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>Echoing sentiments of mainstream economists Yea, Paul Krugman has been saying "Bitcoin is doomed" since 2012. He'll always be wrong because this is all politi

>Echoing sentiments of mainstream economists Yea, Paul Krugman has been saying "Bitcoin is doomed" since 2012. He'll always be wrong because this is all politically motivated. The banking and political establishment are scared shitless by alternative currencies, crypto or otherwise. Google the "Liberty Dollar". Mouth pieces for the financial industry like Bloomberg will attack alternatives to the petrodollar no matter what they really think, and obviously they know Bitcoin has a future because Goldman-Sachs has bought tons of them.

__Joker 8y ago
I am not sure Paul Krugman is scared or politically motivated. One of the strongest argument Paul Krugman makes against bitcoin is about trust. Like, he says dollar has value because US government backs it and you can pay taxes with it. Basically, he is questioning can bitcoin gain that level of trust among its users to be successful. Not the current level of some transaction around dark markets. Personally, I don't know.
- ramblerouser 8y ago
  >US government backs it Yes, by putting people in jail who put forward viable alternatives to USD, like Liberty Dollar. And making Bitcoin impossible to use legally as a currency by applying strict capital gains tax reporting requirements. >Can Bitcoin gain that level of trust amoung its users to be successful. The massive public and institutional buy-in over the past 5 years suggests that trust in its cryptographic security is not what is holding it back. Bitcoin, from its inception, is part of a political battle, not a technological or economic one. Read the Satoshi white paper. Paul Krugman is saying that it wont be successful because the banks and government will fight it, and his social status is dependant on him being part of that fight. Do you think Krugman would keep all his exposure and prestige if he went off the reservation and criticized the banks and the petrodollar? No way.
  - floatboth 8y ago
    > Paul Krugman is saying that it wont be successful because the banks and government will fight it He's wrong. It won't be successful because it's pretty much unusable by regular people, difficult to secure (surprise, "be your own bank" implies "be your own security guard" — and 99% of people want to be neither of those things), extremely wasteful, slow and full of scams. Most people's first encounter with buttcoins is literally RANSOMWARE. Do you really think mass adoption is coming?
    - ramblerouser 8y ago
      Does having $100 in your pocket make you "your own bank"? Does it make you "your own security guard"? Real banks could hold deposits in Bitcoin if the regulators controlled by banking interests allowed it, but they dont. Why do you think that is?
- kokey 8y ago
  I would say Paul Krugman is very politically motivated, in fact he tends to participate in political activism thinly disguised as economics analysis. However, his political motivations aren't related to his opinion of cryptocurrencies and he is probably right about it.
SubiculumCode 8y ago
Not until you can pay your taxes in crypto (or live in a 0% tax world) will they really be afraid. Failure to pay taxes is punishable by prison, so there will be demand for dollars.
- ramblerouser 8y ago
  If that were the only thing backing the dollar, it would be worth a lot less than it is.
pretendscholar 8y ago
You have to be joking if you think banks are afraid of any new technology.
- ramblerouser 8y ago
  Did you google the "Liberty Dollar"? They arent afraid of new technology they are afraid of losing public trust. Competitors that provide a usable alternative to them are bullied out of existance. Fortunately, Bitcoin's technology and public support has made that difficult, but they are still trying.
tomjakubowski 8y ago
> obviously they know Bitcoin has a future because Goldman-Sachs has bought tons of them. really? source for that? Google says they're preparing to open a trading desk but that's not the same thing.

__Joker 8y ago

I am not sure Paul Krugman is scared or politically motivated. One of the strongest argument Paul Krugman makes against bitcoin is about trust. Like, he says dollar has value because US government backs it and you can pay taxes with it. Basically, he is questioning can bitcoin gain that level of trust among its users to be successful. Not the current level of some transaction around dark markets. Personally, I don't know.

ramblerouser 8y ago
>US government backs it Yes, by putting people in jail who put forward viable alternatives to USD, like Liberty Dollar. And making Bitcoin impossible to use legally as a currency by applying strict capital gains tax reporting requirements. >Can Bitcoin gain that level of trust amoung its users to be successful. The massive public and institutional buy-in over the past 5 years suggests that trust in its cryptographic security is not what is holding it back. Bitcoin, from its inception, is part of a political battle, not a technological or economic one. Read the Satoshi white paper. Paul Krugman is saying that it wont be successful because the banks and government will fight it, and his social status is dependant on him being part of that fight. Do you think Krugman would keep all his exposure and prestige if he went off the reservation and criticized the banks and the petrodollar? No way.
- floatboth 8y ago
  > Paul Krugman is saying that it wont be successful because the banks and government will fight it He's wrong. It won't be successful because it's pretty much unusable by regular people, difficult to secure (surprise, "be your own bank" implies "be your own security guard" — and 99% of people want to be neither of those things), extremely wasteful, slow and full of scams. Most people's first encounter with buttcoins is literally RANSOMWARE. Do you really think mass adoption is coming?
  - ramblerouser 8y ago
    Does having $100 in your pocket make you "your own bank"? Does it make you "your own security guard"? Real banks could hold deposits in Bitcoin if the regulators controlled by banking interests allowed it, but they dont. Why do you think that is?
kokey 8y ago
I would say Paul Krugman is very politically motivated, in fact he tends to participate in political activism thinly disguised as economics analysis. However, his political motivations aren't related to his opinion of cryptocurrencies and he is probably right about it.

SubiculumCode 8y ago

Not until you can pay your taxes in crypto (or live in a 0% tax world) will they really be afraid. Failure to pay taxes is punishable by prison, so there will be demand for dollars.

ramblerouser 8y ago
If that were the only thing backing the dollar, it would be worth a lot less than it is.

pretendscholar 8y ago

You have to be joking if you think banks are afraid of any new technology.

ramblerouser 8y ago
Did you google the "Liberty Dollar"? They arent afraid of new technology they are afraid of losing public trust. Competitors that provide a usable alternative to them are bullied out of existance. Fortunately, Bitcoin's technology and public support has made that difficult, but they are still trying.

tomjakubowski 8y ago

> obviously they know Bitcoin has a future because Goldman-Sachs has bought tons of them. really? source for that? Google says they're preparing to open a trading desk but that's not the same thing.