Nobody buys tulips anymore
Netherlands must ban cryptocurrencies immediately: CPB head
21–30 of 211 posts
Re: Netherlands must ban cryptocurrencies immediately: CPB head
#22There's plenty of valid criticisms against crypto, I feel like they've picked some of the weakest ones. > cryptocurrencies are used because people think they will one day replace traditional money Maybe a tiny minority, sounds like a strawman. > a contagious story in which people believe because other people believe in it Isn't fiat the same? Money only has value because people believe it has value / will have value…
Fiat is backed by weapons. The same weapons that defend your house from other countries and force you to give up half your salary.
My main criticism to cryptocurrencies is that they're mostly unbacked. The ones that are backed by Fiat have similar problems to Fiat currency (why would I need that?), the ones that are backed by physical assets are much more interesting - but they don't seem to be the mainstream ones, probably because you can't speculate on it.
This makes me think cryptocurrencies are mainly about speculation more than rebelling against governments and central banks.
Re: Netherlands must ban cryptocurrencies immediately: CPB head
#23There's plenty of valid criticisms against crypto, I feel like they've picked some of the weakest ones. > cryptocurrencies are used because people think they will one day replace traditional money Maybe a tiny minority, sounds like a strawman. > a contagious story in which people believe because other people believe in it Isn't fiat the same? Money only has value because people believe it has value / will have value…
> Maybe a tiny minority Wait, what? That’s like the main reason people give when pumping it - “Bitcoin will replace fiat and it’s a good hedge against normal money.”
Personally, I don't know anyone that believes that..
I mostly see it as an adjunct - like credit cards. Another option..
Re: Netherlands must ban cryptocurrencies immediately: CPB head
#24I was happily surprised to see someone proposing this, assuming it was about PoW when reading the headline... but unfortunately it's just someone trying to time the market on our behalf?! Like, should we also ban stock trading when we expect the next pandemic or .com bubble?
I think their argument is that cryptocurrencies not just (PoW) but (PoS) too are just a meme with no social benefit (unlike the stock market), yet people put large amounts of money on them and it will end in tears.
I mean, this type of thinking was applied to the early internet as well. “No one will ever buy anything over the internet, people want stores!”
The same lack of imagination is leading to most of these takes.
Re: Netherlands must ban cryptocurrencies immediately: CPB head
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Maybe a tiny minority Wait, what? That’s like the main reason people give when pumping it - “Bitcoin will replace fiat and it’s a good hedge against normal money.”
Personally, I don't know anyone that believes that.. I mostly see it as an adjunct - like credit cards. Another option..
I find it hard to believe that you spend time on HN and possibly other crypto-focused websites, but have never seen this sentiment?
Re: Netherlands must ban cryptocurrencies immediately: CPB head
#26Bans are totally justified. They will achieve two major outcomes: 1. Tank the price, thus freeing up energy and advanced manufactured goods (which are in shortages right now) for proper productive use. 2. Significantly lessen the instances of Ransomware, since companies will have no legal mechanism to actually pay. Whether the coins continue to exist informally and are traded in some kind of primitive barter system i…
As long as we're banning things we should also ban all videogames, they are too addictive. There is nothing more precious than time and it can be spent much more productively.
And alcohol for obvious reasons.
Re: Netherlands must ban cryptocurrencies immediately: CPB head
#27>"Cryptocurrencies are essentially neither money nor a financial product, but an example of what Nobel laureate Robert Shiller calls a 'contagious narrative': a contagious story in which people believe because other people believe in it." How is this different from money or the financial markets? Why do those continue to exist if not for the belief we collectively have in them? And why is that only a problem for bitc…
> How is this different from money or the financial markets? A big difference is that the sovereign requires you to pay taxes in a given currency at the threat of punishment. So long as everyone needs to pay the taxman, the currency that the tax man accepts is gonna have at least some value.
Only to the tax man...
There have been and still are(?) economies where the local currency was only used for 'official' business, and most trade was carried out in another, more stable currency.
Re: Netherlands must ban cryptocurrencies immediately: CPB head
#28There's plenty of valid criticisms against crypto, I feel like they've picked some of the weakest ones. > cryptocurrencies are used because people think they will one day replace traditional money Maybe a tiny minority, sounds like a strawman. > a contagious story in which people believe because other people believe in it Isn't fiat the same? Money only has value because people believe it has value / will have value…
Fiat is backed by weapons. The same weapons that defend your house from other countries and force you to give up half your salary. My main criticism to cryptocurrencies is that they're mostly unbacked. The ones that are backed by Fiat have similar problems to Fiat currency (why would I need that?), the ones that are backed by physical assets are much more interesting - but they don't seem to be the mainstream ones, p…
While in Switzerland we do have some weapons, it is not like Swiss franc is backed by our army, which is purely defensive.
And, in fact, here you can pay municipal and cantonal taxes with cryptocurrencies.
Re: Netherlands must ban cryptocurrencies immediately: CPB head
#29Nobel laureate Robert Shiller calls bitcoin a 'contagious narrative' Anyone else find articles like these hard to take seriously?
Nobel laureate Robert Shiller should have a conversation with Turing Award winner Silvio Micali.
Re: Netherlands must ban cryptocurrencies immediately: CPB head
#30Nobody buys tulips anymore
What! I missed the tulip pump! dang...
:-)
come to think of it...maybe if we got elon to tweet about it, we could start a tulip pump.