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Tesla buys $1.5B in Bitcoin, may accept it as payment in the future

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Re: Tesla buys $1.5B in Bitcoin, may accept it as payment in the future

#281

Post by y04nn »

Why directly buy the Bitcoins with Tesla the automaker?

It makes no sense to me. If Musk is interested with cryptocurrencies, he should have setup a new startup dedicated with processing transactions from cryptocurrencies to fiat (he already has more than enough experience in the domain with PayPal) and facilitate the payment with crypto for Tesla (and other merchants).

Considering the high volatility of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, and the massive amount of market manipulation going on, this is very risky.

Is it to find new revenues for Tesla to justify its absurd market capitalization?

Re: Tesla buys $1.5B in Bitcoin, may accept it as payment in the future

#282

Post by christiansakai »

buildbuildbuild wrote: post #201

Cryptocurrency is a blind spot where Hacker News’ normal optimism towards innovation has disappointed for a decade. May this thread be one we can reference years later as another example of “our collective opinions can be very wrong about technologies that were transformative in hindsight.” Innovators, follow regulations and go for it. Don’t let the HN crowd get you down. Few of these commenters have ever been unbank…

Generalization much?

Re: Tesla buys $1.5B in Bitcoin, may accept it as payment in the future

#283

Post by altcognito »

febeling wrote: post #219
exabrial wrote: post #3

Legitimizing Bitcoin more than offsets the environmental benefits of electric vehicles.

Bitcoin miners use surplus energy in remote places with lots of thermal or hydroelectric power. Remote China and Iceland. This electricity often can't be put to any other use anyway. The price of energy is probably enough to ensure this. Besides, the cost of maintaining Bitcoin has to be compared with holding up a fiat currency empire like the US. This requires lots of military, suppression of democracy and generally…

> This electricity often can't be put to any other use anyway.

This is false. If there is surplus electricity, prices would drop, and you could expand availability. Government, especially the Chinese government is more than capable of shaping market demand.

Furthermore, you could displace existing coal based electrical demand in the country.

The value of currency comes from trust that you manage it well, not from the number of bombers.

Re: Tesla buys $1.5B in Bitcoin, may accept it as payment in the future

#284

Post by brandmeyer »

fasteddie31003 wrote: post #88

I don't understand all the Crypto hate on this site. Since when have hackers become the luddites to new ways of finance?

Would you like to take out fixed interest rate loan, payed out over the next 5 years, which is priced and scheduled in BTC? Because it sounds like an absolute horror show for every party in the transaction to me.

Unless you can make long-term transactions and payment schedules with it, then its not a good currency.

Re: Tesla buys $1.5B in Bitcoin, may accept it as payment in the future

#285

Post by rognjen »

buildbuildbuild wrote: post #201

Cryptocurrency is a blind spot where Hacker News’ normal optimism towards innovation has disappointed for a decade. May this thread be one we can reference years later as another example of “our collective opinions can be very wrong about technologies that were transformative in hindsight.” Innovators, follow regulations and go for it. Don’t let the HN crowd get you down. Few of these commenters have ever been unbank…

I love this comment because it doesn't state a position and can be used as proof of being right no matter the outcome. Brilliant.

Re: Tesla buys $1.5B in Bitcoin, may accept it as payment in the future

#286

Post by RhodoGSA »

graeme wrote: post #249
buildbuildbuild wrote: post #201

Cryptocurrency is a blind spot where Hacker News’ normal optimism towards innovation has disappointed for a decade. May this thread be one we can reference years later as another example of “our collective opinions can be very wrong about technologies that were transformative in hindsight.” Innovators, follow regulations and go for it. Don’t let the HN crowd get you down. Few of these commenters have ever been unbank…

What exactly is the bull case for bitcoin? I have not seen it clearly explained. I’ve got an open mind. In more specific terms you mentioned the unbanked. How does crypto solve the problems that leave them unbanked?

Bitcoin unleashes a million possibilities and overall guides the market. Check out Ethereum, Polkadot and Cardano if you want to see a real use case - Until then the usecase for bitcoin is the same as gold. But one day Bitcoin will pour it's 'Gold' Into the broader crypto market.

Re: Tesla buys $1.5B in Bitcoin, may accept it as payment in the future

#287

Post by pdevr »

Tenoke wrote: post #59

OT: Not that I mind but why was my submission, posted and on the front page before this one marked as a dupe and this one boosted?

I can assure you that I didn't mark your post as dupe. But then again, I am not the moderator.

Sorry for the poor joke, just trying to make you feel better :-)

Added: I do see that your submission was made before this one. Maybe because of Bloomberg (paywall?) vs Techcrunch? I am just speculating.

Re: Tesla buys $1.5B in Bitcoin, may accept it as payment in the future

#288

Post by buildbuildbuild »

graeme wrote: post #249
buildbuildbuild wrote: post #201

Cryptocurrency is a blind spot where Hacker News’ normal optimism towards innovation has disappointed for a decade. May this thread be one we can reference years later as another example of “our collective opinions can be very wrong about technologies that were transformative in hindsight.” Innovators, follow regulations and go for it. Don’t let the HN crowd get you down. Few of these commenters have ever been unbank…

What exactly is the bull case for bitcoin? I have not seen it clearly explained. I’ve got an open mind. In more specific terms you mentioned the unbanked. How does crypto solve the problems that leave them unbanked?

Cryptocurrency in general allows people to be their own bank in a more secure and lightweight way than ever before in history.

Bitcoin is an MVP with immense traction that has inspired hundreds of related innovations which will be worth trillions. It is the most widely accepted cryptocurrency at today’s merchants and exchanges, and likely the most researched and understood.

Re: Tesla buys $1.5B in Bitcoin, may accept it as payment in the future

#290

Post by api »

chishaku wrote: post #212
api wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If he succeeds with SpaceX, I don't care if he's a lunatic. We must have a frontier. Also: The last round of space innovation was funded by two nuclear armed superpowers competing to show off while simultaneously threatening each other with a war of planetary annihilation. Before that the first rocket capable of reaching space was funded by Hitler. Going from blood soaked warlords to nutty manic billionaires is moral…

> We must have a frontier? Why? Who is “we”?

Without a frontier it's impossible to try anything new, and the only way to resolve a cultural difference is to somehow fight (literally or politically). There are other reasons too, like exposure to novelty and something to focus on other than each others' differences.

There's a reason that sci-fi with space flight is almost always more optimistic than sci-fi without space flight.

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