3 ms·

'Billionaire investor Warren Buffett on Monday said buyers of bitcoin, which he has characterized as “rat poison squared,” thrive on the hope they’ll find other

'Billionaire investor Warren Buffett on Monday said buyers of bitcoin, which he has characterized as “rat poison squared,” thrive on the hope they’ll find other people who will pay more for it.' isn't this in a nutshell stock market form 'normal person' perspective? Or antiques market, or any other from thousands 'buy cheap - sell for more' types of market?

dharma1 8y ago
To some degree, but the valuation of shares is (in theory) based on fundamentals - price to earnings ratio for instance - as well as speculation of how well it will be doing in the future. Companies can also choose to pay dividends if they have made a lot of cash, and choose to issue some of it to shareholders. Valuation of Bitcoin to a large degree is purely based on market psychology, and it doesn't pay dividends.
- hndamien 8y ago
  It is actually used to replace banks and remitters and central banks. You know, it performs some utility like companies do.
  - strypey 8y ago
    > it performs some utility like companies do. Pipes perform utilities, not companies. What companies do is manage the social and financial infrastructure around making, or delivering, or laying, or servicing pipes. See the difference? What Buffet is saying is that when people speculate on BitCoin, they're buying over-priced pipes, in the hopes that some other sucker will pay even more for the same pipes. The companies that will make money out of crypto-$ long term are the ones sell services (like the hoteliers and general store owners in the gold rush), not the ones spending money (or god forbid going into dept) to buy crypto-tokens. Those service companies can pivot to selling similar services to another sector if (when) the crypto bubble bursts. They are the ones the likes of Buffet consider an investment.

3 ms·

'Billionaire investor Warren Buffett on Monday said buyers of bitcoin, which he has characterized as “rat poison squared,” thrive on the hope they’ll find other

by radoslawc 8y ago

dharma1 8y ago
To some degree, but the valuation of shares is (in theory) based on fundamentals - price to earnings ratio for instance - as well as speculation of how well it will be doing in the future. Companies can also choose to pay dividends if they have made a lot of cash, and choose to issue some of it to shareholders. Valuation of Bitcoin to a large degree is purely based on market psychology, and it doesn't pay dividends.
- hndamien 8y ago
  It is actually used to replace banks and remitters and central banks. You know, it performs some utility like companies do.
  - strypey 8y ago
    > it performs some utility like companies do. Pipes perform utilities, not companies. What companies do is manage the social and financial infrastructure around making, or delivering, or laying, or servicing pipes. See the difference? What Buffet is saying is that when people speculate on BitCoin, they're buying over-priced pipes, in the hopes that some other sucker will pay even more for the same pipes. The companies that will make money out of crypto-$ long term are the ones sell services (like the hoteliers and general store owners in the gold rush), not the ones spending money (or god forbid going into dept) to buy crypto-tokens. Those service companies can pivot to selling similar services to another sector if (when) the crypto bubble bursts. They are the ones the likes of Buffet consider an investment.