5 ms·

It was just naïve to think that a decentralised monetary system could work. Some people think that regulation is evil.

by mahouse 11y ago

bad_user 11y ago
Funny, a successful decentralized monetary system has existed for quite some time, being the oldest monetary system in existence and probably the one that will still be relevant in 1000 years from now ... Gold ;-) In my mind the only useful trait of Bitcoin has been its decentralized nature. Take that away and I'd rather deal with USD, EUR and my local banking system, thank you very much.
- mahouse 11y ago
  Implying gold would not be regulated if people turned to it. And for me, the only dangerous thing of Bitcoin is its decentralised nature.
  - hga 11y ago
    Good point, e.g. from 1933 through 1974 it was illegal for Americans to own gold: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_6102 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_6102
- kalleboo 11y ago
  And in a world with only physical gold and no electronic payments, credit cards, wires, how quickly would business move?
  - hga 11y ago
    That old problem has of course been addressed, e.g. by using things like gold certificates: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_certificate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_certificate Which add their own set of problems, but at least you get a clear signal when they get repudiated. Or you use banks, letters of credit from them (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_of_credit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_of_credit), etc.
    - dragontamer 11y ago
      Except Gold Certificates are fake money. Many crashes in the 1800s were about Banks issuing too many certificates for the amount of Gold that was actually stored in their vaults. Gold Certificates are no different than credit cards or fractional reserve banking. The bank makes a promise without proving anything, and people are expected to trust the banks for things to work out. And when the poop hits the fan, people look into the vaults and realize they've been fooled. Maybe the gold really was there, but has been loaned out to another bank (and the banks have gold certificates to another bank). And maybe _THAT_ other bank has been lying this whole time. Its your standard economic issues, too big to fail and all that. Besides, leaving the Gold Standard was how the world recovered from the Great Depression. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression#Gold_standard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression#Gold_standard
      - hga 11y ago
        Except Gold Certificates are fake money. Which might be why I said: but at least you get a clear signal when they get repudiated. When, not if. I think this may be better than how fiat money "works", but obviously opinions vary.
        dragontamer 11y ago
        http://news.gtp.gr/2015/07/28/greek-depositors-allowed-to-withdraw-weekly-e420-as-of-wednesday-july-29/ http://news.gtp.gr/2015/07/28/greek-depositors-allowed-to-wi... I don't see how a gold standard would change any of this. Should the banks have issues, they will legally prevent bank runs by making it impossible to withdraw money. Whether or not a bank is tied to the gold standard, this will occur. > When, not if. I think this may be better than how fiat money "works", but obviously opinions vary. No sarcastic "quotes" needed. We both know that both Gold Standard and Fiat Money works. The question is if anyone has actually studied the 1800s economy and honestly can tell me that it was better than the 1970s+ economy. Bank runs a plenty, private persons losing their entire savings as banks folded. Etc. etc...
        11y ago

It was just naïve to think that a decentralised monetary system could work. Some people think that regulation is evil.

by mahouse 11y ago

It was just naïve to think that a decentralised monetary system could work. Some people think that regulation is evil.

Funny, a successful decentralized monetary system has existed for quite some time, being the oldest monetary system in existence and probably the one that will still be relevant in 1000 years from now ... Gold ;-) In my mind the only useful trait of Bitcoin has been its decentralized nature. Take that away and I'd rather deal with USD, EUR and my local banking system, thank you very much.

mahouse 11y ago
Implying gold would not be regulated if people turned to it. And for me, the only dangerous thing of Bitcoin is its decentralised nature.
- hga 11y ago
  Good point, e.g. from 1933 through 1974 it was illegal for Americans to own gold: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_6102 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_6102
kalleboo 11y ago
And in a world with only physical gold and no electronic payments, credit cards, wires, how quickly would business move?
- hga 11y ago
  That old problem has of course been addressed, e.g. by using things like gold certificates: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_certificate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_certificate Which add their own set of problems, but at least you get a clear signal when they get repudiated. Or you use banks, letters of credit from them (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_of_credit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_of_credit), etc.
  - dragontamer 11y ago
    Except Gold Certificates are fake money. Many crashes in the 1800s were about Banks issuing too many certificates for the amount of Gold that was actually stored in their vaults. Gold Certificates are no different than credit cards or fractional reserve banking. The bank makes a promise without proving anything, and people are expected to trust the banks for things to work out. And when the poop hits the fan, people look into the vaults and realize they've been fooled. Maybe the gold really was there, but has been loaned out to another bank (and the banks have gold certificates to another bank). And maybe _THAT_ other bank has been lying this whole time. Its your standard economic issues, too big to fail and all that. Besides, leaving the Gold Standard was how the world recovered from the Great Depression. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression#Gold_standard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression#Gold_standard
    - hga 11y ago
      Except Gold Certificates are fake money. Which might be why I said: but at least you get a clear signal when they get repudiated. When, not if. I think this may be better than how fiat money "works", but obviously opinions vary.
      - dragontamer 11y ago
        http://news.gtp.gr/2015/07/28/greek-depositors-allowed-to-withdraw-weekly-e420-as-of-wednesday-july-29/ http://news.gtp.gr/2015/07/28/greek-depositors-allowed-to-wi... I don't see how a gold standard would change any of this. Should the banks have issues, they will legally prevent bank runs by making it impossible to withdraw money. Whether or not a bank is tied to the gold standard, this will occur. > When, not if. I think this may be better than how fiat money "works", but obviously opinions vary. No sarcastic "quotes" needed. We both know that both Gold Standard and Fiat Money works. The question is if anyone has actually studied the 1800s economy and honestly can tell me that it was better than the 1970s+ economy. Bank runs a plenty, private persons losing their entire savings as banks folded. Etc. etc...
        11y ago