Earlier quoted context omitted.
> or are people gambling on the value of it? Welcome to investing. Adoption is success.
Is this a currency or just a (totally speculative) stock then?
How would you decide that?
Bitcoin Price Tops $1,000 in First Day of 2017 Trading
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Re: Bitcoin Price Tops $1,000 in First Day of 2017 Trading
#22OK, I'll be that guy. Is this actually intellectually stimulating to hackers? Should I start posting stock tickers for karma?
There has been so many critics of cryptocurrencies on HN that hopefully this 3-year high makes people stop and ponder on why Bitcoin has succeeded beyond anyone's wildest expectation over the last 8 years...
Re: Bitcoin Price Tops $1,000 in First Day of 2017 Trading
#23Isn't that a problem because it will mean also higher transaction costs (in dollar)?
Re: Bitcoin Price Tops $1,000 in First Day of 2017 Trading
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
Just the world's first digital, decentralized currency succeeding. Hackers can and will use it to create new and fascinating projects.
Is it succeeding or are people gambling on the value of it?
My belief is that after the crashes, few weak hands remain. Brexit's speculation bubble was extremely tame and corrected back to modest growth after only days. Only in the last couple weeks has the growth looked particularly bubbley. Fully unqualified speculation from a casual investor: I suspect the correction goes to no lower than $800.
Re: Bitcoin Price Tops $1,000 in First Day of 2017 Trading
#25Re: Bitcoin Price Tops $1,000 in First Day of 2017 Trading
#26Bitcoin is living up to it's reputation as digital gold. The Chinese are running away from RMB and buying bitcoin, Venezuelans are running away from Bolivares into Bitcoin. And to a lesser extent some Indians are escaping the Rupee. It'll be really interesting to see how governments try to deal with decentralized currencies if they really take off. Governments lose a lot of control when they can't control money.
The Chinese are running away from RMB and buying bitcoin
Not just bitcoin. Chinese money is buying whatever assets they can get their hands on; purchases of real estate in Canada alone last year significantly exceeded the entire market capitalization of bitcoin.
Re: Bitcoin Price Tops $1,000 in First Day of 2017 Trading
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
Skyrocketing value is not a desirable trait for a would be currency.
That's true, but it's also the only thing you can expect if Bitcoin succeeds. Eventually the volatility should subside somewhat, as the market grows. It already has, although obviously it's still a roller coaster ride. How much volatility an uncontrolled currency exhibits should be interesting to see if Bitcoin sticks around for good.
Why exactly will the volatility ever subside?
Currencies that are considered stable are not magically so - this is the result of a careful balancing act by central banks. Bitcoin doesn't have an equivalent entity managing the rate of increase in the money supply.
Re: Bitcoin Price Tops $1,000 in First Day of 2017 Trading
#28Bitcoin is living up to it's reputation as digital gold. The Chinese are running away from RMB and buying bitcoin, Venezuelans are running away from Bolivares into Bitcoin. And to a lesser extent some Indians are escaping the Rupee. It'll be really interesting to see how governments try to deal with decentralized currencies if they really take off. Governments lose a lot of control when they can't control money.
Makes me wonder what other essential functions of society can be digitized, decentralized, and put out of reach of irresponsible government entities.
Into the reach of irresponsible private entities
Re: Bitcoin Price Tops $1,000 in First Day of 2017 Trading
#29Bitcoin is living up to it's reputation as digital gold. The Chinese are running away from RMB and buying bitcoin, Venezuelans are running away from Bolivares into Bitcoin. And to a lesser extent some Indians are escaping the Rupee. It'll be really interesting to see how governments try to deal with decentralized currencies if they really take off. Governments lose a lot of control when they can't control money.
That's not true at all - just paid marketing via questionable news sources. When you look at the volumes, which haven't increased much, this is all speculation so prepare for a sharp dump soon!
Re: Bitcoin Price Tops $1,000 in First Day of 2017 Trading
#30https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/06/08/bitco...
You'll find a lot of such dismissive articles about Bitcoin throughout its existence. Here's a collection of 'Bitcoin obituaries' if you want to reinforce that view: https://99bitcoins.com/bitcoinobituaries/
It's not an obituary, it's a fact. I am tired of rehearsing how a currency is enforced to be accepted in the issuing country, has a monetary authority etc. Otherwise while theoretically it could be called a currency, that's a thing for dictionary writers, it's just not usable in everyday life therefore anyone pushing for it has a not-entirely-straight agenda. There's no killer app for bitcoin yet and it's hard to even imagine a (legal) one.
It's possible future blockchains will be better but so far, this is not.