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I own $0 crypto. Good in theory but if you look at it very closely, the whole thing is a racket that enriches a few people manipulating the market and enchants
by rblion 5y ago
I own $0 crypto. Good in theory but if you look at it very closely, the whole thing is a racket that enriches a few people manipulating the market and enchants millions of speculators who want to 'get rich quick'.
My gut says it's best to invest in myself and build things that are universally appealing and useful.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- deevolution 5y agoIt's not much different from the current fiat monetary regime. Those closest to the money spigot benefit the most... cryptocurrency opens it up to individuals rather than limiting it to governments.
- fortran77 5y agoI've always wondered why people say crypto isn't a "fiat currency." It only has value because some people say it does. And it doesn't have an Army, Navy, and Air Force to defend it, like the U.S. Dollar has.
- pavlov 5y agoIt's part of the cult-like mind game that underlies cryptocurrency communities. The in-group must signal its faith by using certain words in the opposite sense of their usual meaning. Bitcoin is following the Scientology playbook here.
- gjs278 5y agoit has immutable transactions that back it up making it possible for online payments without a middle man
- schoen 5y agoPresumably the fiat part comes from the power to create legal tender laws or the power to collect taxes denominated in a currency, or both. Cryptocurrencies don't have either of those powers. That is, a fiat currency's value isn't based only on objective or subjective/speculative value, but also, to an extent, on the issuing state's power to require people to use or accept it in certain transactions.
- WhompingWindows 5y agoAre you implying it could be attacked? Isn't decentralization in general, maybe not in case of BTC, a key factor that would put it into a societal hive-mind and out of physical realms of army's influence?
- imtringued 5y agoTechnically it's a fiat currency because people trust the code base and by extension they trust the development team.
- deevolution 5y agoThe dollar only has value because you are forced to pay the government with it to pay taxes or else you go to prison/get beat to death for protesting. The nice thing about crypto is the absence of a mafia threatening my life if I refuse to use it :)
- BenoitEssiambre 5y agoOne big difference is that governments usually set the real returns on their fiat to -2% which is low enough to prevent it from being hoarded too much and crowding out the private markets for productive investment.
- LeoPanthera 5y agoYou discount the entire category of users who don't "hold" any cryptocurrency at all, but use it as a medium of transfer - buying as much as they need and then transmitting it elsewhere.
- PeterisP 5y agoAs much as they need for what? Aside of ransom payments and drugs, you don't need to buy cryptocurrency, ordinary fiat money works just fine as a medium of transfer.
- drexlspivey 5y agoI pay for vpn with crypto, the provider doesnt even have my email. How do you do that with ordinary fiat money?
- 2pEXgD0fZ5cF 5y ago> How do you do that with ordinary fiat money By sending an envelope with cash. Services often offer that option. No E-mail or name disclosure required. A few advantages: Your payment isn't traceable for all eternity for the whole world to see. The amount I pay isn't suddenly worth 10% more or less the next day. Better for the environment.
- jakeva 5y agoThat might be fine up to a point, but at a certain number it becomes a really bad idea to mail cash.
- craftinator 5y ago> As much as they need for what? Tesla's, until quite recently. It's also fantastic for tipping people online without all the grossness of Patreon or Medium. Easier than making a wire transfer (my bank sucks). I tend to use it everywhere I used PayPal, minus the places where it isn't supported.
- 5y ago