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Why Bitcoin will fail

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11–20 of 43 posts

Re: Why Bitcoin will fail

#11
Bitcoin looks like a ponzi scheme to me as there is no value to a Bitcoin other than that of itself.

Currencies used to represent the gold stored by each government. These days currency represent the trust that the system that uses the currency, will trade goods for it. However we had to go through the gold equivalent to get here.

Bitcoin doesn’t represent anything and has nothing to back it up.

Re: Why Bitcoin will fail

#12

Has anyone tried to “peg” a cryptocurrency to USD? That seems like an ideal thing to have... Somehow change reward size based on exchange rate. That is increase supply when above 1:1 and decrease when below.

Yes, there is Tether - which is pegged to USD - and somewhat controversial for reasons I don't fully understand.

Re: Why Bitcoin will fail

#13
post #12

Has anyone tried to “peg” a cryptocurrency to USD? That seems like an ideal thing to have... Somehow change reward size based on exchange rate. That is increase supply when above 1:1 and decrease when below.

Yes, there is Tether - which is pegged to USD - and somewhat controversial for reasons I don't fully understand.

The controversy is that it is unclear whether every Tether is backed by real USD. See: Tether's TOS, Bitfinex's banking issues, etc.

Re: Why Bitcoin will fail

#14
I've been putting up over 200 of my btc in various loans for over 15 months now. I do this on Bitfinex. It's a double blind loan and can only be used by the receiving party for margin trading. That party has to have maintain a certain reserve to be able to allow an automated stop-loss.

This system is fully automated and I've gotten some interesting rates on btc that would otherwise just have been idle.

Re: Why Bitcoin will fail

#15

Has anyone tried to “peg” a cryptocurrency to USD? That seems like an ideal thing to have... Somehow change reward size based on exchange rate. That is increase supply when above 1:1 and decrease when below.

MakerDAO just launched its stablecoin, DAI. It maintains stability by a complex system of smart contracts and CDPs. The problem is much more difficult than simply increasing/decreasing supply.

https://makerdao.com/

Re: Why Bitcoin will fail

#16
post #11

Bitcoin looks like a ponzi scheme to me as there is no value to a Bitcoin other than that of itself. Currencies used to represent the gold stored by each government. These days currency represent the trust that the system that uses the currency, will trade goods for it. However we had to go through the gold equivalent to get here. Bitcoin doesn’t represent anything and has nothing to back it up.

Bitcoin's value is connected to the costs to continuously mine it and consequently keep the blockchain intact and secure.

These costs include electricity, mining equipment, personnel, and warehousing.

As with normal equity valuation, these costs would be transparent, allowing for valuation to take place.

Since Bitcoin is decentralized and its "employees", or miners, are disparate; costs are not known.

This information asymmetry is one cause of Bitcoin's unbounded price discovery.

Re: Why Bitcoin will fail

#17
post #7

The thing about loans, that is borrowed capital that you use to try and create more capital, is that there isn't enough capital to go around. Capitalism does depend on a certain percentages of businesses failing, and that debt being written off. You also can't make loans with BTC because debt needs to be enforceable. There must be violence behind debt. In the past that meant someone turns you into a slave or breaks y…

Debt collectors calling and having your credit score dinged isn’t the definition of violence.

Re: Why Bitcoin will fail

#18
post #11

Bitcoin looks like a ponzi scheme to me as there is no value to a Bitcoin other than that of itself. Currencies used to represent the gold stored by each government. These days currency represent the trust that the system that uses the currency, will trade goods for it. However we had to go through the gold equivalent to get here. Bitcoin doesn’t represent anything and has nothing to back it up.

Bitcoin's value is connected to the costs to continuously mine it and consequently keep the blockchain intact and secure. These costs include electricity, mining equipment, personnel, and warehousing. As with normal equity valuation, these costs would be transparent, allowing for valuation to take place. Since Bitcoin is decentralized and its "employees", or miners, are disparate; costs are not known. This informatio…

What value do they create? Sure they burn electricity and energy but they don’t create any value other than the bitcoin value itself.

Re: Why Bitcoin will fail

#19
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bitcoin's value is connected to the costs to continuously mine it and consequently keep the blockchain intact and secure. These costs include electricity, mining equipment, personnel, and warehousing. As with normal equity valuation, these costs would be transparent, allowing for valuation to take place. Since Bitcoin is decentralized and its "employees", or miners, are disparate; costs are not known. This informatio…

What value do they create? Sure they burn electricity and energy but they don’t create any value other than the bitcoin value itself.

The incorruptibility of the ledger is the value.

Re: Why Bitcoin will fail

#20
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What value do they create? Sure they burn electricity and energy but they don’t create any value other than the bitcoin value itself.

The incorruptibility of the ledger is the value.

> The incorruptibility of the ledger is the value.

It cannot feed me, it cannot protect me from the elements, I cannot grow food on it and is not a tool to help me create something desirable by the others. Hence it has no value.

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