicate gold? What is gold? It's some elementary particles (like quarks) arranged in a certain way that we all agree are valuable. We could easily agree that some other arrangement is valuable (such as Aluminum).

Re: Bitcoin hits $10,000

#242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Satoshi is almost certainly dead. No living person could resist the temptation to talk about their creation of a 100 billion dollar phenomenon. Two plausible candidates who died at about the right time are Hal Finney and Dave Kleiman.

Edit: I misread the initial post, but still think what I wrote is reasonably relevant. Had I been Satoshi (and I'm not), I would have no trouble not talking about it. I think this is unlikely. I think it is much more likely that he deleted his keys -- on purpose. Despite the common "Bitcoin was created as a scam" sentiment, I see very little evidence of this. Satoshi appears to have just been a very idealistic person…

http://satoshi.nakamotoinstitute.org/

Re: Bitcoin hits $10,000

#243
post #17

“Rosenstreich at online trading firm Swissquote said bitcoin’s surge harks to the surprises of the U.K. referendum on European Union membership and President Trump’s election. “We have underestimated the populist movements,” he said. “There is growing unease on how central banks and governments are managing fiat currencies. Ordinary people globally understand why a decentralized asset is the ultimate safe haven.”” Th…

>No one likes to talk about that though, they like to demonize bitcoin which actually does something gold could never do. Just playing devils advocate, but you can't replicate/duplicate gold. On the other hand I could create 21M cryptocoins on a blockchain (calling them Bitcoin2 or even just Bitcoin if it pleases). I can make them function identically, similarly or more efficiently than Bitcoin. I can create a new bl…

>On the other hand I could create 21M cryptocoins on a blockchain (calling them Bitcoin2 or even just Bitcoin if it pleases). I can make them function identically, similarly or more efficiently than Bitcoin. I can create a new blockchain (network) or put these coins on an existing blockchain (say the Ethereum blockchain). How much would you pay for all 21M Bitcoin? How much would you pay me to create you 21M Bitcoin2 and transfer 100% of them to you?

Econ 101: The price of a currency is based on people's trust in that currency.

>The real irony is cryptocoins and blockchains couldn't even exist without gold, because it is a necessary component in the machines that created bitcoin, that hosts blockchain nodes, mines, hosts wallets and facilitates transactions.

That's not irony. Thats a happy coincidence.

Re: Bitcoin hits $10,000

#244
post #201

I’m note sure if bitcoin can be a viable currency if the price movements are so volatile. It’s all good the the volatility moving the price up, carrying it in any big amount without insurance feels like gambling right now

This is my hangup with it. The libertarian dreams of a decentralized currency can never happen if people expect their money to rapidly increase in value.

Why would I buy a pizza today, or a house, or an island, with BTC if in 6 months, that same BTC would be worth 10x.

Re: Bitcoin hits $10,000

#245
post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If Starbucks accepted Euro in US for its coffee it would be a crime I don't believe that's true. The US dollar is only mandatory for two things: for settling debts (the lender must accept USD to extinguish debt) and for paying taxes. Otherwise people are free to trade as they please - euros, chickens, whatever.

IANAL, but there have been laws on the book prohibiting bartering in any substantial amount for a while. Of course, the IRS is not going to chase you down for swapping with your neighbor, but large scale "bartering" is definitely frowned upon. What's to stop people bartering a yacht for a house and avoid taxes?

You can barter all you want, you just have to pay the taxes on the fair market value.

https://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/bartering-law...

Re: Bitcoin hits $10,000

#246
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's the part that gets me. Bitcoin has scaling issues, is slow and transaction fees are outrageous. Still, I have no doubt some form of crypto-currency will eventually win out.

Blockchain tech will be to the next three decades what the internet was to the last. Crypto is one facet of a very interesting geometry.

We may be in the dot com era but with Crypto.

The ICO's are like the Webvan and Amazons - similar to how businesses used the Internet to serve their respective industries, we are now using ICO's to serve specific markets.

Rentberry for Rentals, Enjincoin for Games.

With so many new ICOs, it feels like the early Startup Scene but now it's with a focus in Cryptocurrency.

Re: Bitcoin hits $10,000

#247
post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The key quality of a fiat currency is that it is spun out of air without intrinsic value.

Honest question: why does gold have intrinsic value? My understanding is that it's scarcity is the prime driver of its value, at least in monetary terms, and bitcoin shares that quality. Of course gold does have physical qualities that are useful, but so do many other metals that are not used as stores of value.

many other metals are used as stores of value, but gold is probably the most iconic. From a historical standpoint, It's easy to identify, it's easy to break up into smaller units or consolidate into larger ones, easy to form into coins. It has a global distribution, it's relatively inert so you don't need to worry about degradation.

scarcity is only one factor to consider - demand and fungibility are also important factors among others.

Re: Bitcoin hits $10,000

#248
post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I connected to the internet with a 14.4k modem and I'm connected to fiber today. Bitcoin is in its infancy. It's a matter of time until it reaches the levels we require for handling all the transactions that we want to happen.

But how much of the code that used to support your 14.4k modem is still used to support your fiber connection today? It seems likely that the dominant currency of the future will be heavily inspired by Bitcoin--but will it be the same blockchain Bitcoin uses today? Seems unlikely to me.

We'll assume he was using PPP or SLIP when he had a 14.4k modem. TCP/IP has been around for 30+ years. So, yes, a lot of that code is still "supporting" his fiber connection.

Re: Bitcoin hits $10,000

#249
post #171
post #17

“Rosenstreich at online trading firm Swissquote said bitcoin’s surge harks to the surprises of the U.K. referendum on European Union membership and President Trump’s election. “We have underestimated the populist movements,” he said. “There is growing unease on how central banks and governments are managing fiat currencies. Ordinary people globally understand why a decentralized asset is the ultimate safe haven.”” Th…

Everything you say can be true but if this is not just the new tulip mania there must be some number at which it stops. You predict 100k but why not a million? why not a billion?

I’m waiting to buy at a million and sell at a trillion.

Re: Bitcoin hits $10,000

#250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>No one likes to talk about that though, they like to demonize bitcoin which actually does something gold could never do. Just playing devils advocate, but you can't replicate/duplicate gold. On the other hand I could create 21M cryptocoins on a blockchain (calling them Bitcoin2 or even just Bitcoin if it pleases). I can make them function identically, similarly or more efficiently than Bitcoin. I can create a new bl…

>On the other hand I could create 21M cryptocoins on a blockchain (calling them Bitcoin2 or even just Bitcoin if it pleases). I can make them function identically, similarly or more efficiently than Bitcoin. I can create a new blockchain (network) or put these coins on an existing blockchain (say the Ethereum blockchain). How much would you pay for all 21M Bitcoin? How much would you pay me to create you 21M Bitcoin2…

>Econ 101: The price of a currency is based on people's trust in that currency.

That is the beauty of blockchain right? Its trustless! I'll create 21M of Bitcoin2 on the Ethereum blockchain and send you the smart contract address you can verify on etherscan and boom there is no trust needed.

Edit: As to Irony, OP could have used anything to justify the value of Bitcoin, it is ironic he would select Gold and say it has no intrinsic value other than looking good as jewelry, when it is a intrinsic component to the Bitcoin ecosystem. Notwithstanding, I don't think its a coincidence OP compared Bitcoins value to gold.

Post reply on HN