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"Investing" in Dogecoin is gambling, and I don't have a fundamental problem with legal gambling, so... I'm not sure what "we" are supposed to do about this. As

by smt88 6y ago

"Investing" in Dogecoin is gambling, and I don't have a fundamental problem with legal gambling, so... I'm not sure what "we" are supposed to do about this. As far as the market value, it's obviously nonsense because once a substantial number of people started to convert back to fiat, there would probably be a panic and the price would plummet.

nomel 6y ago
Perhaps one of these cryptocurrencies will find widespread, common-to-the-people, use some day, to tame the rollercoaster of emotional value.
- donmcronald 6y ago
  I don't think they'll happen unless a government adopts one and there's no incentive for that. Most developed nations treat them like a security (investment) which makes them useless for daily transactions. You're supposed to track capital gains and losses. Throw in something the the wash rule the US has and you can see how it becomes impossible to use them as a currency without getting into tax trouble. Heck, I think the IRS even expects people to declare gains when they mine a coin. I'm not American though, so I've never really looked into it. I don't have any crypto either, so...
  - smt88 6y ago
    Dogecoin's inflationary structure ironically makes it more suitable as a currency than the other coins. I still don't think any will see widespread use anytime soon. For now, they're (maybe) useful ways to translate to/from USD jn failed economies.
betwixthewires 6y ago
While I don't disagree with your statement, I feel the need to nitpick (because I see it said often these days). Speculative investment is fundamentally very different from gambling. In gambling, you know the real odds of the game, you know the payout odds of the game, you can deduce on average how often you'll win/lose, and more importantly, you pay and lose your payment for every turn of the game. With speculative investing these dynamics do not exist. It is risk taking in the same way that gambling is, but aside the fact that they're both risk taking, speculative investing is in no way like gambling. Your second paragraph basically distils down supply and demand, aggregate risk appetite in a market, and market cycles.

by smt88 6y ago

nomel 6y ago

Perhaps one of these cryptocurrencies will find widespread, common-to-the-people, use some day, to tame the rollercoaster of emotional value.

donmcronald 6y ago
I don't think they'll happen unless a government adopts one and there's no incentive for that. Most developed nations treat them like a security (investment) which makes them useless for daily transactions. You're supposed to track capital gains and losses. Throw in something the the wash rule the US has and you can see how it becomes impossible to use them as a currency without getting into tax trouble. Heck, I think the IRS even expects people to declare gains when they mine a coin. I'm not American though, so I've never really looked into it. I don't have any crypto either, so...
- smt88 6y ago
  Dogecoin's inflationary structure ironically makes it more suitable as a currency than the other coins. I still don't think any will see widespread use anytime soon. For now, they're (maybe) useful ways to translate to/from USD jn failed economies.

betwixthewires 6y ago

While I don't disagree with your statement, I feel the need to nitpick (because I see it said often these days). Speculative investment is fundamentally very different from gambling. In gambling, you know the real odds of the game, you know the payout odds of the game, you can deduce on average how often you'll win/lose, and more importantly, you pay and lose your payment for every turn of the game. With speculative investing these dynamics do not exist. It is risk taking in the same way that gambling is, but aside the fact that they're both risk taking, speculative investing is in no way like gambling. Your second paragraph basically distils down supply and demand, aggregate risk appetite in a market, and market cycles.