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I think this question is similar to me asking why we should have any "reality television" at all. The existence of a non-zero price demonstrates there is a dema

I think this question is similar to me asking why we should have any "reality television" at all. The existence of a non-zero price demonstrates there is a demand, and quite substantial, for small cryptocurrencies. Just because they may not be your cup of tea ought not lead you to be judge, jury, and executioner in terms of their right to exist.

ben_w 8y ago
Perhaps not “executioner”, but we have every right to be jury. I’m open to the observation that prohibition seldom (or never) fully achieves its goals, and the possibility that it can make things worse, but right now — based on all I know — my metaphorical jury vote would be “bitcoin is bad even for the goals people state when trying to promote it”.
CPLX 8y ago
We should have reality television because people find it to be entertaining. That doesn't answer the question about small cryptocurrencies though. Or perhaps it does.
- TangoTrotFox 8y ago
  According to some. In my opinion reality TV does little than dumb down people and drive the normalization of emotion over logic that is playing a significant role in harming the country and the deterioration of American collective intellect - we're really not all that far from the satire of Idiocracy where people tune in to watch others get kicked in the balls. In either case, entertainment is just another form of a "want". There are clearly people that want reality TV as judged by the shows' ratings. And there are clearly people that want small cryptocurrencies as judged by their market values. And the nice thing about a free country is that people are and ought be free to make their own decisions, even when many of us may feel such decisions are idiotic.
  - CPLX 8y ago
    Right but I'll sit down and watch a reality program because I want to be entertained. That's understandable. I can see buying a smaller or alt token because I hope to profit from speculating on it, that makes sense to me. What's the other reason?
    - TangoTrotFox 8y ago
      And wanting to buy something because it might go up in value isn't understandable? But sure. A few random reasons off the top of my head: Because I want to support a coin that I think has technological advantages over major coins. Because I want to send $5 to somebody without being gouged by fees. Because I think cryptos are the future and want to diversify my holdings to minimize uncertainty. Because I'd rather own 20 tinycoins than 0.0001 bitcoin. Silly reason, but a real one nonetheless. Because I'd rather see a cryptoconomy with lots of coins of varying size, than one or two behemoth coins. Because I have no idea what cryptos are and would rather spend $5 to check things out than the relatively large minimum entry price for major coins. Because I think the thing the crypto represents (in terms of ICO type coins) provides a good value (not necessarily value = $). Because I prefer the software (mining/wallet/etc) for this coin over the software for majorcoins. Because I find the coin hilarious. Dogecoin probably no longer counts as a 'small cryptocurrency' but it certainly started as a joke and still is pretty tongue in cheek even with a $400 million market cap. Who can't love a NASCAR dude driving around with Doge imagery, or fundraising for the Jamaican Olympic Bobsled Team? It's just entertaining.
      - CPLX 8y ago
        I mean, with all due respect, there's only one actual reason there that reduces to an actual consumer need, and it's low fee transactions, which as we've seen is not really a selling point for crypto as of now. The rest of your reasons reduce to "I think it's cool" basically. Which is totally up to you but hardly diminishes my point.

ben_w 8y ago

Perhaps not “executioner”, but we have every right to be jury. I’m open to the observation that prohibition seldom (or never) fully achieves its goals, and the possibility that it can make things worse, but right now — based on all I know — my metaphorical jury vote would be “bitcoin is bad even for the goals people state when trying to promote it”.

CPLX 8y ago

We should have reality television because people find it to be entertaining. That doesn't answer the question about small cryptocurrencies though. Or perhaps it does.

TangoTrotFox 8y ago
According to some. In my opinion reality TV does little than dumb down people and drive the normalization of emotion over logic that is playing a significant role in harming the country and the deterioration of American collective intellect - we're really not all that far from the satire of Idiocracy where people tune in to watch others get kicked in the balls. In either case, entertainment is just another form of a "want". There are clearly people that want reality TV as judged by the shows' ratings. And there are clearly people that want small cryptocurrencies as judged by their market values. And the nice thing about a free country is that people are and ought be free to make their own decisions, even when many of us may feel such decisions are idiotic.
- CPLX 8y ago
  Right but I'll sit down and watch a reality program because I want to be entertained. That's understandable. I can see buying a smaller or alt token because I hope to profit from speculating on it, that makes sense to me. What's the other reason?
  - TangoTrotFox 8y ago
    And wanting to buy something because it might go up in value isn't understandable? But sure. A few random reasons off the top of my head: Because I want to support a coin that I think has technological advantages over major coins. Because I want to send $5 to somebody without being gouged by fees. Because I think cryptos are the future and want to diversify my holdings to minimize uncertainty. Because I'd rather own 20 tinycoins than 0.0001 bitcoin. Silly reason, but a real one nonetheless. Because I'd rather see a cryptoconomy with lots of coins of varying size, than one or two behemoth coins. Because I have no idea what cryptos are and would rather spend $5 to check things out than the relatively large minimum entry price for major coins. Because I think the thing the crypto represents (in terms of ICO type coins) provides a good value (not necessarily value = $). Because I prefer the software (mining/wallet/etc) for this coin over the software for majorcoins. Because I find the coin hilarious. Dogecoin probably no longer counts as a 'small cryptocurrency' but it certainly started as a joke and still is pretty tongue in cheek even with a $400 million market cap. Who can't love a NASCAR dude driving around with Doge imagery, or fundraising for the Jamaican Olympic Bobsled Team? It's just entertaining.
    - CPLX 8y ago
      I mean, with all due respect, there's only one actual reason there that reduces to an actual consumer need, and it's low fee transactions, which as we've seen is not really a selling point for crypto as of now. The rest of your reasons reduce to "I think it's cool" basically. Which is totally up to you but hardly diminishes my point.