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You don't have to ask that question. If they really cared about the tech, they would make sure their tokens are not deflationary. Deflationary tokens are not m

You don't have to ask that question. If they really cared about the tech, they would make sure their tokens are not deflationary. Deflationary tokens are not much good as a currency but they are good as a Ponzi scheme.

sparkie 8y ago
I think here's your answer: It isn't just about the tech. This is what most "blockchain" enthusiasts get wrong. They think it is just about technology, and thus, they can come up with "a better bitcoin." They're missing that the predetermined monetary policy is the key innovation of Bitcoin, and that by creating a new "blockchain" which prints new money, they are shooting themselves in the foot, because they can't ever be "a superior bitcoin" when they have inflation as part of the parcel. A free market does not really care about whether some people have the opinion that deflation is bad. At the end of the day, nobody can change Bitcoin's monetary policy, and it will be left to the free market to decide whether or not they are going to put their money in this, or whether they're going to bet on inflation.
- BenoitEssiambre 8y ago
  A predetermined monetary policy is fine but the fact that it is predetermined to be deflationary is a fatal flaw. I would have much more faith in a cryptocoin's potential as a currency if the predetermined monetary policy was something like Friedman's k-percent rule: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedman%27s_k-percent_rule https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedman%27s_k-percent_rule Of course this would vastly reduce the Ponzi aspect for early owners which might remove most of the appeal. And I still wouldn't have much faith in it since I doubt being decentralized is enough of a benefit for people to switch away from government currency and normal banking.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
- zanny 8y ago
  > At the end of the day, nobody can change Bitcoin's monetary policy A majority of hashing power in the network could change Bitcoins monetary policy.
  - sparkie 8y ago
    No it couldn't. A majority of hashing power attempting to change monetary policy spins off a forked coin which does not have economic value because it does not have economic users. If the overwhelming majority of bitcoin users (98%+) wished to do so, they could possibly change the monetary policy. Of course this will never happen, because there are die-hards like myself who will always stick with the non-inflationary bitcoin. And then, the market decides whether to stick with the non-inflationary coin, or to use an inflationary one. The worst that a majority of miners could do the the non-inflationary bitcoin is temporary denial of service, or attempted double spending of their own money. It's going to cost them an awful lot in electricity to try either, and they're not going to get that money back unless they're generating coins that are in demand to buy.
ric2b 8y ago
People need to stop misusing "Ponzi scheme" for anything they think is a scam. A Ponzi scheme is quite specific, if you're just thinking of people trying to sell something to "the next idiot", call it a Pyramid scheme (although I still disagree that it applies to Bitcoin).

sparkie 8y ago

I think here's your answer: It isn't just about the tech. This is what most "blockchain" enthusiasts get wrong. They think it is just about technology, and thus, they can come up with "a better bitcoin." They're missing that the predetermined monetary policy is the key innovation of Bitcoin, and that by creating a new "blockchain" which prints new money, they are shooting themselves in the foot, because they can't ever be "a superior bitcoin" when they have inflation as part of the parcel. A free market does not really care about whether some people have the opinion that deflation is bad. At the end of the day, nobody can change Bitcoin's monetary policy, and it will be left to the free market to decide whether or not they are going to put their money in this, or whether they're going to bet on inflation.

BenoitEssiambre 8y ago
A predetermined monetary policy is fine but the fact that it is predetermined to be deflationary is a fatal flaw. I would have much more faith in a cryptocoin's potential as a currency if the predetermined monetary policy was something like Friedman's k-percent rule: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedman%27s_k-percent_rule https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedman%27s_k-percent_rule Of course this would vastly reduce the Ponzi aspect for early owners which might remove most of the appeal. And I still wouldn't have much faith in it since I doubt being decentralized is enough of a benefit for people to switch away from government currency and normal banking.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
zanny 8y ago
> At the end of the day, nobody can change Bitcoin's monetary policy A majority of hashing power in the network could change Bitcoins monetary policy.
- sparkie 8y ago
  No it couldn't. A majority of hashing power attempting to change monetary policy spins off a forked coin which does not have economic value because it does not have economic users. If the overwhelming majority of bitcoin users (98%+) wished to do so, they could possibly change the monetary policy. Of course this will never happen, because there are die-hards like myself who will always stick with the non-inflationary bitcoin. And then, the market decides whether to stick with the non-inflationary coin, or to use an inflationary one. The worst that a majority of miners could do the the non-inflationary bitcoin is temporary denial of service, or attempted double spending of their own money. It's going to cost them an awful lot in electricity to try either, and they're not going to get that money back unless they're generating coins that are in demand to buy.

ric2b 8y ago

People need to stop misusing "Ponzi scheme" for anything they think is a scam. A Ponzi scheme is quite specific, if you're just thinking of people trying to sell something to "the next idiot", call it a Pyramid scheme (although I still disagree that it applies to Bitcoin).