In Defense of Bitcoin Maximalism • Hacker News Board

Re: In Defense of Bitcoin Maximalism

#231

Post by NoblePublius » Mon, Apr 04, 2022, 4:24 PM UTC

uncletammy wrote: post #141

not_kurt_godel wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, except gold, wheat, and coal have inherent value as physical items whereas crypto does not.

You see no value in having a currency that can't be inflated on a whim by your government? As in, the printing of money that reduces the purchasing power of the money sitting in your bank account. Really?

There is some value in having assets immune to inflationary money printing; indeed there are countless examples of such assets available for purchase such as stocks and real estate. My question remains: why is risk of permanently losing your money worth the alleged benefits of crypto? I am willing to accept 2% fees from Amex built into my purchases because such purchases are insured against fraud and deceptive business practice. Crypto provides none of that but it does provide a substantial non-zero risk of permanently losing access to your money because you forgot your password or lost your coke storage.

Re: In Defense of Bitcoin Maximalism

#232

Post by someguydave » Wed, Apr 06, 2022, 1:11 PM UTC

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #148

someguydave wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Trading between financial participants is, cetiris paribus, always zero sum. Only if you consider the trade in the quantity of the goods traded, and not in a prevailing unit of accounting.

> Only if you consider the trade in the quantity of the goods traded, and not in a prevailing unit of accounting Nope, this is microeconomics. If you and I have the same funding costs and we trade a commodity derivative, any gain you have is a gain I gave up. Any loss you have is one I avoided. This is true irrespective of the unit of account of point in time at which one measures it; it's an identity. The only

You are carefully defining the word “trading” to meet a narrow academic category which excludes many cases normal people consider integral to “trading”.

Someone who buys wheat, holds it and sells it the next day is definitely not “trading”, he merely engages in a series of discrete trades? Daft.

Re: In Defense of Bitcoin Maximalism

#233

Post by johnsonlambo » Thu, Apr 07, 2022, 5:35 AM UTC

aaaaaaaaata wrote: post #210

Spooky23 wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tomorrow, it could be 50% less valuable than it is today. It's a highly speculative investment at best, and a pyramid scheme at worst.

How many days in the last 5 years has Bitcoin done a 50% change in a 24hr period? On how many of those occasions was there no opportunity, within say 3-12 months, to sell for higher afterward? and if you don't have the answer to this...

That does not matter. If you bought at the peak in 2017 you would have had to wait 3 years later to come to equal and you would have been down 75% at the low in 2020. I would not consider this a store of value whatsoever. You are literally speaking to the volatility of btc by referencing the massive changes in value over short periods of time. Lets be honest, the majority of btc investors buy because they hope/believe more people will follow after them in a chase for massive gains. Not because the see intrinsic value in the product.

Re: In Defense of Bitcoin Maximalism

#234

Post by kragen » Thu, Apr 14, 2022, 3:16 AM UTC

NoblePublius wrote: post #231

uncletammy wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You see no value in having a currency that can't be inflated on a whim by your government? As in, the printing of money that reduces the purchasing power of the money sitting in your bank account. Really?

There is some value in having assets immune to inflationary money printing; indeed there are countless examples of such assets available for purchase such as stocks and real estate. My question remains: why is risk of permanently losing your money worth the alleged benefits of crypto? I am willing to accept 2% fees from Amex built into my purchases because such purchases are insured against fraud and deceptive busine…

Stocks and real estate also pose a risk of permanently losing your money; for example, the company might go bankrupt, the real estate might be expropriated via adverse possession, or the government might freeze trade in the market until after you die, as has happened in a large number of cases since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Even without government freezes, Ukrainian refugees whose savings were invested in Ukrainian real estate cannot spend them now (they are illiquid) and may lose them.

I recommend not storing your password with your coke.