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> It only has value because people believe it does,... Have you ever asked yourself why they believe that? It's because they can pay their taxes with it, but

> It only has value because people believe it does,... Have you ever asked yourself why they believe that? It's because they can pay their taxes with it, but also, as it says right on the front, "this note is legal tender for all debts, public and private." As long as the US government is still a thing, this phrase means what it says. I haven't seen anything so far to convince me that BTC has more stability or longevity than the US or EU (or Britain...).

jstanley 9y ago
You're confusing the value of 1 US dollar with the agreement that a dollar bill is worth 1 US dollar. The dollar bill is worth 1 USD because the government asserts that. That doesn't make 1 USD anything. It just means the dollar bill is worth 1 USD. The government has no power to prop up the value of the USD if the world decides it's worthless.
- username223 9y ago
  > The government has no power to prop up the value of the USD if the world decides it's worthless. I don't see "the world" deciding USD is worthless anytime soon: people in third world nations keep pristine US cash in their closets as a store of value; a lot of international trade uses dollars as a common currency; etc. If "the world" decides that dollars are worthless, that will be the least of my problems while I'm cowering in the bomb shelter I don't have.
  - jstanley 9y ago
    Agreed. I think the USD only has value because enough people believe it does, and I think that will continue to be the case for quite some time. Same for BTC.
  - scotty79 9y ago
    It might be different if Middle East decides it prefers to be paid in yuans not usd. Of course you can then rain a bit more democracy on them but then again China might take offence.
- jacobr 9y ago
  > The government has no power to prop up the value of the USD if the world decides it's worthless. The US government has plenty of military power that it can and does use for this exact reason.

jstanley 9y ago

You're confusing the value of 1 US dollar with the agreement that a dollar bill is worth 1 US dollar. The dollar bill is worth 1 USD because the government asserts that. That doesn't make 1 USD anything. It just means the dollar bill is worth 1 USD. The government has no power to prop up the value of the USD if the world decides it's worthless.

username223 9y ago
> The government has no power to prop up the value of the USD if the world decides it's worthless. I don't see "the world" deciding USD is worthless anytime soon: people in third world nations keep pristine US cash in their closets as a store of value; a lot of international trade uses dollars as a common currency; etc. If "the world" decides that dollars are worthless, that will be the least of my problems while I'm cowering in the bomb shelter I don't have.
- jstanley 9y ago
  Agreed. I think the USD only has value because enough people believe it does, and I think that will continue to be the case for quite some time. Same for BTC.
- scotty79 9y ago
  It might be different if Middle East decides it prefers to be paid in yuans not usd. Of course you can then rain a bit more democracy on them but then again China might take offence.
jacobr 9y ago
> The government has no power to prop up the value of the USD if the world decides it's worthless. The US government has plenty of military power that it can and does use for this exact reason.