4 ms·

I don't think you're using the term Fiat currency properly. Gold is only worth something if other believe it is worth something. It's use in electronics and ind

by gvhst 6y ago

I don't think you're using the term Fiat currency properly. Gold is only worth something if other believe it is worth something. It's use in electronics and industry only makes up around 7% of total supply [0]. Yet, gold isn't a fiat asset because its value is anchored to its physical properties. It is finite and cannot be freely created. It doesn't oxidize, is resistant to most acids and other corrosives, and has the highest specific gravity of any naturally occurring element. It is a naturally good store of value because of these properties. Bitcoin also has underlying properties, but instead they are guaranteed by mathematics and game theory instead of physics. Take that as you will, but both assets are much more solid than Fed Coin (USD) which is effectively backed by the government's commitment to enforce the federal reserve act while trying their best--and failing--to resist printing more and more money to perpetuate an unsustainable system. [0] - https://www.statista.com/statistics/299609/gold-demand-by-industry-sector-share/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/299609/gold-demand-by-in...

s0rce 6y ago
Other elements have higher specific gravity than gold (iridium, osmium, maybe tungsten and Platinum, id have to check the last two. )
- michaelt 6y ago
  Presumably what gvhst means is "It's useful gold is dense, as if there were cheaper denser metals you could create fake gold bars by gold-plating alloys of equal density" After all, you can already get gold-plated tungsten bars [1] from companies like chinatungsten as 'novelty paperweights' [2] - even though tungsten is fractionally less dense than gold. As iridium and osmium are traded in very low volumes and toxic/acidic, platinum is more expensive than gold, and tungsten is fractionally lighter, fake gold is seldom undetectable. [1] https://www.google.com/search?q=tungsten+gold+bar&tbm=isch https://www.google.com/search?q=tungsten+gold+bar&tbm=isch [2] http://www.paper-weight.cn/products-show.html http://www.paper-weight.cn/products-show.html
acdha 6y ago
Here’s the definition of the term I’m using - note that the term does not require government backing: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_money https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_money The source of your misunderstanding is here: > Bitcoin also has underlying properties, but instead they are guaranteed by mathematics and game theory instead of physics. The Bitcoin algorithm has some interesting properties but they don’t have much practical value to balance the enormous inefficiency and, far more important to this topic, that doesn’t make any particular blockchain valuable - anyone who wants those properties can set up their own for free without enriching the current Bitcoin holders. The only reason why you would consider those hashes to be worth paying money for is the community belief that they have a certain value - nobody has any need to use it otherwise. That’s why Bitcoin is an especially pure fiat currency: the community consensus is quite literally the only thing backing it’s valuation. In contrast a currency like the US dollar has curbs on fluctuation not just from much greater usage but also because millions of people receive it from government salaries and purchases or need that currency to pay taxes — unlike Bitcoin, which has value only to the extent that you can find someone else who thinks it’ll be worth more in the future.

by gvhst 6y ago

s0rce 6y ago

Other elements have higher specific gravity than gold (iridium, osmium, maybe tungsten and Platinum, id have to check the last two. )

michaelt 6y ago
Presumably what gvhst means is "It's useful gold is dense, as if there were cheaper denser metals you could create fake gold bars by gold-plating alloys of equal density" After all, you can already get gold-plated tungsten bars [1] from companies like chinatungsten as 'novelty paperweights' [2] - even though tungsten is fractionally less dense than gold. As iridium and osmium are traded in very low volumes and toxic/acidic, platinum is more expensive than gold, and tungsten is fractionally lighter, fake gold is seldom undetectable. [1] https://www.google.com/search?q=tungsten+gold+bar&tbm=isch https://www.google.com/search?q=tungsten+gold+bar&tbm=isch [2] http://www.paper-weight.cn/products-show.html http://www.paper-weight.cn/products-show.html

acdha 6y ago

Here’s the definition of the term I’m using - note that the term does not require government backing: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_money https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_money The source of your misunderstanding is here: > Bitcoin also has underlying properties, but instead they are guaranteed by mathematics and game theory instead of physics. The Bitcoin algorithm has some interesting properties but they don’t have much practical value to balance the enormous inefficiency and, far more important to this topic, that doesn’t make any particular blockchain valuable - anyone who wants those properties can set up their own for free without enriching the current Bitcoin holders. The only reason why you would consider those hashes to be worth paying money for is the community belief that they have a certain value - nobody has any need to use it otherwise. That’s why Bitcoin is an especially pure fiat currency: the community consensus is quite literally the only thing backing it’s valuation. In contrast a currency like the US dollar has curbs on fluctuation not just from much greater usage but also because millions of people receive it from government salaries and purchases or need that currency to pay taxes — unlike Bitcoin, which has value only to the extent that you can find someone else who thinks it’ll be worth more in the future.