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Bitcoin Is Time

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Re: Bitcoin Is Time

#491

Post by matwood »

oliv__ wrote: post #401
boredpandas777 wrote: post #348

Let me fix that title. Happy to be downvoted into negative territory. I only have 11 points. Go ahead. "Bitcoin Is A Waste of Time (and Resources)" What Bitcoin has done is that it taught people they can come together in a sustained flash mob (like an on-the-fly hedge fund operation) and manipulate the price of speculative assets by creating artificial short-term pump-n-dump type demand. Bitcoin has trained our colle…

I'm genuinely amazed at how you're able to take such an in-depth, thoughtfully written article, and reduce it into a mere "bitcoin is a waste of time, people are gamblers".

I was a little disappointed since the poster didn't weave in tulips...

Re: Bitcoin Is Time

#492

Post by Robotbeat »

krrrh wrote: post #291
thewarrior wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently decided to think deeply about Bitcoin and I think my initial skepticism about Bitcoin was wrong. Most of the criticisms of Bitcoin are centered around the fact that Bitcoin has a very low throughput. However this is not necessarily a problem. And here is one hypothetical example of how we can overcome this issue: When countries owe each other money they used to transfer gold back and forth or trust someone…

One of the properties of gold that roughly held true for centuries was a stable value. When gold threatened to become too scarce for a growing economy the incentive to mine, explore, and develop new mining technology increased. Goldbugs often point out that an ounce of gold has always been close to the price of a nice suit (admittedly a fuzzy measure, and it’s sometimes a really nice suit, and sometimes just a really…

Well, it’s no major mystery WHY you get religiosity and post how rationalizations. Those with Bitcoin, especially those with a LOT of their net worth tied up in Bitcoin, will work the hardest to protect that investment.

Of course, rich people have always done that (post hoc justifications for their wealth), but when that wealth is not codified and protected by anything other than speculative value, it just increases the volume of that effect even more. The lack of technical fundamental superiority of Bitcoin vs other approaches (and no need to mention alternatives, y’all know them) increases the fervor of defense of Bitcoin as that’s basically the only thing keeping it up.

Anyway, as long as Bitcoin has perceived social value, it may still have niche uses like allowing you to get money out of Venezuela. And maybe slightly cheaper than wiring large amounts of money.

So actually you’re left with just: 1) pure social perceived value and 2) small use case when you have utter failure of the formal financial system. The first case is a self-licking ice cream cone, but... Unfortunately, #2 could end up being a self-licking ice cream cone, too, because now you have a bunch of people kind of invested in the formal system failing. I’m not really worried about it as the number of Bitcoin true believers is low vs the total population (and there have often been such people with a stake in system failure), but it is something to keep in mind.

But not everyone just acts mechanically in response to financial incentives, as there are some cryptocurrency advocates who see the need to shore up the formal system and advocate for that.

Re: Bitcoin Is Time

#493

Post by Aunche »

ballofrubber wrote: post #147
toto444 wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Sour grapes syndrome is a result of pride, I think. Or maybe it comes from people who have read an Econo101 textbook and who have spent a lot of time trying to explain a crowd of Bitcoin enthusiasts why their reasoning is wrong but no one has been listening to them so far so they are bored. Back in the time I used to spend my days on a forum about Economics. Every other week there was a random guy who signed up jus…

Would you care to share your Econo101 knowledge? I'm not an economist, but nothing has convinced me yet that bitcoin is not the best form of money.

Aside from its transaction costs, which may be mitigated by the lightning network, Bitcoin is still a lousy currency. One important function of money is the creation of credit. If you have a large quantity of money that you don't want to spend in the short term, the money is better put to use by loaning it to a small business or couple purchasing their first house.

Without regulation or FDIC insurance, very few people would be willing to give their bitcoins to a bank so that it could be lent out to people who have a better use for it. Even if a Bitcoin bank could exist, an economic downturn could cause a liquidity crisis, where everyone tries to withdraw their Bitcoin at once. The banks would have no way of returning the Bitcoins to many of their customers. Because there is no central bank that can print out Bitcoin, the entire Bitcoin financial system would be in ruin following the crisis.

Re: Bitcoin Is Time

#494

Post by companyhen »

gnrlst wrote: post #210

I'm ready to be downvoted to oblivion, especially by all the Bitcoin purists, but I hope my message sparks at least some curiosity. Bitcoin is getting "weaker" every year for several reasons: - emerging centralization due to economies of scale. If this trend continues the mining power will be so consolidated that a 51% attack will be likely. The Nakamoto coefficient is already at 4, and tending towards 3. - energy us…

If you want to see a real Decentralized Central Bank I highly recommend digging into SORA Network.

It's a self-funded project by the founder (No VC's, No ICO, No Presale, etc.) with a fair launch and the team has already developed a live central bank digital currency called Bakong in Cambodia.

https://sora.org/

https://sora.org/blog/

https://sora.org/soratokens/

https://soramitsu.co.jp/

Re: Bitcoin Is Time

#495

Post by fredfoobar »

fredfoobar wrote: post #373
boredpandas777 wrote: post #348

Let me fix that title. Happy to be downvoted into negative territory. I only have 11 points. Go ahead. "Bitcoin Is A Waste of Time (and Resources)" What Bitcoin has done is that it taught people they can come together in a sustained flash mob (like an on-the-fly hedge fund operation) and manipulate the price of speculative assets by creating artificial short-term pump-n-dump type demand. Bitcoin has trained our colle…

I've been saying the same damn thing about automobiles man, horses already have self driving even! and they don't pollute like cars. Look at the mess we're in now! who's laughing?? Cars pollute and need roads, we had to build so many roads and gas stations. We even had to go to war to make sure we have enough oil.

Now that people are understanding that horses are better, can I turn your attention to concrete?

The manufacture of cement produces about 0.9 pounds of CO2 for every pound of cement. Since cement is only a fraction of the constituents in concrete, manufacturing a cubic yard of concrete (about 3900 lbs) is responsible for emitting about 400 lbs of CO2.

We should stop making things out of concrete, it's destroying our climate, Mud huts are more than enough to protect us from the elements. We have so much land in the US, why can't we all spread out instead of building high rises??

Edit: who's downvoting this? look at the replies below, people know this is a real problem.

Re: Bitcoin Is Time

#496

Post by bennysonething »

fredfoobar wrote: post #373
boredpandas777 wrote: post #348

Let me fix that title. Happy to be downvoted into negative territory. I only have 11 points. Go ahead. "Bitcoin Is A Waste of Time (and Resources)" What Bitcoin has done is that it taught people they can come together in a sustained flash mob (like an on-the-fly hedge fund operation) and manipulate the price of speculative assets by creating artificial short-term pump-n-dump type demand. Bitcoin has trained our colle…

I've been saying the same damn thing about automobiles man, horses already have self driving even! and they don't pollute like cars. Look at the mess we're in now! who's laughing?? Cars pollute and need roads, we had to build so many roads and gas stations. We even had to go to war to make sure we have enough oil.

O know this a joke, but the other problem with horses is fuel: endless fields for hay. So wilderness destruction.

Re: Bitcoin Is Time

#497

Post by ball_of_lint »

boredpandas777 wrote: post #348

Let me fix that title. Happy to be downvoted into negative territory. I only have 11 points. Go ahead. "Bitcoin Is A Waste of Time (and Resources)" What Bitcoin has done is that it taught people they can come together in a sustained flash mob (like an on-the-fly hedge fund operation) and manipulate the price of speculative assets by creating artificial short-term pump-n-dump type demand. Bitcoin has trained our colle…

Why do you think young people today are willing to take these extreme risks? Casinos and speculative instruments existed decades ago.

I think it's because of the massive economic inequality that people experience today. Working an unskilled, or even a skilled job doesn't go as far today as it has in the past. Many people have internalized that they will never be as "successful" or as rich as their elders. Given that situation, it's easy to see why these risky asymmetrical bets are attractive. A failed investment pushes you deeper into poverty, but doesn't fundamentally change your situation. A successful one has the potential to change your life and break the cycle of poverty for you.

For someone who's about to declare bankruptcy, a lottery ticket is an excellent deal. For the lower class of America, so are these investments.

Re: Bitcoin Is Time

#498

Post by olah_1 »

noxer wrote: post #477
solosoyokaze wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is true, because the vitriol was there prior to anyone complaining about Bitcoin's power usage (i.e. when it was too small to matter). I remember when I first heard of Bitcoin. I quite frankly found it technically intimidating. It was a totally new concept. I didn't get it. I took my own discomfort as a sort of signal that it was really important; something totally new. So I studied it. I had to put time and eff…

If you do the same kinda research about FBA you will "get it" too and you will know that PoW is useless. You probably wont make money form that but still I hope you dig into it. I myself saw "the beauty" in bitcoin once and later saw it in FBA again. After all it solves the same problem just in a very different way.

> You probably wont make money form that but still I hope you dig into it

There is something to say for incentives. The positive incentive loop is what drives adoption, innovation, security etc.

Re: Bitcoin Is Time

#499

Post by barnbuilder »

aeternum wrote: post #323
gnrlst wrote: post #210

I'm ready to be downvoted to oblivion, especially by all the Bitcoin purists, but I hope my message sparks at least some curiosity. Bitcoin is getting "weaker" every year for several reasons: - emerging centralization due to economies of scale. If this trend continues the mining power will be so consolidated that a 51% attack will be likely. The Nakamoto coefficient is already at 4, and tending towards 3. - energy us…

Suppose I create a new coin that I also call Nano. I create a bunch of bots and websites and post on message boards so it looks like my version is more popular and has more participants. How will people tell the difference?

There are people and organizations attempting to do this with Bitcoin right now. How do people tell the difference? Sometimes they don't and they get scammed.

Re: Bitcoin Is Time

#500

Post by ant6n »

bennysonething wrote: post #496
fredfoobar wrote: post #373

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been saying the same damn thing about automobiles man, horses already have self driving even! and they don't pollute like cars. Look at the mess we're in now! who's laughing?? Cars pollute and need roads, we had to build so many roads and gas stations. We even had to go to war to make sure we have enough oil.

O know this a joke, but the other problem with horses is fuel: endless fields for hay. So wilderness destruction.

I think the bigger problem is poop
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