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Then I would say gold is exactly the same. In fact, gold would be a riskier betting game as information is less transparent (estimating supply, how fast It's mi

Then I would say gold is exactly the same. In fact, gold would be a riskier betting game as information is less transparent (estimating supply, how fast It's mined etc) compared to bitcoin.

JumpCrisscross 7y ago
> gold is exactly the same Gold is similar. It's got more history. But it's more difficult to transact with. Bitcoin appears to be this generation's (late-boomer to early-millennial) gold or trading cards or what-have-you.
- luxuryballs 7y ago
  Is it more difficult to transact with? I can hand you a gold coin. But with bitcoin we need the internet and a whole network of miners.
  - wmf 7y ago
    OTOH Bitcoin is easier to transact at a distance than gold.
  - grubles 7y ago
    How do you know that gold coin isn't filled with tungsten? With Bitcoin, it takes a handful of milliseconds to verify a transaction.
    - luxuryballs 7y ago
      I guess it comes down to what we mean by easier. If we don’t count the entire mining network, developers and source code, all the maintenance and electricity costs, block chain explorers and wallet software...
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
layoric 7y ago
Gold has a actual use as a commodity, eg in electronics and other equipment, and derives a minimum value as such. So whilst how gold is used in trading circles might have similarities to BTC, this difference IMO makes them nothing alike.
- JohnJamesRambo 7y ago
  Bitcoin has a just as relevant, or more so, actual use in buying drugs and frowned upon things on the internet, escaping government restrictions on money, etc.
  - LanceH 7y ago
    Gold has those same uses but at an international level and is generally approved of. The gold may never actually move, but ownership will transfer between countries.
    - JohnJamesRambo 7y ago
      But you have to use a middleman or intermediary. The genius of bitcoin was when Satoshi removed that and solved the double-spending problem in a decentralized way. >Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System
      - ickelbawd 7y ago
        Except that bitcoin relies on a whole network of middlemen to prove the validity of that transaction. Without miners you have no transaction.
- mc3 7y ago
  The quantities used are usually very small though. Gold plated not made of gold. I don't think the use as a commodity drives or explains the price.
- jcranmer 7y ago
  The primary use of gold, AIUI, is jewelry in India.
all_blue_chucks 7y ago
There are practical limits to the supply of gold. There is no limit to the supply of crypto currency. That can be created out of thin air by anyone at any time.
- krrishd 7y ago
  > There is no limit to the supply of crypto currency the whole point of bitcoin — whether or not you believe it has a future —is that it allows for (and has) scarcity in a digital environment in which double-spending/scarcity were previously hard to enforce without an intermediary. there are only ever going to be 21 million bitcoin. there is a limit :)
  - all_blue_chucks 7y ago
    Except it isn't. There's BTC, BCH, BSV, etc. that are all forked from bitcoin, and there is an ever-growing number of tokens started from scratch (ETH, LTC, etc.). There is an infinite supply of crypto tokens.

Then I would say gold is exactly the same. In fact, gold would be a riskier betting game as information is less transparent (estimating supply, how fast It's mined etc) compared to bitcoin.

JumpCrisscross 7y ago

> gold is exactly the same Gold is similar. It's got more history. But it's more difficult to transact with. Bitcoin appears to be this generation's (late-boomer to early-millennial) gold or trading cards or what-have-you.

luxuryballs 7y ago
Is it more difficult to transact with? I can hand you a gold coin. But with bitcoin we need the internet and a whole network of miners.
- wmf 7y ago
  OTOH Bitcoin is easier to transact at a distance than gold.
- grubles 7y ago
  How do you know that gold coin isn't filled with tungsten? With Bitcoin, it takes a handful of milliseconds to verify a transaction.
  - luxuryballs 7y ago
    I guess it comes down to what we mean by easier. If we don’t count the entire mining network, developers and source code, all the maintenance and electricity costs, block chain explorers and wallet software...
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]

layoric 7y ago

Gold has a actual use as a commodity, eg in electronics and other equipment, and derives a minimum value as such. So whilst how gold is used in trading circles might have similarities to BTC, this difference IMO makes them nothing alike.

JohnJamesRambo 7y ago
Bitcoin has a just as relevant, or more so, actual use in buying drugs and frowned upon things on the internet, escaping government restrictions on money, etc.
- LanceH 7y ago
  Gold has those same uses but at an international level and is generally approved of. The gold may never actually move, but ownership will transfer between countries.
  - JohnJamesRambo 7y ago
    But you have to use a middleman or intermediary. The genius of bitcoin was when Satoshi removed that and solved the double-spending problem in a decentralized way. >Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System
    - ickelbawd 7y ago
      Except that bitcoin relies on a whole network of middlemen to prove the validity of that transaction. Without miners you have no transaction.
mc3 7y ago
The quantities used are usually very small though. Gold plated not made of gold. I don't think the use as a commodity drives or explains the price.
jcranmer 7y ago
The primary use of gold, AIUI, is jewelry in India.

all_blue_chucks 7y ago

There are practical limits to the supply of gold. There is no limit to the supply of crypto currency. That can be created out of thin air by anyone at any time.

krrishd 7y ago
> There is no limit to the supply of crypto currency the whole point of bitcoin — whether or not you believe it has a future —is that it allows for (and has) scarcity in a digital environment in which double-spending/scarcity were previously hard to enforce without an intermediary. there are only ever going to be 21 million bitcoin. there is a limit :)
- all_blue_chucks 7y ago
  Except it isn't. There's BTC, BCH, BSV, etc. that are all forked from bitcoin, and there is an ever-growing number of tokens started from scratch (ETH, LTC, etc.). There is an infinite supply of crypto tokens.