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The utility is a way to send value ~instantly, ~anonymously, relatively inexpensively, and irrevocably from one side of Earth to the other, without any intermed
by aboodman 9y ago
The utility is a way to send value ~instantly, ~anonymously, relatively inexpensively, and irrevocably from one side of Earth to the other, without any intermediaries.
That hasn't existed before.
- teuna 9y agoShouldn't we consider telecom operators / internet service providers intermediaries?
- aboodman 9y agoPedantically yes, but practically no. It's hard to impossible for ISPs to make use of that position. Much harder than, say, Visa.
- subroutine 9y agoIt's interesting to think that the value of cryptocurrency as both the value derived from the platform's utility and the value ascribed to the coins based on consumer demand. Because these are both embedded into the coin valuation it feels more like stock to me than currency. Specifically it might be like owning stock in eTrade, which has utility value as a platform for trading stock, and an arbitrary value based on consumer demand.
- aboodman 9y agoAll currencies have that trait. USD has a value that is famously propped up because of its ubiquitous utility. Everyone wants/needs dollars (to trade w/ US, to pay US taxes, to use as a reserve currency, etc). This demand increases the cost of dollars relative to everything else. The only reason it is harder to notice with crypto is because the size of the market you can use crypto in is so ridiculously small (relative to a national currency) that investment value and speculative effects dominate.