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But it's an objective fact that you don't need to open an account with a financial institution to start using Bitcoin. That was always the case. Unlike religion

But it's an objective fact that you don't need to open an account with a financial institution to start using Bitcoin. That was always the case. Unlike religion, it actually delivers.

deleted 5y ago
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ineedasername 5y ago
How do you buy bitcoins without it touching some financial institution at some point? You can buy bitcoin with cash, yes, but if it has to go through a financial institution or other regulated entity at any point then it is not delivering on any promise of independence from those institutions.
- mikro2nd 5y ago
  Why do you need to "buy" Bitcoin? Do some work for someone, sell them some produce you grew or something you made, have them pay you in BTC. Go to a vendor who also is happy to take Bitcoin, buy stuff you need in turn. Yes, I know it's not happening much. Bitcoin has failed (so far) as a payment/exchange system, and that's cause for sadness to me, but also a good way to look at the history and ask the questions about why it has failed and how to go about creating a better "King-proof Money".
  - ineedasername 5y ago
    You're not going further in the chain: The person you work for has to buy bitcoins then. Or the next link in backwards has to. At some point, people will need to convert current assets into bitcoin. You're arguing from a point of view that requires bitcoin to already be an established currency. I'm saying that there is no practical way to get to that point without that sanction of governments to use traditional financial institutions along the way. Further, even if you got there, governments could simply ban bitcoin. It then becomes extremely hard to use as a common medium of exchange because literally no legal business could accept it without risking the business and their life outside of prison. It would also render useless the scenario of fleeing a despot country with hard currency assets intact because wherever your destination, those assets are still illegal to use. All of this means that, at any point, governments could reduce bitcoin to-- at best-- another side of shadow banking, like how drugs can be a medium of exchange in the criminal world. That does not allow room for common usage by the masses. Bitcoin & other crypto exist because nation states allow them to exist.
bhickey 5y ago
You don't need to open an account to trade pogs either. Besides, it would be naive to take pog trading advice from boosters who are holding a hundred million Alf pogs.

But it's an objective fact that you don't need to open an account with a financial institution to start using Bitcoin. That was always the case. Unlike religion, it actually delivers.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

ineedasername 5y ago

How do you buy bitcoins without it touching some financial institution at some point? You can buy bitcoin with cash, yes, but if it has to go through a financial institution or other regulated entity at any point then it is not delivering on any promise of independence from those institutions.

mikro2nd 5y ago
Why do you need to "buy" Bitcoin? Do some work for someone, sell them some produce you grew or something you made, have them pay you in BTC. Go to a vendor who also is happy to take Bitcoin, buy stuff you need in turn. Yes, I know it's not happening much. Bitcoin has failed (so far) as a payment/exchange system, and that's cause for sadness to me, but also a good way to look at the history and ask the questions about why it has failed and how to go about creating a better "King-proof Money".
- ineedasername 5y ago
  You're not going further in the chain: The person you work for has to buy bitcoins then. Or the next link in backwards has to. At some point, people will need to convert current assets into bitcoin. You're arguing from a point of view that requires bitcoin to already be an established currency. I'm saying that there is no practical way to get to that point without that sanction of governments to use traditional financial institutions along the way. Further, even if you got there, governments could simply ban bitcoin. It then becomes extremely hard to use as a common medium of exchange because literally no legal business could accept it without risking the business and their life outside of prison. It would also render useless the scenario of fleeing a despot country with hard currency assets intact because wherever your destination, those assets are still illegal to use. All of this means that, at any point, governments could reduce bitcoin to-- at best-- another side of shadow banking, like how drugs can be a medium of exchange in the criminal world. That does not allow room for common usage by the masses. Bitcoin & other crypto exist because nation states allow them to exist.

bhickey 5y ago

You don't need to open an account to trade pogs either. Besides, it would be naive to take pog trading advice from boosters who are holding a hundred million Alf pogs.