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Power like what you've described comes from control of the money supply. If I have billions of dollars worth of BTC I may start paying men with guns to defend m

Power like what you've described comes from control of the money supply. If I have billions of dollars worth of BTC I may start paying men with guns to defend me from the other men with guns, well then we have a power struggle.

JumpCrisscross 6y ago
> Power like what you've described comes from control of the money supply So Ecuador [1] and every member of the Eurozone are powerless? As well as practically every revolutionary force in history? What about governments when we were on the gold standard? > If I have billions of dollars worth of BTC I may start paying men with guns to defend me from the other men with guns, well then we have a power struggle This works equally well with your holding Bitcoins or dollars or renmimbi. Wealth conveys power. Whether it is held in gold or Bitcoin or Amazon stock is irrelevant. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency_of_Ecuador https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency_of_Ecuador
- coinward 6y ago
  Do you think revolutionary armies didn't pay their soldiers? Gold standard reflected sound monetary policy and kept government misallocations in check. Since moving to the fiat standard, governments have unleashed record spending. Bitcoin is exposing what happens to the money as a result of the monetary expansion. Bitcoin has replaced gold, and those of us who have adopted a BTC standard will have separated in prosperity levels from our fiat based peers within a generation or two.
  - JumpCrisscross 6y ago
    > those of us who have adopted a BTC standard will have separated in prosperity levels from our fiat based peers within a generation or two What you’re describing is true of any asset that appreciates in value. The wealth confers power. That it is a currency is irrelevant. If the U.S. switched its legal tender to Bitcoin tomorrow, it would change how we borrow and spend. But it would be no more of a shock to the system than a balanced budget amendment on the Treasury and the Fed. (Less, in fact, since the U.S. on Bitcoin could still deficit spend.)
toxik 6y ago
A Bitcoin-funded military coup. Now that’s sci-fi stuff!

JumpCrisscross 6y ago

> Power like what you've described comes from control of the money supply So Ecuador [1] and every member of the Eurozone are powerless? As well as practically every revolutionary force in history? What about governments when we were on the gold standard? > If I have billions of dollars worth of BTC I may start paying men with guns to defend me from the other men with guns, well then we have a power struggle This works equally well with your holding Bitcoins or dollars or renmimbi. Wealth conveys power. Whether it is held in gold or Bitcoin or Amazon stock is irrelevant. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency_of_Ecuador https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency_of_Ecuador

coinward 6y ago
Do you think revolutionary armies didn't pay their soldiers? Gold standard reflected sound monetary policy and kept government misallocations in check. Since moving to the fiat standard, governments have unleashed record spending. Bitcoin is exposing what happens to the money as a result of the monetary expansion. Bitcoin has replaced gold, and those of us who have adopted a BTC standard will have separated in prosperity levels from our fiat based peers within a generation or two.
- JumpCrisscross 6y ago
  > those of us who have adopted a BTC standard will have separated in prosperity levels from our fiat based peers within a generation or two What you’re describing is true of any asset that appreciates in value. The wealth confers power. That it is a currency is irrelevant. If the U.S. switched its legal tender to Bitcoin tomorrow, it would change how we borrow and spend. But it would be no more of a shock to the system than a balanced budget amendment on the Treasury and the Fed. (Less, in fact, since the U.S. on Bitcoin could still deficit spend.)

toxik 6y ago

A Bitcoin-funded military coup. Now that’s sci-fi stuff!