6 ms·

'Bitcoin will go to zero': Davos talks up the future of blockchain

29 points by prostoalex 8y ago

WrtCdEvrydy 8y ago
'Guy with investment firm that profits from buying low and selling high wants asset to go to zero' - In other news, water wet.
- ghostbrainalpha 8y ago
  I'm surprised no one has tried "Bitcoin will go to LESS than 0", just to get the headline and try to encourage selling. And technically if you were a BC miner who spent money to mine Bitcoin and it did go to 0, you could say the investment was worth less nothing.
- dare0505 8y ago
  This. When evaluating someone's claims, always take into consideration their background, career to evaluate for bias. This is the reason if, for eg, Spain plays against France in soccer finals, they won't put a world-class Spanish judge, however good he/she may be.
berbec 8y ago
"On a long enough time line, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero." Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club
ckastner 8y ago
Bitcoin has become quasi-irrelevant before, and it didn't go to zero even then. And as long as there are zealots around, it won't.
minimaxir 8y ago
> This sign is a pretty good indication that no one has any idea about what they’re talking about in Davos. > "Using Blockchain to build the next generation grid for electric vehicles. Business 4.0." https://twitter.com/RMac18/status/1087679473535860737 https://twitter.com/RMac18/status/1087679473535860737
- tapland 8y ago
  Did a quick online 'Company Values' training recently and sustainability and environmental impact where I work will be solved by: 1. Blockchain 2. Using approved partners for travel No mention of considering taking the train or bus instead of the approved airlines.
davebryand 8y ago
So, a meeting of all of the most fiat-currency dependent people in the world produces a message saying that a potential alternative is going to zero. Maybe it will, but BTC is v0.1 crypto-currency and it's death will make way for whatever crypto v1.0 looks like. Unfortunately for the establishment, thoroughly represented at Davos, crypto-currency is here to stay.
- sofaofthedamned 8y ago
  I'm looking forward to Beanie Babies, backed by innumerable GPUs, being the way I'll buy a coffee in the morning.
justjonathan 8y ago
"I am much less interested in investing around bitcoin as a currency unit or a currency equivalent, or even the blockchain as an accounting ledger. I am thinking much more about the protocols. In other words, what is the underlying protocol going to do as a consequence of which, which tokens are valuable or not," Hutchins said. What nonsense.
cjbenedikt 8y ago
Methinks all this negative talk makes it look like a buying opportunity....
shunders 8y ago
> "I do believe it will go to zero. I think it's a great technology but I don't believe it's a currency. It's not based on anything," Jeff Schumacher, founder of BCG Digital Ventures, said during a CNBC-hosted panel in Davos, Switzerland. I can't believe we are still arguing these incredibly rudimentary points. Let alone that these quotes still get press coverage. Really, you're talking about cryptocurrency on a panel at Davos and you still haven't taken the time to reflect upon the nature of money? What does "It's not based on anything" even mean? What is a dollar "based on"?
- _cs2017_ 8y ago
  You're probably right. But if I were to try and defend his statement, perhaps he means it's not based on factors such as convenience as a medium of exchange, or public confidence that it will have relatively stable value (so that it can serve as a medium of storing value).
- sschueller 8y ago
  How can anyone give this venture firm any money when its founder is so clueless on how currency works.
- randomsearch 8y ago
  What is a dollar based on? The need for the citizens of the most powerful nation on earth to pay their taxes in it; a legal and regulatory framework to support it; and the military and diplomatic might of the US to support it.
  - celticninja 8y ago
    So it's based on a concept, a loosely defined one at that. Cryptocurrency is based on a strictly defined mathematical concept. It isn't a huge leap between the two.
    - majewsky 8y ago
      All that math is not going to help you when your government puts you in jail for not paying your taxes.
dawhizkid 8y ago
Has anyone studied the rate at which bitcoin is lost forever? I imagine daily there's a wallet lost, HD destroyed, someone with private keys dying and btc permanently lost. Point is there is a much smaller supply of usable btc than what's actually reported in circulation. I wonder how that plays into the longevity of the project over time...
- drcross 8y ago
  A bitcoin is divisible to 8 decimal places so what you are talking is not an issue whatsoever.
TheOperator 8y ago
Every currency will go to zero unless it has some sort of instrinsic value. It's just a question of how quickly.

29 points by prostoalex 8y ago

'Guy with investment firm that profits from buying low and selling high wants asset to go to zero' - In other news, water wet.

ghostbrainalpha 8y ago
I'm surprised no one has tried "Bitcoin will go to LESS than 0", just to get the headline and try to encourage selling. And technically if you were a BC miner who spent money to mine Bitcoin and it did go to 0, you could say the investment was worth less nothing.
dare0505 8y ago
This. When evaluating someone's claims, always take into consideration their background, career to evaluate for bias. This is the reason if, for eg, Spain plays against France in soccer finals, they won't put a world-class Spanish judge, however good he/she may be.

berbec 8y ago

"On a long enough time line, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero." Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club

ckastner 8y ago

Bitcoin has become quasi-irrelevant before, and it didn't go to zero even then. And as long as there are zealots around, it won't.

minimaxir 8y ago

> This sign is a pretty good indication that no one has any idea about what they’re talking about in Davos. > "Using Blockchain to build the next generation grid for electric vehicles. Business 4.0." https://twitter.com/RMac18/status/1087679473535860737 https://twitter.com/RMac18/status/1087679473535860737

tapland 8y ago
Did a quick online 'Company Values' training recently and sustainability and environmental impact where I work will be solved by: 1. Blockchain 2. Using approved partners for travel No mention of considering taking the train or bus instead of the approved airlines.

davebryand 8y ago

So, a meeting of all of the most fiat-currency dependent people in the world produces a message saying that a potential alternative is going to zero. Maybe it will, but BTC is v0.1 crypto-currency and it's death will make way for whatever crypto v1.0 looks like. Unfortunately for the establishment, thoroughly represented at Davos, crypto-currency is here to stay.

sofaofthedamned 8y ago
I'm looking forward to Beanie Babies, backed by innumerable GPUs, being the way I'll buy a coffee in the morning.

justjonathan 8y ago

"I am much less interested in investing around bitcoin as a currency unit or a currency equivalent, or even the blockchain as an accounting ledger. I am thinking much more about the protocols. In other words, what is the underlying protocol going to do as a consequence of which, which tokens are valuable or not," Hutchins said. What nonsense.

cjbenedikt 8y ago

Methinks all this negative talk makes it look like a buying opportunity....

shunders 8y ago

> "I do believe it will go to zero. I think it's a great technology but I don't believe it's a currency. It's not based on anything," Jeff Schumacher, founder of BCG Digital Ventures, said during a CNBC-hosted panel in Davos, Switzerland. I can't believe we are still arguing these incredibly rudimentary points. Let alone that these quotes still get press coverage. Really, you're talking about cryptocurrency on a panel at Davos and you still haven't taken the time to reflect upon the nature of money? What does "It's not based on anything" even mean? What is a dollar "based on"?

_cs2017_ 8y ago
You're probably right. But if I were to try and defend his statement, perhaps he means it's not based on factors such as convenience as a medium of exchange, or public confidence that it will have relatively stable value (so that it can serve as a medium of storing value).
sschueller 8y ago
How can anyone give this venture firm any money when its founder is so clueless on how currency works.
randomsearch 8y ago
What is a dollar based on? The need for the citizens of the most powerful nation on earth to pay their taxes in it; a legal and regulatory framework to support it; and the military and diplomatic might of the US to support it.
- celticninja 8y ago
  So it's based on a concept, a loosely defined one at that. Cryptocurrency is based on a strictly defined mathematical concept. It isn't a huge leap between the two.
  - majewsky 8y ago
    All that math is not going to help you when your government puts you in jail for not paying your taxes.

dawhizkid 8y ago

Has anyone studied the rate at which bitcoin is lost forever? I imagine daily there's a wallet lost, HD destroyed, someone with private keys dying and btc permanently lost. Point is there is a much smaller supply of usable btc than what's actually reported in circulation. I wonder how that plays into the longevity of the project over time...

drcross 8y ago
A bitcoin is divisible to 8 decimal places so what you are talking is not an issue whatsoever.

TheOperator 8y ago

Every currency will go to zero unless it has some sort of instrinsic value. It's just a question of how quickly.