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But remember, with fiat, the government just prints money [1] whenever it likes and gives it directly to its banker friends. With bitcoin that’s impossible (wel

But remember, with fiat, the government just prints money [1] whenever it likes and gives it directly to its banker friends. With bitcoin that’s impossible (well unless 51% of the minors agree) 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_easing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_easing

root_axis 8y ago
You're simply trading one government for another more nebulous and less accountable one; the schism over block-size is a perfect example of this and that's peanuts compared to the types of issues that are to come. There is absolutely zero guarantee that the mining cartels won't print more bitcoin; the final decision on whether or not to do so rests with them and it is in their direct financial interest to do so even if it may not be in their political interest. Even then, it is very possible that the impact of high fees might make the idea of printing more bitcoins politically palatable. Either way, the bottom line is that it is a political issue, just like the current system.
- brandonsometig 8y ago
  Miners don't have the ability to 'print' more Bitcoin. They can release blocks with whatever transactions they like in but they will simply be rejected by the network. The fact that there is 10,000 public bitcoin nodes (and probably x10 private ones) keeps the system honest.
  - root_axis 8y ago
    You're right that the miners don't have unilateral authority to print more bitcoin, but ultimately they are the muscle behind the process. This is akin to saying "the military can't just print more money to pay for military spending". This is true, and it's unlikely that the military would turn their guns on the institutions in order to achieve this goal because it would threaten the stability of the entire system in which they thrive (like with the miners and bitcoin)... yet... somehow things always work out in such a way where they get their money. It never gets to the point where they have to turn their guns on anyone because their silent authority confers enough influence that the politicians making the decisions (i.e. developer cabals in the case of bitcoin) manage to find solutions that keep them fat and happy while delivering enough voluble rhetoric to ensure that the general population doesn't revolt. Same thing will happen for the miners eventually.

root_axis 8y ago

You're simply trading one government for another more nebulous and less accountable one; the schism over block-size is a perfect example of this and that's peanuts compared to the types of issues that are to come. There is absolutely zero guarantee that the mining cartels won't print more bitcoin; the final decision on whether or not to do so rests with them and it is in their direct financial interest to do so even if it may not be in their political interest. Even then, it is very possible that the impact of high fees might make the idea of printing more bitcoins politically palatable. Either way, the bottom line is that it is a political issue, just like the current system.

brandonsometig 8y ago
Miners don't have the ability to 'print' more Bitcoin. They can release blocks with whatever transactions they like in but they will simply be rejected by the network. The fact that there is 10,000 public bitcoin nodes (and probably x10 private ones) keeps the system honest.
- root_axis 8y ago
  You're right that the miners don't have unilateral authority to print more bitcoin, but ultimately they are the muscle behind the process. This is akin to saying "the military can't just print more money to pay for military spending". This is true, and it's unlikely that the military would turn their guns on the institutions in order to achieve this goal because it would threaten the stability of the entire system in which they thrive (like with the miners and bitcoin)... yet... somehow things always work out in such a way where they get their money. It never gets to the point where they have to turn their guns on anyone because their silent authority confers enough influence that the politicians making the decisions (i.e. developer cabals in the case of bitcoin) manage to find solutions that keep them fat and happy while delivering enough voluble rhetoric to ensure that the general population doesn't revolt. Same thing will happen for the miners eventually.