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I think that's a fair comment. Re-using the word "energy" in that sense is potentially misleading to always mean electrical energy. As for the value of 1 BTC,

I think that's a fair comment. Re-using the word "energy" in that sense is potentially misleading to always mean electrical energy. As for the value of 1 BTC, it's value fluctuates if you operate on a base currency which is not BTC, but that is the same for any currency exchange. (I am suggesting currency, though I also understand that BTC may not be unanimously agreed on as a currency— but in El Salvador's case it is)

StavrosK 5y ago
> As for the value of 1 BTC, it's value fluctuates if you operate on a base currency which is not BTC, but that is the same for any currency exchange. Yes but also, even though 1 BTC will always be worth 1 BTC, the amount of work it buys you won't be the same, as with any currency. In theory, you can also store USD for an infinite amount of time (assuming you exchange the paper for new paper when it decays), but it, too, won't hold its value.
- garydevenay 5y ago
  > In theory, you can also store USD for an infinite amount of time This is actually not true, as 1 USD does not equal a static percentage of all USD. If you look at the stock-to-flow of storing value in USD compared to Bitcoin or even Gold, it's immediately apparent that USD or central bank backed fiat currency is an exceptionally inefficient way to store value as it's being debased at alarming rates. This is why $1000 was worth way more in 1980 than it is today. Edit Note: I actually just re-read your comment and realised I misread. I read store value for an infinite amount of time
  - throwawayffffas 5y ago
    I would point out that 1 BTC does not equal 1/21000000 of the total supply forever. For three main reasons a) wallet keys get lost making stored bitcoins unavailable. b) The developers/community may very well decide to change the total amount of bitcoins available in the future. c) With the rise of quantum computing it is conceivable that the public key encryption that is used to secure the wallets may be broken in the next few decades rendering bitcoin unusable. EDIT: corrected public key, I had written "public/private" for some reason.
    - garydevenay 5y ago
      > wallet keys get lost making stored bitcoins unavailable This does not remove Bitcoin from the network, just because it is never spent. > The developers/community may very well decide to change the total amount of bitcoins available in the future Actually it's not possible. You can fork the network if you get some level of consensus from developers, miners and node runners (not to mention a community that is willing to accept their value be debased) and increase the supply, but then by definition your coin is not on the Bitcoin chain, it is on your new forked chain.

StavrosK 5y ago

> As for the value of 1 BTC, it's value fluctuates if you operate on a base currency which is not BTC, but that is the same for any currency exchange. Yes but also, even though 1 BTC will always be worth 1 BTC, the amount of work it buys you won't be the same, as with any currency. In theory, you can also store USD for an infinite amount of time (assuming you exchange the paper for new paper when it decays), but it, too, won't hold its value.

garydevenay 5y ago
> In theory, you can also store USD for an infinite amount of time This is actually not true, as 1 USD does not equal a static percentage of all USD. If you look at the stock-to-flow of storing value in USD compared to Bitcoin or even Gold, it's immediately apparent that USD or central bank backed fiat currency is an exceptionally inefficient way to store value as it's being debased at alarming rates. This is why $1000 was worth way more in 1980 than it is today. Edit Note: I actually just re-read your comment and realised I misread. I read store value for an infinite amount of time
- throwawayffffas 5y ago
  I would point out that 1 BTC does not equal 1/21000000 of the total supply forever. For three main reasons a) wallet keys get lost making stored bitcoins unavailable. b) The developers/community may very well decide to change the total amount of bitcoins available in the future. c) With the rise of quantum computing it is conceivable that the public key encryption that is used to secure the wallets may be broken in the next few decades rendering bitcoin unusable. EDIT: corrected public key, I had written "public/private" for some reason.
  - garydevenay 5y ago
    > wallet keys get lost making stored bitcoins unavailable This does not remove Bitcoin from the network, just because it is never spent. > The developers/community may very well decide to change the total amount of bitcoins available in the future Actually it's not possible. You can fork the network if you get some level of consensus from developers, miners and node runners (not to mention a community that is willing to accept their value be debased) and increase the supply, but then by definition your coin is not on the Bitcoin chain, it is on your new forked chain.