Safe-money: Money in the type system where it belongs (2017)

Post by r00fus » Thu, Mar 15, 2018, 6:01 PM UTC

idbehold wrote: post #4

ucaetano wrote: post #3

> Interestingly, the value of most currencies is measured in terms of the value of other currencies, most of which have no value other than the trust recursively vested in them by civilization. This doesn't make any sense. The value of any currency is measured constantly by its users conducting trades: when you buy a coffee, you're measuring the value of the currency used; when you pay for a haircut, you're measuring…

What is the value of a coffee or haircut? How many coffees is a haircut worth?

Post by laretluval » Thu, Mar 15, 2018, 6:05 PM UTC

ramses0 wrote: post #21

notavalleyman wrote: post #2

> Money, in other words, mostly measures trust. This is less obvious for precious metals or cryptocurrencies because they have an intrinsic value of their own as well Cryptocurrencies have intrinsic value? Did the author intent to write that or was it an accident? S/he has grouped precious metals, which have purposes from engineering to jewellery - with solutions to arbitrary cryptographic problems, which are useless…

Gold is practically useless day-to-day for a lay-person except as decoration, but represents the literal blood, sweat, tears, and toil of someone taking it out of rocks, refining it and putting it into your hands. Also it has some commercial use. Cryptocurrencies likely follow a similar model. Useless to the lay-person except as decoration. Representing a "colossal waste of resources", but having access to the refini…

Post by zenhack » Thu, Mar 15, 2018, 6:07 PM UTC

notavalleyman wrote: post #2

> Money, in other words, mostly measures trust. This is less obvious for precious metals or cryptocurrencies because they have an intrinsic value of their own as well Cryptocurrencies have intrinsic value? Did the author intent to write that or was it an accident? S/he has grouped precious metals, which have purposes from engineering to jewellery - with solutions to arbitrary cryptographic problems, which are useless…

Post by RandComment » Thu, Mar 15, 2018, 6:32 PM UTC

mrleiter wrote: post #20

neilwilson wrote: post #19

The value of a currency is the effort required to obtain it. And transitively that boils down to time - expenditure of the finite lifespan of humans. It's a proof of burn system.

Inheritance is worthless, then. As an heir I can more or less inherit from day 0 (in some jurisdictions even before) of my living life. This means there is the possibility of me putting in zero effort, besides from being born alive, to obtain it. Yet it obviously has some worth.

Post by sshine » Thu, Mar 15, 2018, 6:42 PM UTC

blattimwind wrote: post #11

hapnin wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The intrinsic value of a cryptocurrency is in its utility: moving an accounted and measurable unit across the internet peer to peer.

That's a property of the network (if it works, that is), and not an intrinsic value. The answer to "What is this item [the bits comprising your private wallet key] worth on its own ?" is "Nothing" for cryptocurrencies, much like a 5 Euro bill is worth essentially nothing on its own. A gold bar or a bucket full of copper cents has an intrinsic value: it's metal that can be used for many engineering purposes.