My point was more of an observation about the aristocracy point. Often the rich do still take significant risks with their wealth even though the effects of inf

My point was more of an observation about the aristocracy point. Often the rich do still take significant risks with their wealth even though the effects of inflation are negligible on them. I'm unsure about the deflationary aspect of bitcoin - in my opinion the degree to which it is problematic depends on the rate of depreciation compared to other assets. It seems more of a problem if you wanted to use bitcoin to replace a sovereign currency, rather than use it as a currency on a smaller scale intended for grey market/black market transactions. I think the appreciation of the currency over time was probably intended to ensure it originally took off by providing an incentive for early adopters; its dubious legal status probably means it's a poor long term investment choice anyway. To some extent this discussion is entirely academic anyway - bitcoin is being used as a currency right now (see the Silk Road Market), so in that sense it's already succeeded..