6 ms·

I would hesitate to call it "money" as well, as apart from its use in place of money, it has no value. Even paper currency is, at bottom, worth the paper it's p

I would hesitate to call it "money" as well, as apart from its use in place of money, it has no value. Even paper currency is, at bottom, worth the paper it's printed on.

alwillis 6y ago
Even paper currency is, at bottom, worth the paper it's printed on. When Zimbabwe printed a $100,000,000,000,000 (one hundred trillion dollar bill) due to hyperinflation, the people used it for fire, because it wasn't useful for anything else. So… no, paper money has been worthless many times.
- pmiller2 6y ago
  And, now, those notes sell for over $100 each in uncirculated condition, simply because it's denominated in "dollars" and has the largest numerical denomination history. Had you bought one in 2001, when they were worth $5 apiece, that would have yielded you a CAGR of around 40%. Sometimes, I kind of want to kick myself for missing out on that train. :)
  - alwillis 6y ago
    More as a collectable than anything else.
- mariodiana 6y ago
  You should look up "worthless." Even kindling counts as value. Try burning Bitcoin.
alwillis 6y ago
"Paper is poverty… it is only the ghost of money, not money itself." -Thomas Jefferson
JoeAltmaier 6y ago
Coins are essentially worthless as well. Ok, they have a 'book value' of the (usually base) metal they're made from. But that's about it. So what has 'true value' then? Gold? It's similar to Bitcoin, in that you have to deposit it and use an exchange.
- alwillis 6y ago
  It's similar to Bitcoin, in that you have to deposit it and use an exchange. Bitcoin is peer-to-peer; you don't have to use an exchange to transact. Lightning allows us to transact bitcoin instantaneously, person to person. There are plenty of Lightning wallets for iOS and Android. [1]: https://bisq.network https://bisq.network [2]: https://hodlhodl.com https://hodlhodl.com
  - JoeAltmaier 6y ago
    As long as you're willing to transact $19000, right? Else who holds the coin in escrow? Or am I misunderstanding something.
    - pmiller2 6y ago
      I believe you can transact in amounts as low as 1 satoshi, or 1e-8 BTC, which would imply a minimum transaction amount of $0.19, assuming a value of $19k per BTC.
    - alwillis 6y ago
      Or am I misunderstanding something. Yes. From the Bisq FAQ: Security deposits are set to be a percentage of the trade amount—actual percent varies by BTC price volatility, but minimum is 0.006 BTC—but the percent can be adjusted by the offer maker to be as low as 15% or as high as 50%. 0.006 of a Bitcoin is $117.366
      - JoeAltmaier 6y ago
        So, with an exchange? Not peer to peer?

I would hesitate to call it "money" as well, as apart from its use in place of money, it has no value. Even paper currency is, at bottom, worth the paper it's printed on.

alwillis 6y ago

Even paper currency is, at bottom, worth the paper it's printed on. When Zimbabwe printed a $100,000,000,000,000 (one hundred trillion dollar bill) due to hyperinflation, the people used it for fire, because it wasn't useful for anything else. So… no, paper money has been worthless many times.

pmiller2 6y ago
And, now, those notes sell for over $100 each in uncirculated condition, simply because it's denominated in "dollars" and has the largest numerical denomination history. Had you bought one in 2001, when they were worth $5 apiece, that would have yielded you a CAGR of around 40%. Sometimes, I kind of want to kick myself for missing out on that train. :)
- alwillis 6y ago
  More as a collectable than anything else.
mariodiana 6y ago
You should look up "worthless." Even kindling counts as value. Try burning Bitcoin.

alwillis 6y ago

"Paper is poverty… it is only the ghost of money, not money itself." -Thomas Jefferson

JoeAltmaier 6y ago

Coins are essentially worthless as well. Ok, they have a 'book value' of the (usually base) metal they're made from. But that's about it. So what has 'true value' then? Gold? It's similar to Bitcoin, in that you have to deposit it and use an exchange.

alwillis 6y ago
It's similar to Bitcoin, in that you have to deposit it and use an exchange. Bitcoin is peer-to-peer; you don't have to use an exchange to transact. Lightning allows us to transact bitcoin instantaneously, person to person. There are plenty of Lightning wallets for iOS and Android. [1]: https://bisq.network https://bisq.network [2]: https://hodlhodl.com https://hodlhodl.com
- JoeAltmaier 6y ago
  As long as you're willing to transact $19000, right? Else who holds the coin in escrow? Or am I misunderstanding something.
  - pmiller2 6y ago
    I believe you can transact in amounts as low as 1 satoshi, or 1e-8 BTC, which would imply a minimum transaction amount of $0.19, assuming a value of $19k per BTC.
  - alwillis 6y ago
    Or am I misunderstanding something. Yes. From the Bisq FAQ: Security deposits are set to be a percentage of the trade amount—actual percent varies by BTC price volatility, but minimum is 0.006 BTC—but the percent can be adjusted by the offer maker to be as low as 15% or as high as 50%. 0.006 of a Bitcoin is $117.366
    - JoeAltmaier 6y ago
      So, with an exchange? Not peer to peer?