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>>It sure is a lot better than using human lives, usually & most likely forced labor, to mine real Gold. Right? Bitcoin is purported to be an alternative to fi

>>It sure is a lot better than using human lives, usually & most likely forced labor, to mine real Gold. Right? Bitcoin is purported to be an alternative to fiat money, not gold. And most governments can print fiat money at will, with virtually no energy.

bhupy 6y ago
> Bitcoin is purported to be an alternative to fiat money, not gold. And most governments can print fiat money at will, with virtually no energy. That's not completely true. Bitcoin is purported to be an alternative to fiat money because it's purported to be an alternative to gold. The argument for Bitcoin as a replacement for fiat money actually rolls up 2 big arguments into 1: 1. That fiat money should be replaced with money backed by some commodity like gold (the Goldbug argument) 2. That cryptocurrency is the ideal underlying commodity because it's more easily transferrable than gold. To clarify, I don’t have a strong position on either of these arguments.
hoseja 6y ago
And what is the cost of the massive capacity for and monopoly on violence that nation-states derive this capability to print money out of thin air from?
stickfigure 6y ago
> governments can print fiat money at will, with virtually no energy I get what you're saying, but that's not really true. You have to account for the military spending required to preserve the legitimacy of your fiat currency. Any nation-state can afford the same printing presses you have.
sparkie 6y ago
The State printing fiat money is essentially stealing time from people who have laboured to create wealth. That wealth is pilfered through devaluing the money supply, with those close to central bank who receive the new money first benefiting from it. Bitcoin fixes this theft problem, and demand for it will continue to increase for as long as this theft occurs. The only way bitcoin can be stopped is if central banks start contracting the supply of their money, which you and I know will never happen.

bhupy 6y ago

> Bitcoin is purported to be an alternative to fiat money, not gold. And most governments can print fiat money at will, with virtually no energy. That's not completely true. Bitcoin is purported to be an alternative to fiat money because it's purported to be an alternative to gold. The argument for Bitcoin as a replacement for fiat money actually rolls up 2 big arguments into 1: 1. That fiat money should be replaced with money backed by some commodity like gold (the Goldbug argument) 2. That cryptocurrency is the ideal underlying commodity because it's more easily transferrable than gold. To clarify, I don’t have a strong position on either of these arguments.

hoseja 6y ago

And what is the cost of the massive capacity for and monopoly on violence that nation-states derive this capability to print money out of thin air from?

stickfigure 6y ago

> governments can print fiat money at will, with virtually no energy I get what you're saying, but that's not really true. You have to account for the military spending required to preserve the legitimacy of your fiat currency. Any nation-state can afford the same printing presses you have.

sparkie 6y ago

The State printing fiat money is essentially stealing time from people who have laboured to create wealth. That wealth is pilfered through devaluing the money supply, with those close to central bank who receive the new money first benefiting from it. Bitcoin fixes this theft problem, and demand for it will continue to increase for as long as this theft occurs. The only way bitcoin can be stopped is if central banks start contracting the supply of their money, which you and I know will never happen.