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Crypto is one tool for sending money over the internet, but it's hardly the only one, and it's far from the best. Most transaction utilities don't have potentia

Crypto is one tool for sending money over the internet, but it's hardly the only one, and it's far from the best. Most transaction utilities don't have potential for your transfer to lose 30% overnight.

px43 5y ago
Have you invented a magical currency that always retains its value? If so you should probabally let the world know.
- thehappypm 5y ago
  I use the wonderfully stable US dollar.
  - lowkey 5y ago
    The US dollar has lost 99% of its purchasing power since moving off the gold standard in 1933. Wonderfully stable if you consider $1 in 1933 = $1 in 2021, inflation is hidden taxation and disproportionately affects widows and orphans.
    - AnimalMuppet 5y ago
      And bitcoin lost 30% of its value in the last month. So yes, the dollar is in fact wonderfully stable by comparison.
      - lowkey 5y ago
        No one is arguing that Bitcoin is stable. I was simply pointing out that the USD is not as stable as you presume on a long-enough timescale. In fact it loses approximately 100% of its purchasing power per century.
        thehappypm 5y ago
        It took a century for USD to swing 99%, how long did it take BTC?
        lowkey 5y ago
        I’m not sure I understand, has BTC ever lost 99% of it’s value? If I understand correctly, the value of Bitcoin has only gone up over the past 11 years. While the purchasing power of the US dollar has fallen in real terms every single one of those years.
        AnimalMuppet 5y ago
        Depends on your time frame. It has definitely gone down at times - it's not at 55,000 any more. So "only gone up" might be true, if you pick your sampling intervals in a way that misses all the dips. It's definitely false as an absolute statement, though. And, to thehappypm's point: Has the US dollar ever lost 30% of its value in a month? No. This point was badly stated (bitcoin has never lost 99% of its value), but I think the point is rather clear: Bitcoin can lose value much more rapidly than the US dollar, and in fact has done so.
        thehappypm 5y ago
        BTC is up 100x from a couple years ago, is that desirable for a currency?
        lowkey 5y ago
        It is desirable for a reserve asset and a store of value - which are use-cases for a currency. It is obviously not great to have a deflationary currency as the only option for spending. However, luckily we still have fiat currencies which are ideal for spending as well as Bitcoin which is the superior savings vehicle. Bitcoin has only been around for ~11 years and by all accounts it is still in price discovery mode. Eventually it’s value will stabilize and it may serve as a better unit of account. Until then, spend your fiat and Hodl your bitcoin.
        5y ago

px43 5y ago

Have you invented a magical currency that always retains its value? If so you should probabally let the world know.

thehappypm 5y ago
I use the wonderfully stable US dollar.
- lowkey 5y ago
  The US dollar has lost 99% of its purchasing power since moving off the gold standard in 1933. Wonderfully stable if you consider $1 in 1933 = $1 in 2021, inflation is hidden taxation and disproportionately affects widows and orphans.
  - AnimalMuppet 5y ago
    And bitcoin lost 30% of its value in the last month. So yes, the dollar is in fact wonderfully stable by comparison.
    - lowkey 5y ago
      No one is arguing that Bitcoin is stable. I was simply pointing out that the USD is not as stable as you presume on a long-enough timescale. In fact it loses approximately 100% of its purchasing power per century.
      - thehappypm 5y ago
        It took a century for USD to swing 99%, how long did it take BTC?
        lowkey 5y ago
        I’m not sure I understand, has BTC ever lost 99% of it’s value? If I understand correctly, the value of Bitcoin has only gone up over the past 11 years. While the purchasing power of the US dollar has fallen in real terms every single one of those years.
        AnimalMuppet 5y ago
        Depends on your time frame. It has definitely gone down at times - it's not at 55,000 any more. So "only gone up" might be true, if you pick your sampling intervals in a way that misses all the dips. It's definitely false as an absolute statement, though. And, to thehappypm's point: Has the US dollar ever lost 30% of its value in a month? No. This point was badly stated (bitcoin has never lost 99% of its value), but I think the point is rather clear: Bitcoin can lose value much more rapidly than the US dollar, and in fact has done so.
        thehappypm 5y ago
        BTC is up 100x from a couple years ago, is that desirable for a currency?
        lowkey 5y ago
        It is desirable for a reserve asset and a store of value - which are use-cases for a currency. It is obviously not great to have a deflationary currency as the only option for spending. However, luckily we still have fiat currencies which are ideal for spending as well as Bitcoin which is the superior savings vehicle. Bitcoin has only been around for ~11 years and by all accounts it is still in price discovery mode. Eventually it’s value will stabilize and it may serve as a better unit of account. Until then, spend your fiat and Hodl your bitcoin.
      - 5y ago