4 ms·

Why does it matter how many dollars the beer is worth? It is worth the same number of bitcoins yesterday, today, and tomorrow. That's the only stability that is

Why does it matter how many dollars the beer is worth? It is worth the same number of bitcoins yesterday, today, and tomorrow. That's the only stability that is relevant.

gbear605 5y ago
That’s fine as long as my job is willing to pay me in a constant amount of bitcoin and everything else I need to buy can be bought with bitcoin. If my salary is still in dollars, then what I can purchase for a day’s wages will vary hugely.
- derefr 5y ago
  Presumably, in El Salvador, salaries would be denominated in BTC. That's the only thing that'd make any sense. (And, barring external regulatory force, it's very likely to be what a free job market where employees mostly spend BTC would move to doing.)
  - bobthepanda 5y ago
    Imports and exports are not priced in BTC though, in the same way that there aren't really imports or exports priced in gold. Given the massive volatility of BTC it presents a massive opportunity for arbitrage that mostly has downsides for consumers who want stable supplies of goods.
  - SamBam 5y ago
    I don't see why they would be denominated in BTC, given that BTC will be legal tender alongside USD, and USD is a much more stable currency. Making it a legal currency won't even force anyone to accept it. As far as I understand, it will simply mean that the government will accept payments in BTC.
    - chii 5y ago
      > the government will accept payments in BTC. The telling thing would be what the gov't pays in (e.g., for tax returns). Do they pay you back in BTC? or fiat?
      - adrianN 5y ago
        Seeing how not being able to print more money when you need it worked out for the government of e.g. Greece, I would be surprised if El Savlador chooses BTC for paying its debts.
        stickfigure 5y ago
        El Salvador does not have its own currency; it has been using USD since 2001. It can't print money either way.
- wolverine876 5y ago
  > That’s fine as long as my job is willing to pay me in a constant amount of bitcoin and everything else I need to buy can be bought with bitcoin. It also requires the goods and services you buy to be traded in dollars. If stores buy food, gas, etc. wholesale in dollars, for example, and sells it to you for bitcoin, there's going to be a problem.
- nly 5y ago
  The real currency we all have is time
reader_mode 5y ago
> Why does it matter how many dollars the beer is worth? Because you can buy beer for dollars, so if your local beer costs 50$ in BTC it makes sense to sell BTC for USD and order beer. And if your beer suddenly costs 0.001$ in BTC it makes sense to sell it off to someone in USD and refuse selling in BTC. > It is worth the same number of bitcoins yesterday, today, and tomorrow. That's the only stability that is relevant. This is the most idiotic argument ever, if this was true it would be irrelevant if a currency depreciates/appreciates.
- tofukid 5y ago
  This goes both ways. Why buy a beer for $5 if Bitcoin is going up? You should just buy Bitcoin instead. Why buy $5 beer if instead you can buy index funds?
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - grogenaut 5y ago
    Because I want a $5 beer today, and one next week as well. Why buy bitcoin until you die and never have beer? Are you even living at that point?
    - louloulou 5y ago
      Who's doing that? People can choose to hold whatever assets they want in whatever proportions they think are best (assuming they are not shut out of the fiat banking system, and live in a stable developed country).
    - ric2b 5y ago
      > Because I want a $5 beer today So then why feel bad about trading some BTC for it? The regret would be for not buying back.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
ori_b 5y ago
If you believe that, I have a pizza to sell you. Same eternal price as that famous pizza from 2010: 10,000 bitcoins.
rebuilder 5y ago
How would that come about? Serious question. I do not see how price controls like that could possible work, unless El Salvador closes its borders to all trade.
imtringued 5y ago
>It is worth the same number of bitcoins yesterday, today, and tomorrow. That would be nice but it goes against the "number go up" theory of "bitcoin investing".

Why does it matter how many dollars the beer is worth? It is worth the same number of bitcoins yesterday, today, and tomorrow. That's the only stability that is relevant.

gbear605 5y ago

That’s fine as long as my job is willing to pay me in a constant amount of bitcoin and everything else I need to buy can be bought with bitcoin. If my salary is still in dollars, then what I can purchase for a day’s wages will vary hugely.

derefr 5y ago
Presumably, in El Salvador, salaries would be denominated in BTC. That's the only thing that'd make any sense. (And, barring external regulatory force, it's very likely to be what a free job market where employees mostly spend BTC would move to doing.)
- bobthepanda 5y ago
  Imports and exports are not priced in BTC though, in the same way that there aren't really imports or exports priced in gold. Given the massive volatility of BTC it presents a massive opportunity for arbitrage that mostly has downsides for consumers who want stable supplies of goods.
- SamBam 5y ago
  I don't see why they would be denominated in BTC, given that BTC will be legal tender alongside USD, and USD is a much more stable currency. Making it a legal currency won't even force anyone to accept it. As far as I understand, it will simply mean that the government will accept payments in BTC.
  - chii 5y ago
    > the government will accept payments in BTC. The telling thing would be what the gov't pays in (e.g., for tax returns). Do they pay you back in BTC? or fiat?
    - adrianN 5y ago
      Seeing how not being able to print more money when you need it worked out for the government of e.g. Greece, I would be surprised if El Savlador chooses BTC for paying its debts.
      - stickfigure 5y ago
        El Salvador does not have its own currency; it has been using USD since 2001. It can't print money either way.
wolverine876 5y ago
> That’s fine as long as my job is willing to pay me in a constant amount of bitcoin and everything else I need to buy can be bought with bitcoin. It also requires the goods and services you buy to be traded in dollars. If stores buy food, gas, etc. wholesale in dollars, for example, and sells it to you for bitcoin, there's going to be a problem.
nly 5y ago
The real currency we all have is time

reader_mode 5y ago

> Why does it matter how many dollars the beer is worth? Because you can buy beer for dollars, so if your local beer costs 50$ in BTC it makes sense to sell BTC for USD and order beer. And if your beer suddenly costs 0.001$ in BTC it makes sense to sell it off to someone in USD and refuse selling in BTC. > It is worth the same number of bitcoins yesterday, today, and tomorrow. That's the only stability that is relevant. This is the most idiotic argument ever, if this was true it would be irrelevant if a currency depreciates/appreciates.

tofukid 5y ago
This goes both ways. Why buy a beer for $5 if Bitcoin is going up? You should just buy Bitcoin instead. Why buy $5 beer if instead you can buy index funds?
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- grogenaut 5y ago
  Because I want a $5 beer today, and one next week as well. Why buy bitcoin until you die and never have beer? Are you even living at that point?
  - louloulou 5y ago
    Who's doing that? People can choose to hold whatever assets they want in whatever proportions they think are best (assuming they are not shut out of the fiat banking system, and live in a stable developed country).
  - ric2b 5y ago
    > Because I want a $5 beer today So then why feel bad about trading some BTC for it? The regret would be for not buying back.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

ori_b 5y ago

If you believe that, I have a pizza to sell you. Same eternal price as that famous pizza from 2010: 10,000 bitcoins.

rebuilder 5y ago

How would that come about? Serious question. I do not see how price controls like that could possible work, unless El Salvador closes its borders to all trade.

imtringued 5y ago

>It is worth the same number of bitcoins yesterday, today, and tomorrow. That would be nice but it goes against the "number go up" theory of "bitcoin investing".