4 ms·

That could work, but cryptocurrencies are more convenient. You could transfer your coins anywhere in the world much easier. For example, you could donate your c

That could work, but cryptocurrencies are more convenient. You could transfer your coins anywhere in the world much easier. For example, you could donate your coins Wikileaks undetected, but it's much harder to do that with cash buried in the desert. It's also possible that the government may declare some bills invalid (what happened in India with larger bills). Also, government could inflate away your wealth by printing more currency.

agrajag 9y ago
While cryptocurrencies have been great (so far) for speculation, give how quickly their worth changes they make a pretty poor store of wealth. I'd prefer my cash to be worth in 1 year roughly the same as it's worth today.
- imaginenore 9y ago
  Oh, those poor bitcoin/ethereum holders, they only gained a few hundred/thousand percent in the last couple of years.
  - Avshalom 9y ago
    And if all you ever do is hold on to them your high score looks great, the problem is that if rent comes due in USD in the middle of a down swing. What was 1M usd is now 100K usd and rent is now 1-2% of your bitcoin instead of .1-2%, if you get unlucky a few times that can start eating your holdings real quick. Medium to long term growth only matters in assets you won't need to spend in the short term.
aub3bhat 9y ago
It's also possible that the government may declare some bills invalid (what happened in India with larger bills). Also, government could inflate away your wealth by printing more currency. At end of the day governments control both the network via (ISPs & Networking equipment) and processors (Try producing an 8080 in your backyard.). You make mistake of assuming that countries won't put up a global firewall that makes bitcoin/ether network impossible to operate. If China can filter traffic at internet scale, crippling Bitcoin network even if say EU/US/China are on board is trivial. Currencies are backed by the only thing that matters, its will/trust of the people. And no amount of crypto changes that. Unless of course you have some magical way of baking silicon on your own into processors and other chips used in computers and networking equipment in your backyard.
- Jabanga 9y ago
  Governments are not a conscious entity that is separate from society. They are institutions run by a collection parties with numerous competing and aligning interests, and with extensive stakes in society at large. They're not going to do something as massively destructive to society at large as ban encryption and prohibit all microprocessors lacking a back door.
  - aub3bhat 9y ago
    HN/BitcoinTalk/etc, suffer from extreme (pro-crypto) filter bubble. The average man/woman on the street ("society") could care less about Bitcoin/Ether. Just look at the whole Net Neutrality debate. Bitcoin/Ether barely register in terms of the total economic activity (75 Billion $). With significant fraction unusable. They will either be tamed or destroyed. In fact another way of looking at cryptocurrencies is as a revolt against the Visa/MasterCard duo-poly & regulations that has made digital transactions too difficult. The moment digital transactions become cheaper/more-efficient, the allure of crypto-currencies will disappear.
    - Jabanga 9y ago
      It's not Bitcoin/Ether that the average person on the street cares about. It's the collateral damage that will be done if broad categories of technology are banned or have their security completely compromised. That's the only way to stop a purely informational technology. As for the allure of cryptocurrency, only time will tell. I predict they will continue to grow in prominence.
    - CPLX 9y ago
      > The moment digital transactions become cheaper/more-efficient, the allure of crypto-currencies will disappear. Except for drugs, contraband, money laundering, and evading capital controls. Which, from day one, has been the entire actual value of these things and remains so. That's a reasonably big business to be sure, but it will always remain a niche element and always be under fire, for obvious reasons.

agrajag 9y ago

While cryptocurrencies have been great (so far) for speculation, give how quickly their worth changes they make a pretty poor store of wealth. I'd prefer my cash to be worth in 1 year roughly the same as it's worth today.

imaginenore 9y ago
Oh, those poor bitcoin/ethereum holders, they only gained a few hundred/thousand percent in the last couple of years.
- Avshalom 9y ago
  And if all you ever do is hold on to them your high score looks great, the problem is that if rent comes due in USD in the middle of a down swing. What was 1M usd is now 100K usd and rent is now 1-2% of your bitcoin instead of .1-2%, if you get unlucky a few times that can start eating your holdings real quick. Medium to long term growth only matters in assets you won't need to spend in the short term.

aub3bhat 9y ago

It's also possible that the government may declare some bills invalid (what happened in India with larger bills). Also, government could inflate away your wealth by printing more currency. At end of the day governments control both the network via (ISPs & Networking equipment) and processors (Try producing an 8080 in your backyard.). You make mistake of assuming that countries won't put up a global firewall that makes bitcoin/ether network impossible to operate. If China can filter traffic at internet scale, crippling Bitcoin network even if say EU/US/China are on board is trivial. Currencies are backed by the only thing that matters, its will/trust of the people. And no amount of crypto changes that. Unless of course you have some magical way of baking silicon on your own into processors and other chips used in computers and networking equipment in your backyard.

Jabanga 9y ago
Governments are not a conscious entity that is separate from society. They are institutions run by a collection parties with numerous competing and aligning interests, and with extensive stakes in society at large. They're not going to do something as massively destructive to society at large as ban encryption and prohibit all microprocessors lacking a back door.
- aub3bhat 9y ago
  HN/BitcoinTalk/etc, suffer from extreme (pro-crypto) filter bubble. The average man/woman on the street ("society") could care less about Bitcoin/Ether. Just look at the whole Net Neutrality debate. Bitcoin/Ether barely register in terms of the total economic activity (75 Billion $). With significant fraction unusable. They will either be tamed or destroyed. In fact another way of looking at cryptocurrencies is as a revolt against the Visa/MasterCard duo-poly & regulations that has made digital transactions too difficult. The moment digital transactions become cheaper/more-efficient, the allure of crypto-currencies will disappear.
  - Jabanga 9y ago
    It's not Bitcoin/Ether that the average person on the street cares about. It's the collateral damage that will be done if broad categories of technology are banned or have their security completely compromised. That's the only way to stop a purely informational technology. As for the allure of cryptocurrency, only time will tell. I predict they will continue to grow in prominence.
  - CPLX 9y ago
    > The moment digital transactions become cheaper/more-efficient, the allure of crypto-currencies will disappear. Except for drugs, contraband, money laundering, and evading capital controls. Which, from day one, has been the entire actual value of these things and remains so. That's a reasonably big business to be sure, but it will always remain a niche element and always be under fire, for obvious reasons.