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How is BTC better than gold? What can I do with a bitcoin? It's just data. It's still a fiat currency. Gold is specifically not a fiat currency because it has r

How is BTC better than gold? What can I do with a bitcoin? It's just data. It's still a fiat currency. Gold is specifically not a fiat currency because it has real world applications. I will agree cryptocurrencies are better than other forms of fiat currency in that there is a definitive quantity, similar to a non-fiat currency, but it's intrinsic value is in the trust others will accept it in exchange for something that has real value. Suppose a solar flare destroyed all existing digital equipment. What would a physical printout of a wallet be worth?

Fjolsvith 9y ago
> Suppose a solar flare destroyed all existing digital equipment. Suppose someone invents a way to turn lead into gold?
- gbear605 9y ago
  One of these things is not like the other!
  - Fjolsvith 9y ago
    In their absurdity they are. Oh, and in the way that the two events would wipe out the function of a store of value for bitcoin and gold, respectively.
keymone 9y ago
Bitcoin is better than gold because in virtually all aspects - it’s scarce by design, not by our belief in inability to find more of it on this planet or some asteroid - it’s mobile, transporting gold is pain in the ass - it’s secure, securing a little piece of paper is easier than deposit of gold - it’s divisible, sividing gold into nanograms is not practical - it has transaction platform built in As for practical application of gold - it’s not where gold’s value is derived from. And what if an asteroid hits the earth and we are all dead?
- bb88 9y ago
  This kind of gets into some philosophical points, so I'll take them 1 by 1. > it’s scarce by design, not by our belief in inability to find more of it on this planet or some asteroid Scarcity is ironically one of the reasons gold is treasured. It's a natural scarcity not a man made scarcity. > it’s mobile, transporting gold is pain in the ass. Most gold exchanges don't require you to physically take gold home with you. It's stored in a vault and traded like any other security. > it’s secure, securing a little piece of paper is easier than deposit of gold BTC is not a piece of paper, and requires that only one person not be smart enough to break the BTC encryption model. Gold can be stolen, but not all of it at once. But apparently BTC can be stolen too. > it’s divisible, dividing gold into nanograms is not practical Today's cost of gold to grams is $40.17. Practically speaking, we don't need nanograms to get to penny scale. A centigram of gold is good enough. > it has a transaction model built in. I hand you an ounce of gold. You give me $1000 dollars or something else in value that I want. That transaction method has been trusted for eons now.

Fjolsvith 9y ago

> Suppose a solar flare destroyed all existing digital equipment. Suppose someone invents a way to turn lead into gold?

gbear605 9y ago
One of these things is not like the other!
- Fjolsvith 9y ago
  In their absurdity they are. Oh, and in the way that the two events would wipe out the function of a store of value for bitcoin and gold, respectively.

keymone 9y ago

Bitcoin is better than gold because in virtually all aspects - it’s scarce by design, not by our belief in inability to find more of it on this planet or some asteroid - it’s mobile, transporting gold is pain in the ass - it’s secure, securing a little piece of paper is easier than deposit of gold - it’s divisible, sividing gold into nanograms is not practical - it has transaction platform built in As for practical application of gold - it’s not where gold’s value is derived from. And what if an asteroid hits the earth and we are all dead?

bb88 9y ago
This kind of gets into some philosophical points, so I'll take them 1 by 1. > it’s scarce by design, not by our belief in inability to find more of it on this planet or some asteroid Scarcity is ironically one of the reasons gold is treasured. It's a natural scarcity not a man made scarcity. > it’s mobile, transporting gold is pain in the ass. Most gold exchanges don't require you to physically take gold home with you. It's stored in a vault and traded like any other security. > it’s secure, securing a little piece of paper is easier than deposit of gold BTC is not a piece of paper, and requires that only one person not be smart enough to break the BTC encryption model. Gold can be stolen, but not all of it at once. But apparently BTC can be stolen too. > it’s divisible, dividing gold into nanograms is not practical Today's cost of gold to grams is $40.17. Practically speaking, we don't need nanograms to get to penny scale. A centigram of gold is good enough. > it has a transaction model built in. I hand you an ounce of gold. You give me $1000 dollars or something else in value that I want. That transaction method has been trusted for eons now.