> What stops me printing jstanley dollars and claiming there is 1:1 parity with actual dollars? Nothing! And yet that doesn't devalue actual dollars. If most p

> What stops me printing jstanley dollars and claiming there is 1:1 parity with actual dollars? Nothing! And yet that doesn't devalue actual dollars. If most people had legitimate reason to believe that your jstanley dollars would retain 1:1 parity with US dollars, and they would be able to be used interchangeably with US dollars for most financial interactions for the foreseeable future, then you might devalue the US dollar by printing enough jstanley dollars. That is unlikely though - there is no reason to believe any of those things about your dollars. Whereas if you believe in the model of bitcoin, why don’t you believe in the model of bitcoin2? The best answer I am aware of is “network effects”, but that isn’t a very good one.