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Former US SEC attorney: 'Get out of crypto platforms now'

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Re: Former US SEC attorney: 'Get out of crypto platforms now'

#461

Post by eric_cc »

DaiPlusPlus wrote: post #348
lmm wrote: post #332

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think I have been wrong? Like I said, the ability to actually buy stuff with Bitcoin is in decline. I'd change my mind if I saw evidence of increasing Bitcoin adoption in the real economy.

[flagged]

> BTC added no value to the retail experience.

You’re missing the point entirely. Bitcoin will gain usability parity with the US dollar. And bitcoin is a better currency that anything mutable and controlled by governments. Bitcoin is a currency that is not subject to the whims of unpredictable central government financial policies. Bitcoin’s buying power fluctuates because we are still dealing with The Fed monetary policies. In time that will smooth itself out. Aside from violence (US military), what is the US dollar’s features that make it better than bitcoin in any way?

Re: Former US SEC attorney: 'Get out of crypto platforms now'

#462

Post by eric_cc »

Melting_Harps wrote: post #351
lmm wrote: post #332

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think I have been wrong? Like I said, the ability to actually buy stuff with Bitcoin is in decline. I'd change my mind if I saw evidence of increasing Bitcoin adoption in the real economy.

> I don't think I have been wrong? Like I said, the ability to actually buy stuff with Bitcoin is in decline. I'd change my mind if I saw evidence of increasing Bitcoin adoption in the real economy. Based on what evidence exactly? Consider that an entire nation state has since adopted it as its national currency, along the USD in the last 3 years; that means it works in parallel with the USD. Not to mention that merc…

You’re doing the ignorant a favor for no real gain. Bitcoin adoption will continue. Bitcoin’s progress remains unstoppable. No amount of downvotes can stop it. And the next giant leap in buying power will just make the anger and denial stronger here - a classic case of cognitive dissonance.

Re: Former US SEC attorney: 'Get out of crypto platforms now'

#463

Post by eric_cc »

darth_avocado wrote: post #290
mabcat wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You do need to separate medium of exchange from store of value. Real estate is useless as a currency while being the primary store of value for most people. Most of your objections also apply to real estate: can't know how much wheat a house is worth, houses are notoriously illiquid, price discovery is difficult and quite opaque, the sector is rife with misrepresentations. I wouldn't go so far as to say fraud, but wh…

You can live in a real estate investment or grow food on it or run a business in it. Bitcoin is a bunch of 1s and 0s that is same as a blank canvas hung in museum and is priced at $20M. It is essentially useless, but people believe it’s worth something, so it keeps holding value. Until one day, it doesn’t.

Now do the US dollar!

Re: Former US SEC attorney: 'Get out of crypto platforms now'

#464

Post by eric_cc »

steveBK123 wrote: post #446
AnthonyMouse wrote: post #424

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But then you have to explain why gift cards are worth something. The answer is, because someone will give you something for them. Meanwhile there are a large number of entities that have already entered into long-term contracts denominated in cryptocurrencies and any of them would pay you something for it when they need to satisfy their obligations. That doesn't mean the value never changes, but that's also true of g…

Do gift cards go up & down 50% in a year and have large transaction costs?

when you say up and down you are referring to buying power. And yes, the buying power of a $20 grocery store gift card has gone way down the last few years. Consider how much milk and eggs you could buy in 2018 compared to today.

Re: Former US SEC attorney: 'Get out of crypto platforms now'

#465

Post by eric_cc »

peoplefromibiza wrote: post #439
AnthonyMouse wrote: post #424

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But then you have to explain why gift cards are worth something. The answer is, because someone will give you something for them. Meanwhile there are a large number of entities that have already entered into long-term contracts denominated in cryptocurrencies and any of them would pay you something for it when they need to satisfy their obligations. That doesn't mean the value never changes, but that's also true of g…

> But then you have to explain why gift cards are worth something gift cards are vouchers You pay $30 to the store so that someone else can spend the $30 in that store. It's a certificate, not a currency, not a store of value.

It’s “buying power”

Re: Former US SEC attorney: 'Get out of crypto platforms now'

#466

Post by paulddraper »

TacticalCoder wrote: post #355
anon-3988 wrote: post #335

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And? I am not advocating for gold either. Gold hinges on the fact that its yellow and nice to look at or whatever. It is entirely feasible for the world to be possessed by zeitgeist such that gold or anything yellow doesn't mean particularly much. This could happen, for example, if gold and diamonds can be manufactured artificially. What then?

