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Many of us find it obscene and a bit ridiculous that this easily-manipulated sham for the foolish-minded is even mentioned on HN. Having worked as a software e

Many of us find it obscene and a bit ridiculous that this easily-manipulated sham for the foolish-minded is even mentioned on HN. Having worked as a software engineer since 1991 -- with a CS degree from UC Berkeley no less -- I cannot think of a single serious-minded peer who takes BTC seriously, all computer people too. I find it questionable that, just because the U.S. Government has been duped to allow this ETF -- while simultaneously doing everything in their power to undermine BTC -- we somehow must suffer to find BTC held up as a legitimate medium of exchange. It's really not. It wasn't several years ago when everyone was told "soon it will be accepted everywhere cash and credit cards are" -- and it's not now a legitimate medium of exchange. Some one(s) will eventually recognize BTC for what it is: a purely speculative gamble, and not a legitimate or safe means of exchange. THIS IS THE U.S. GOVT. -- 3 years ago: https://gigaom.com/2013/05/14/homeland-security-seizes-funds-at-main-bitcoin-exchange-report/ https://gigaom.com/2013/05/14/homeland-security-seizes-funds... THIS IS THE U.S. GOVT. -- 9 months ago: "U.S. government is calling bitcoin anything but a currency" http://www.forbes.com/sites/peterferrara/2013/08/25/the-federal-governments-reaction-to-bitcoin-is-an-acknowledgement-of-the-dollars-vulnerability/#72e483403e9e http://www.forbes.com/sites/peterferrara/2013/08/25/the-fede... Many of us who read HN fully believe that touting or merely holding up speculative gambling indulgences is just not appropriate. If you like, have a look here for just a small history of victims of BTC, and keep well in mind BTC is not accepted in lieu of cash, credit cards, etc., so the argument 'regular money gets stolen too' doesn't wash, because BTC has no practical utility as a medium of exchange, making it illogical for anyone but a gambler to 'invest' in it: THIS LIST IS 2 YEARS OLD https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=576337 https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=576337

woodman 10y ago
An appeal to the masses and an appeal to authority in just the first two sentences - I've never seen that done here before now.
justin_vanw 10y ago
Give me a single, just one single, way that a BTC ETF different than owning shares in a gold mining company, using the language of economics. If you want a simpler problem, how is it different from an ETF that tracks the price of gold?
- jpatokal 10y ago
  The odds of gold being completely worthless 5 years from now are rather lower than the odds of BTC being completely worthless 5 years from now.
  - DoctorBit 10y ago
    That's why the market cap of bitcoin is 1/1000 the market cap of gold - to compensate for that risk.
  - alex_young 10y ago
    Why? Gold has the same basic economic proposition: * Mined at a steady and predictable rate * Ecologically destructive * Valued because it is hoarded * Hoarded because it is valued
    - jrockway 10y ago
      Can you plate Bitcoins on to metals to produce a layer that doesn't corrode or oxidize? Because gold is pretty good at that.
  - wcoenen 10y ago
    Space mining could have some interesting effects on the gold market, assuming it can be done profitably. The asteroid 433 Eros alone likely contains more gold than was ever mined on Earth. But that indeed won't happen within 5 years.
- youngButEager 10y ago
  If I bought a brand new $500 desktop computer (yes they're that cheap these days) -- and then bought a brand new 500 gigabyte hard drive that cost $100, and put it in the new computer........ then I gathered 200 people who each had between $500,000 and $1million to invest, and told them "this hard drive is worth at least $500,000. I'll start the bidding there, at $500,000." How many would bid?
  - 10y ago
DoctorBit 10y ago
"I cannot think of a single serious-minded peer who takes BTC seriously" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman

woodman 10y ago

An appeal to the masses and an appeal to authority in just the first two sentences - I've never seen that done here before now.

justin_vanw 10y ago

Give me a single, just one single, way that a BTC ETF different than owning shares in a gold mining company, using the language of economics. If you want a simpler problem, how is it different from an ETF that tracks the price of gold?

jpatokal 10y ago
The odds of gold being completely worthless 5 years from now are rather lower than the odds of BTC being completely worthless 5 years from now.
- DoctorBit 10y ago
  That's why the market cap of bitcoin is 1/1000 the market cap of gold - to compensate for that risk.
- alex_young 10y ago
  Why? Gold has the same basic economic proposition: * Mined at a steady and predictable rate * Ecologically destructive * Valued because it is hoarded * Hoarded because it is valued
  - jrockway 10y ago
    Can you plate Bitcoins on to metals to produce a layer that doesn't corrode or oxidize? Because gold is pretty good at that.
- wcoenen 10y ago
  Space mining could have some interesting effects on the gold market, assuming it can be done profitably. The asteroid 433 Eros alone likely contains more gold than was ever mined on Earth. But that indeed won't happen within 5 years.
youngButEager 10y ago
If I bought a brand new $500 desktop computer (yes they're that cheap these days) -- and then bought a brand new 500 gigabyte hard drive that cost $100, and put it in the new computer........ then I gathered 200 people who each had between $500,000 and $1million to invest, and told them "this hard drive is worth at least $500,000. I'll start the bidding there, at $500,000." How many would bid?
- 10y ago

DoctorBit 10y ago

"I cannot think of a single serious-minded peer who takes BTC seriously" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman