Tesla buys $1.5B in Bitcoin, may accept it as payment in the future • Hacker News Board

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

#751

Post by sandworm101 » Mon, Feb 08, 2021, 4:22 PM UTC

rzodkiew wrote: post #338

Bitcoin is a mystery to me. Somehow it's hailed as revolutionising the economy, by replacing currency with a worse kind of currency. It feels like this is where all the "how to get rich quick" book writers and other hustle bros went and created one giant financial pyramid, which works in quite simple way: - buy bitcoin - tell everyone around how revolutionary it is, so they buy it and what you holding increases in va…

>> You know what would be revolutionary? Getting rid of currency altogether.

Many have tried. Probably most famously, the writers behind Star Trek tried to build a fictional world without currencies. Even that didn't last. All manner of currencies were introduced to sustain various plot points. Some form of money exists in every large scifi franchise. We cannot even maintain the thought experiment of a fictional society without currency. At this point a world without currency is literally beyond our imagination.

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

#752

Post by cbm-vic-20 » Mon, Feb 08, 2021, 4:24 PM UTC

latchkey wrote: post #586

bryanlarsen wrote: post #540

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Western Union has been doing this for > 150 years.

Have you ever tried to use Western Union while in a foreign country? I did it in Vietnam. Everything was a barrier. Language, paperwork, carrying cash around safely, time and finally most importantly, fees. No thanks.

An "eyeball grep" through recent blocks shows that the average bitcoin exchange fee is around USD$5.

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

#753

Post by vmception » Mon, Feb 08, 2021, 4:24 PM UTC

andysinclair wrote: post #736

How does this square with Tesla's "green" mission? Bitcoin consumes annually the electricity output of a small country. Surely if they were serious about tackling environmental issues they would not be investing in Bitcoin? This news itself has pushed the price up over 15% today and no doubt enables another warehouse full of machines to start working 24/7 to mine more bitcoin...

The vast majority of bitcoin mining is a sustainability solution.

The source is more important than the amount of energy.

Most bitcoin mining is using energy at the source that was uneconomical to use for other purposes, because of the loss experienced in transporting the energy to economic centers. That includes places that were previously opting to pollute the air with hydrocarbons, which now use that energy on site for miners instead.

This has been the reality for years.

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

#754

Post by charcircuit » Mon, Feb 08, 2021, 4:24 PM UTC

Arrath wrote: post #738

I have trouble seeing how Bitcoin would make a reasonable vehicle for everyday transactions as long as it is so volatile. Last week you could've bought a Model 3 for ~1.92 BTC. This morning you'd be spending ~1.58. That is a substantial change, and one side of the transaction would be taking a bath on it. Certainly as btc usage becomes more widespread the value would level out and the volatility would decrease. As it…

It doesn't. The cryptocurrency space includes stable coins, usually pegged to the dollar, which have a stable price.

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

#755

Post by vesinisa » Mon, Feb 08, 2021, 4:25 PM UTC

freeplay wrote: post #639

bryanlarsen wrote: post #540

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Western Union has been doing this for > 150 years.

Western Union is a nightmare to use. You need send and pickup in a physical location, sometimes the recipient needs specific forms of ID, and the fees are insane. I once sent $100 to someone in South America and it cost me $13. WU is a relic that targets and takes advantage of the less fortunate and those in 3rd world countries.

Bitcoin is a nightmare to use. The transaction can take hours to clear, you need specific forms of ID to open an account, and the fees are insane.

I just now sent $100 to someone in South America and it cost me $17.

Bitcoin is a fad that targets and takes advantage of gullible people and those involved in the illegal drug trade.

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

#756

Post by qqii » Mon, Feb 08, 2021, 4:29 PM UTC

prepend wrote: post #215

lm28469 wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cryptos are purely a speculation vessel, they don't fix many of the problems they claim to fix and add tons of problems over other currencies I'm fine with cryptos as long as they're not pitched as something they're not

This is my biggest “problem” with crypto. I actually think it’s neat in theory, but it’s the disconnect between what they say and what they do that makes my brain itch. It’s like when a function’s documentation says “returns a tuple with three elements” but looking at the source it only returns a tuple with two elements. My tech survival skills help me avoid things where what people say is different than what they’re…

Here's a perhaps unique problem that cryptocurrency solves - trustless, decentralised proof of ownership (digital or physical) through NFTs.

This is a less talking about area of cryptocurrencies but in my opinion quite an important one. For the first time we can create digital scarcity without relying on a trusted party. NFTs have no digital analogue.

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

#757

Post by sandworm101 » Mon, Feb 08, 2021, 4:29 PM UTC

Tenoke wrote: post #577

sandworm101 wrote: post #170

Lol. Not that I think it will ever happen, but the purchase of a car is perhaps the one transaction that might actually work in bitcoin. It is huge one-time purchase that isn't really time dependent. Neither party would mind if it took a few days to process.

A bitcoin transaction typically takes 30 minutes for 3 confirmations which is plenty sufficient unless you think the other party is pulling a very sophisticated/expensive attack on the network.

30 min is ok for cars and houses, not for groceries or cellphone bills.

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

#758

Post by charcircuit » Mon, Feb 08, 2021, 4:29 PM UTC

FabHK wrote: post #658

1. I see a securities fraud class action lawsuit coming up if (when?) that tanks. 2. Accepting Bitcoin as payment is not a big deal, really. It would be remarkable when they denominate things in BTC. Say, you can buy a Model 3 for 1.1 BTC (and, just to be clear, when BTC-USD changes, it still sells at 1.1 BTC, and whatever the then new USD price is). That would be something. That's not going to happen, of course.

If you were referring to bitcoin, it isn't a security.

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

#759

Post by nly » Mon, Feb 08, 2021, 4:29 PM UTC

totalZero wrote: post #730

Tenoke wrote: post #565

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1. It helps to have significant holdings if you plan to use the currency. 2. Tesla buying btc might conceivably move the price more and result in higher overall profits than the investors holding it directly. 3. A lot of companies make investments that in theory the shareholders could've done on their own.

Why is (1) true?

Presumably Tesla could start trading covered Bitcoin options to provide some stability to the market/their car prices.

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

#760

Post by olah_1 » Mon, Feb 08, 2021, 4:31 PM UTC

INTPenis wrote: post #562

GreenHeuristics wrote: post #522

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The story is literally about Tesla buying 1.5B usd worth of it. Sure Elon has some interests in the direction but I doubt Tesla is going to use the bought Bitcoin for drugs.

Ok, so besides Teslas investment of 1.5B USD, what do you think bitcoin is used for?

> what do you think bitcoin is used for?

Storing value. Smart ass answer, I know. But it's true.

As a private currency, Bitcoin is like a screen door. So I don't know why you'd use it for illegal activities.