Wait... Is it not that within our current understanding of physics gold can only be manufactured artificially from an already heavier metal? (which are already more expensive than gold I think). I don't know the details but, basically, it's not because we can manufacture synthetic diamonds that we'll one day be able to manufacture non-radioactive synthetic gold.

Gold can be created from heavier elements via fission or lighter elements via fusion.

Either way, there's no foreseeable way either would ever be cost -effective

Re: Former US SEC attorney: 'Get out of crypto platforms now'

#467

Post by peoplefromibiza »

peoplefromibiza wrote: post #438
AnthonyMouse wrote: post #427

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So if people trust that Bitcoin will continue to exist and they will meet people who want to do business with it etc...

except bitcoin is one of the worst choices for that purpose even the Iranian Rial is more reliable

can't edit anymore, the point is Iranian Rial is accepted by 90 million people in Iran, all the Iranian businesses and the Iranian government, there are much less bitcoin users, technically there are a lot more accounts, but that doesn't mean real people or real businesses.

Not surprisingly Iran and Russia are teaming up to create a new stablecoin and not adopting BTC, because using BTC right now is literally the best way to get caught (for example infringing sanctions).

The people that can afford to trust and use bitcoins for exchanges are the people who do not have to fear the surveillance of State actors/secret services/national agencies(NSA,FBI,Europol,China's central bank,...)/etc and that would be much better off using another FIAT currency (USD, EUR, etc.)

Re: Former US SEC attorney: 'Get out of crypto platforms now'

#468

Post by peoplefromibiza »

eric_cc wrote: post #465
peoplefromibiza wrote: post #439

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But then you have to explain why gift cards are worth something gift cards are vouchers You pay $30 to the store so that someone else can spend the $30 in that store. It's a certificate, not a currency, not a store of value.

It’s “buying power”

  gift card
  noun [ C ]
  uk /ˈɡɪft ˌkɑːd/ us /ˈɡɪft ˌkɑːrd/

  a card that can be exchanged in a shop or on a website for goods or services of the value that is printed on it
it's literally the same thing as cash, a check or a voucher.

it is also entirely dependent on the same external factors of cash, vouchers and checks: inflation, exchange rates, etc.

because it's simply a certification that you can spend that amount of money, in that currency, in that shop and that's it.

Also: a Patek Philippe is buying power as well

everything that can be exhchanged for something else can be defined as "buying power"

but an American Express or a gallon of water in the desert are buying power too.

the definition is too broad to be useful.

Re: Former US SEC attorney: 'Get out of crypto platforms now'

#469

Post by bandrami »

HWR_14 wrote: post #459
bandrami wrote: post #428

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a fundamental premise of the entire discipline and it's known to be empirically false

Does it also bother you that engineers designing bridges use Newtonian physics and discount relativistic effects?

There's not a scale at which acyclic preferences is a good approximation of what actually happens, so that's not really a good comparison. But even given that, structural engineers use nonlinear models that are more complicated than Newtonian physics, whereas economists say "math is too difficult so we'll use a simplifying but false set of assumptions"

Re: Former US SEC attorney: 'Get out of crypto platforms now'

#470

Post by peoplefromibiza »

eric_cc wrote: post #461
DaiPlusPlus wrote: post #348

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

> BTC added no value to the retail experience. You’re missing the point entirely. Bitcoin will gain usability parity with the US dollar. And bitcoin is a better currency that anything mutable and controlled by governments. Bitcoin is a currency that is not subject to the whims of unpredictable central government financial policies. Bitcoin’s buying power fluctuates because we are still dealing with The Fed monetary p…

> Aside from violence (US military), what is the US dollar’s features that make it better than bitcoin in any way?

using USD doesn't make me look like a criminal or a scammer.

And it actually work and is useful for everything that isn't shady.

Oh, yeah, almost forgot: I can go to a bank and ask for a loan in USD that I can then use to buy a house, start a business, go on a trip, instead of risking of losing everything the day after. I can repay the loan in comfortable installments, at a predictable rate which won't bankrupt me because I have to acquire bitcoins that are deflationary, so basically in 20 years my debt will have nominally grown up, instead of losing real value, due to inflation, hence costing me less, and whose price is unpredictable.

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