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"Bitcoin has shown it is uninterested in being anything but digital gold." That still makes it very relevant here. Bitcoin is the reserve, while Eth is the set

by twox2 6y ago

"Bitcoin has shown it is uninterested in being anything but digital gold." That still makes it very relevant here. Bitcoin is the reserve, while Eth is the settlement layer.

X6S1x6Okd1st 6y ago
Except that bitcoin has a settlement layer, arguably the most well protected one. Etherum is so much more than a settlement layer. In my opinion the biggest potential for bitcoin is to displace gold. It's only ~6x away from eclipsing gold's market cap. After that I think the growth story of it growing faster than index funds starts to get kind of tenuous.
LeoPanthera 6y ago
> Bitcoin is the reserve, while Eth is the settlement layer. I think that's a Bitcoin holder's fantasy. If you're already using one chain for settlements, why use an entirely separate and unrelated one as well? Ethereum can be both. Actually, almost any other cryptocurrency can be both. It's only (original, core) Bitcoin that is so badly crippled.
- randomopining 6y ago
  But doesn't Bitcoin have an advantage in the "value protection"/digital gold use case because it uses proof of work and has a finite number of coins?
  - LeoPanthera 6y ago
    It does, but its insistence on tiny blocks means all transactions are extremely expensive. Bitcoin Cash adheres to the original Bitcoin design, has moved to larger blocks, but still retains all the other advantages. And it's not the only one, few cryptocurrencies are as expensive as Bitcoin to transact.
  - anonymoushn 6y ago
    I'm not convinced that PoW with prohibitive hardware costs and hashrate concentrated in a single totalitarian dictatorship is better than other consensus mechanisms. Many other things than Bitcoin also have finite supply.
    - randomopining 6y ago
      Nothing as ubiquitous though...?
- twox2 6y ago
  Yes perhaps, but the fact is that it's the bitcoin network that secures the majority of the money tied into crypto. It's going to play this role regardless of the technical drawbacks unfortunately. I'm not a bitcoin "maximalist" - I don't even hold any, but it's hard to deny the role it plays in propping up all of crypto.

by twox2 6y ago

"Bitcoin has shown it is uninterested in being anything but digital gold." That still makes it very relevant here. Bitcoin is the reserve, while Eth is the settlement layer.

X6S1x6Okd1st 6y ago

Except that bitcoin has a settlement layer, arguably the most well protected one. Etherum is so much more than a settlement layer. In my opinion the biggest potential for bitcoin is to displace gold. It's only ~6x away from eclipsing gold's market cap. After that I think the growth story of it growing faster than index funds starts to get kind of tenuous.

LeoPanthera 6y ago

> Bitcoin is the reserve, while Eth is the settlement layer. I think that's a Bitcoin holder's fantasy. If you're already using one chain for settlements, why use an entirely separate and unrelated one as well? Ethereum can be both. Actually, almost any other cryptocurrency can be both. It's only (original, core) Bitcoin that is so badly crippled.

randomopining 6y ago
But doesn't Bitcoin have an advantage in the "value protection"/digital gold use case because it uses proof of work and has a finite number of coins?
- LeoPanthera 6y ago
  It does, but its insistence on tiny blocks means all transactions are extremely expensive. Bitcoin Cash adheres to the original Bitcoin design, has moved to larger blocks, but still retains all the other advantages. And it's not the only one, few cryptocurrencies are as expensive as Bitcoin to transact.
- anonymoushn 6y ago
  I'm not convinced that PoW with prohibitive hardware costs and hashrate concentrated in a single totalitarian dictatorship is better than other consensus mechanisms. Many other things than Bitcoin also have finite supply.
  - randomopining 6y ago
    Nothing as ubiquitous though...?
twox2 6y ago
Yes perhaps, but the fact is that it's the bitcoin network that secures the majority of the money tied into crypto. It's going to play this role regardless of the technical drawbacks unfortunately. I'm not a bitcoin "maximalist" - I don't even hold any, but it's hard to deny the role it plays in propping up all of crypto.