Does Warren Buffett understand digital signatures?
The technology is not important to the value.
Warren Buffett: Bitcoin Is Pure FOMO
31–40 of 196 posts
Re: Warren Buffett: Bitcoin Is Pure FOMO
#32As someone completerly uninvested in this whole mania, I still see Bitcoin as something with an inherent value. The real problem right now is that nobody knows what that inherent value really is. Even if the price were to crash 100x tomorrow, Bitcoin would still have some value because of the energy expenditure involved with Proof of Work. Of course people that are "investing" in it now are simply gambling. But Bitco…
So there is inherent value in burning piles of cash, because 'cash went into creating it'? I don't get the logic.
Re: Warren Buffett: Bitcoin Is Pure FOMO
#33> “The idea that it has some huge intrinsic value is just a joke, in my view."
It doesn't have intrinsic value. I'm not sure anyone can seriously make that claim. But neither has the dollar or any fiat currency. Money does not need intrinsic value to function as money. People seem to have agreed on that ever since the gold standard was given up.
> "You can't value bitcoin, because it's not a value-producing asset,"
Again, neither is any currency. I'm a big fan of Warren Buffet but I disagree with him on this. IMHO cryptocurrencies are, at least technically, better currencies because they offer better accountability. Now, being technically superior is not enough : people have to use it. Money is a social tool : if nobody uses your currency, then your currency is worthless. In case of national currencies, this issue is solved with the recourse of the authority of the State, who decides that a currency is the currency. For cryptocurrencies, it is solved by social agreement, that is allomimetism.
Re: Warren Buffett: Bitcoin Is Pure FOMO
#34It's interesting to note that most of the people who are pro-Bitcoin were born after 1980 or so. Could it be that Mr Buffett just doesn't get it?
Sure. But it seems faaar more likely that Buffet has seen this before and those who are pro-Bitcoin and haven't watched similar commodity/equity rushes are not getting it.
Re: Warren Buffett: Bitcoin Is Pure FOMO
#35It's interesting to note that most of the people who are pro-Bitcoin were born after 1980 or so. Could it be that Mr Buffett just doesn't get it?
I don't see the point to buying Bitcoin.
I was born before 1980 (I like to read about the protocol and rummage through the code. Reading about hacks/scams and other interesting stories is fun. But my interest has not so far induced me to invest money or computing time into any cryptocurrency.
Re: Warren Buffett: Bitcoin Is Pure FOMO
#36"Rather, dollars are a temporary store of value, a means of transmitting that value from one person to another. As Buffett says, valuing bitcoin is like trying to value a paper check drawn on a bank. Pointless." I agree with the premise of the article, but isn't this quote a jump from that? Whats preventing bitcoin from being a temporary store of value to transmit from one person to another; Isn't there a second argu…
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Re: Warren Buffett: Bitcoin Is Pure FOMO
#37It's interesting to note that most of the people who are pro-Bitcoin were born after 1980 or so. Could it be that Mr Buffett just doesn't get it?
Not sure why everyone's go-to after someone talks negatively about Bitcoin is "he/she doesn't get it." Exactly what is there to get?
Re: Warren Buffett: Bitcoin Is Pure FOMO
#38As someone completerly uninvested in this whole mania, I still see Bitcoin as something with an inherent value. The real problem right now is that nobody knows what that inherent value really is. Even if the price were to crash 100x tomorrow, Bitcoin would still have some value because of the energy expenditure involved with Proof of Work. Of course people that are "investing" in it now are simply gambling. But Bitco…
The fact that energy was expended doing all the hashing does not mean that the "coins" have value. It is entirely possible to expend energy on useless activity, thereby converting valuable electricity into useless waste.
Re: Warren Buffett: Bitcoin Is Pure FOMO
#39It's interesting to note that most of the people who are pro-Bitcoin were born after 1980 or so. Could it be that Mr Buffett just doesn't get it?
Sure. But it seems faaar more likely that Buffet has seen this before and those who are pro-Bitcoin and haven't watched similar commodity/equity rushes are not getting it.
What? Bitcoin has never existed before it was created, and it wasn't possible before the Internet, so I don't think Warren Buffett has seen it before unless he's a time traveler.
Re: Warren Buffett: Bitcoin Is Pure FOMO
#40"Rather, dollars are a temporary store of value, a means of transmitting that value from one person to another. As Buffett says, valuing bitcoin is like trying to value a paper check drawn on a bank. Pointless." I agree with the premise of the article, but isn't this quote a jump from that? Whats preventing bitcoin from being a temporary store of value to transmit from one person to another; Isn't there a second argu…
The author sort of covers that in this line: >I counter that just about nobody thinks of American cash as an investment, except for perhaps currency speculators. Of course that sort of ignores the fact that bitcoin investors are currency speculators...
"Nobody thinks of American cash as an investment, except for perhaps those who invest in it."