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it is far easier to transfer 10 million dollars wworth of bitcoin than it is 10 million of gold. this comparisons are _not_ doing either bitcoin nor gold justi
by fosco 9y ago
it is far easier to transfer 10 million dollars wworth of bitcoin than it is 10 million of gold.
this comparisons are _not_ doing either bitcoin nor gold justice.
bitcoin is far more liquid, accessible and usable than gold ever will be. I will start calling it Internet Liquid Gold... because while the transactions might be slow, being able to transfer it across continents multiple times back and forth is possible before someone can go to their version of fort knox and put actual gold in a truck.
- tomtimtall 9y agoPeople don't move gold around. They trade gold IOU's which can be transferred faster than bitcoin, with far lower fees.
- SyneRyder 9y agoOccasionally they do move gold physically, like when Germany moved $27 Billion of gold from the United States & France back to Germany: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/23/germanys-central-bank-just-shifted-50000-gold-bars-held-overseas-due-to-cold-war-fears.html https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/23/germanys-central-bank-just-s...
- nybble41 9y ago> People don't move gold around. Precisely, because it's slow and expensive. If you're going to hold out transfers of IOUs in place of actual gold, that can work for any commodity; a Bitcoin IOU would function just as well as a gold IOU. As a practical example, most Bitcoin exchanges allow transfers between members instantaneously and without any notable fees. Of course, that reintroduces a trust relationship. The point of having actual gold in-hand, or actual bitcoins recorded on the blockchain, is that the transfer is completed and effectively irreversible. You don't get that with IOUs.
- mortenjorck 9y agoWould the analogy to gold IOUs then be the Lightning Network?
- jlawer 9y agoI would not say bitcoin is more usable then gold as gold has numerous industrial purposes (electronics, optics, thermal and electronic shielding). If we were able to infinitely replicate gold and bitcoins, gold would still have value, bitcoins would not.
- fosco 9y agoI agree with your sentiment, I should have asserted that I was thinking strictly for use as a currency. as an aside, no one can make infinite of anything so I do not think that part of the comment applies.