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BTC is fully accountable while it's issuance is not in the hands of any certain group. Therefore it has a permanently predictable rate of inflation that is much

BTC is fully accountable while it's issuance is not in the hands of any certain group. Therefore it has a permanently predictable rate of inflation that is much lower than fiat currencies at the moment. Nobody has to trust anyone, that's the whole point of bitcoin.

hyko 6y ago
Except you have to trust lots of people for Bitcoin to work, from DNS record holders to developers to intermediaries and beyond. The whole system is dripping with trust, so why not just use standard currencies?
- martinko 6y ago
  False, you do not have to trust anyone. You decide what code you run, not developers. As far as DNS goes, you should study the bitcoin consensus protocol in more detail.
  - hyko 6y ago
    https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/2027/how-does-the-bitcoin-client-make-the-initial-connection-to-the-bitcoin-network/2030#2030 https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/2027/how-does-th... Do you trust whoever happens to own xf2.org more than you trust a central bank? Do you trust the domain name registrar more than you trust a central bank? Why? You decide what code you run, not developers well, sure you can run whatever code you like on your machine...the Bitcoin devs get to decide whether your software counts as a Bitcoin client or not. They are in a position of power and you must trust them.
    - xur17 6y ago
      You should read more about how the Bitcoin consensus protocol works.
      - hyko 6y ago
        The consensus protocol doesn’t help in removing either of these trust requirements? If I own the mechanism of root node discovery, I can mount an effective Sybil attack against a new network participant. The history of Bitcoin is full of hard and soft forks and changes to the rules. That’s why your original Bitcoin client wouldn’t even let you join the Bitcoin network now. The people in control of the network are in a position of immense power with minimal oversight. So on what basis should I trust them with my life savings? What recourse do I have if they ruin my life?
        xur17 6y ago
        > That’s why your original Bitcoin client wouldn’t even let you join the Bitcoin network now. You can run whatever client you want. > If I own the mechanism of root node discovery, I can mount an effective Sybil attack against a new network participant. But you wouldn't be able to replicate a chain of blocks with the same order of magnitude of work behind them. And then, even if you could, all you'd be able to do is change history, with the depth of that history dependent upon how much mining power you had available. You wouldn't be able to spend other people's money or give yourself more.
        hyko 6y ago
        You can run whatever client you want...if it conforms to the design of the protocol. you wouldn’t be able to replicate a chain of blocks with the same order of magnitude of work behind them...I grant you that, but does it matter? If the client can’t find the real network, how would they know what to expect? You and I would know, because we have a copy of (I hope) the real Bitcoin blockchain...but how do you acquire that knowledge without trusting an entity first? all you’d be able to do is change history...wouldn’t that mean you could lay claim to whatever you wanted in the eyes of this poor client? Or just harness their hashing power.
xondono 6y ago
it has a permanently predictable rate of inflation It’s volatility would suggest otherwise. As many others have commented here an in other places, the fact that supply is predictable is not enough, demand is a factor too.
- solotronics 6y ago
  Inflation rate means the rate of issuance of new coin. Its price is related to whatever free market forces decide the price of anything scarce such as gold, silver, fiat currency, etc.
  - hyko 6y ago
    In economics the word inflation refers to the rate of change in the buying power of a currency. What you’re talking about is the money supply (I guess the Bitcoin equivalent of M2) which in Bitcoin is for some reason increased at a hard coded (decreasing) rate.

hyko 6y ago

Except you have to trust lots of people for Bitcoin to work, from DNS record holders to developers to intermediaries and beyond. The whole system is dripping with trust, so why not just use standard currencies?

martinko 6y ago
False, you do not have to trust anyone. You decide what code you run, not developers. As far as DNS goes, you should study the bitcoin consensus protocol in more detail.
- hyko 6y ago
  https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/2027/how-does-the-bitcoin-client-make-the-initial-connection-to-the-bitcoin-network/2030#2030 https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/2027/how-does-th... Do you trust whoever happens to own xf2.org more than you trust a central bank? Do you trust the domain name registrar more than you trust a central bank? Why? You decide what code you run, not developers well, sure you can run whatever code you like on your machine...the Bitcoin devs get to decide whether your software counts as a Bitcoin client or not. They are in a position of power and you must trust them.
  - xur17 6y ago
    You should read more about how the Bitcoin consensus protocol works.
    - hyko 6y ago
      The consensus protocol doesn’t help in removing either of these trust requirements? If I own the mechanism of root node discovery, I can mount an effective Sybil attack against a new network participant. The history of Bitcoin is full of hard and soft forks and changes to the rules. That’s why your original Bitcoin client wouldn’t even let you join the Bitcoin network now. The people in control of the network are in a position of immense power with minimal oversight. So on what basis should I trust them with my life savings? What recourse do I have if they ruin my life?
      - xur17 6y ago
        > That’s why your original Bitcoin client wouldn’t even let you join the Bitcoin network now. You can run whatever client you want. > If I own the mechanism of root node discovery, I can mount an effective Sybil attack against a new network participant. But you wouldn't be able to replicate a chain of blocks with the same order of magnitude of work behind them. And then, even if you could, all you'd be able to do is change history, with the depth of that history dependent upon how much mining power you had available. You wouldn't be able to spend other people's money or give yourself more.
        hyko 6y ago
        You can run whatever client you want...if it conforms to the design of the protocol. you wouldn’t be able to replicate a chain of blocks with the same order of magnitude of work behind them...I grant you that, but does it matter? If the client can’t find the real network, how would they know what to expect? You and I would know, because we have a copy of (I hope) the real Bitcoin blockchain...but how do you acquire that knowledge without trusting an entity first? all you’d be able to do is change history...wouldn’t that mean you could lay claim to whatever you wanted in the eyes of this poor client? Or just harness their hashing power.

xondono 6y ago

it has a permanently predictable rate of inflation It’s volatility would suggest otherwise. As many others have commented here an in other places, the fact that supply is predictable is not enough, demand is a factor too.

solotronics 6y ago
Inflation rate means the rate of issuance of new coin. Its price is related to whatever free market forces decide the price of anything scarce such as gold, silver, fiat currency, etc.
- hyko 6y ago
  In economics the word inflation refers to the rate of change in the buying power of a currency. What you’re talking about is the money supply (I guess the Bitcoin equivalent of M2) which in Bitcoin is for some reason increased at a hard coded (decreasing) rate.