5 ms·

> They literally allow an individual to be their own bank. The main function of banks is issuing debt, not holding cash.

• andrepd 9y ago
  Both are central functions of banks, debt is not the main one.
  • wdewind 9y ago
    Saying that bitcoin allows users to act as their own banks is like saying a mattress with your cash under it is your own bank. It's not meaningful in anyway. Debt is the meaningful differentiator.
    • erikpukinskis 9y ago
      No, ability to issue a controlled lot of physical currency is the meaningful differentiator, which is why the relation to banks is irrelevant. I can buy $1 worth of Bitcoin, declare it ErikCoin, acceptable only in my stores at a 1/1,000,000 denomination, and I instantly "minted" $1,000,000 in cryptocurrency, using only the Bitcoin blockchain. Bitcoin doesn't let people be banks, it let's people be the mint.
      • wdewind 9y ago
        How is that different from virtual currency in video games?
        • erikpukinskis 9y ago
          - Blizzard can't wipe your balance - You can't destroy anyone's balance after you've issued them currency - Balances are publicly verifiable - Balances can be stored in one's mind ... lots of things. Tons of affordances differ from a game currency.
          • wdewind 9y ago
            But you can just choose to stop accepting ErikCoin at any time right?