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there is a loophole here that I think is worth mentioning. What does getting rich mean? If you compare bitcoin to the USD, its value “increases”. But if you co

there is a loophole here that I think is worth mentioning. What does getting rich mean? If you compare bitcoin to the USD, its value “increases”. But if you compare bitcoin with bitcoin you have the same amount of bitcoin today you had yesterday. So what really happens is you can buy more goods with the same amount of btc, in time, because of its scarcity. So bitcoin can create wealth in the sense that the quantity of goods you exchange for it increases over time (if people buy into using it that is).

lottin 5y ago
No, you don't get it. Prices are set by the supply and demand, which means the fact that something is scarce doesn't mean absolutely anything in terms of what its price will be in the future. Second, the fact that some asset price has increased doesn't mean wealth has been created. For example, if your house increases in value, this only means that your personal wealth has increased. In fact you personal wealth has increased at the expense of the people who are buying houses at over-inflated prices, while the stock of wealth in the economy remains unchanged. The only way to create wealth is to produce stuff, and bitcoin produces nothing.
- rantwasp 5y ago
  No no no. You don’t get it. You cannot make up your own definition of wealth and go meta (personal wealth vs WEALTH) as soon as the point you’re trying to make no longer works. Something scarce that has any demand at all will see a rocketing price for it. That’s what scarce means. Of course it’s supply and demand and all that jazz but usually scarcity + any kind of demand leads to a high price.
  - lottin 5y ago
    No, you fail at elementary economics in a typical bitcoin-fan fashion. Your personal wealth is your share of overall wealth in the economy. Your share will increase or decrease whenever you become wealthier or poorer relative to others. This is what happens when there are changes in the relative prices of assets, wealth is redistributed. And, again, scarcity isn't a predictor of price. Scarce means in short supply. It doesn't imply, by any stretch of the imagination, high price. No school of economic thought claims such nonsense.
    - rantwasp 5y ago
      sure thing buddy. only you can understand what wealth means. > you fail at elementary economics in a typical bitcoin-fan fashion Instead of being condescending here is a tip for you: learn about bitcoin before writing it off. Who know, one day you might even change your mind. > No school of economic thought claims such nonsense. Can you google things? Do me and youself a favor and google "the scarcity principle" Here I'll do it for you: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/scarcity-principle.asp https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/scarcity-principle.asp I guess some schools of economic thought do claim such nonsense. Maybe you should have a word with them. But wait there is more: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scarce https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scarce scarce: deficient in quantity or number compared with the demand : not plentiful or abundant Wow, who would have guessed it's in the actual definition of the word?
      - lottin 5y ago
        > I guess some schools of economic thought do claim such nonsense. And what would that school of economic thought be exactly? > Wow, who would have guessed it's in the actual definition of the word? The definition of the word 'scarce' implies the notion of high price?
        rantwasp 5y ago
        yes: deficient in quantity or number compared with the demand if you believe in all the economic bs we are being fed, something scarce is going to increase in value until it's no longer scarce. that's literally the definition: deficient in quantity or number compared with the demand
        lottin 5y ago
        > yes: deficient in quantity or number compared with the demand If you want to go with that definition, then bitcoin isn't scarce by definition. Something can have a fixed supply and be abundant compared with the demand.
        deleted 5y ago
dmitriid 5y ago
> But if you compare bitcoin with bitcoin you have the same amount of bitcoin today you had yesterday. Yup. So the people who were in on it early will have significantly more bitcoin than anyone who gets it by the time its hard to get it.

lottin 5y ago

No, you don't get it. Prices are set by the supply and demand, which means the fact that something is scarce doesn't mean absolutely anything in terms of what its price will be in the future. Second, the fact that some asset price has increased doesn't mean wealth has been created. For example, if your house increases in value, this only means that your personal wealth has increased. In fact you personal wealth has increased at the expense of the people who are buying houses at over-inflated prices, while the stock of wealth in the economy remains unchanged. The only way to create wealth is to produce stuff, and bitcoin produces nothing.

rantwasp 5y ago
No no no. You don’t get it. You cannot make up your own definition of wealth and go meta (personal wealth vs WEALTH) as soon as the point you’re trying to make no longer works. Something scarce that has any demand at all will see a rocketing price for it. That’s what scarce means. Of course it’s supply and demand and all that jazz but usually scarcity + any kind of demand leads to a high price.
- lottin 5y ago
  No, you fail at elementary economics in a typical bitcoin-fan fashion. Your personal wealth is your share of overall wealth in the economy. Your share will increase or decrease whenever you become wealthier or poorer relative to others. This is what happens when there are changes in the relative prices of assets, wealth is redistributed. And, again, scarcity isn't a predictor of price. Scarce means in short supply. It doesn't imply, by any stretch of the imagination, high price. No school of economic thought claims such nonsense.
  - rantwasp 5y ago
    sure thing buddy. only you can understand what wealth means. > you fail at elementary economics in a typical bitcoin-fan fashion Instead of being condescending here is a tip for you: learn about bitcoin before writing it off. Who know, one day you might even change your mind. > No school of economic thought claims such nonsense. Can you google things? Do me and youself a favor and google "the scarcity principle" Here I'll do it for you: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/scarcity-principle.asp https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/scarcity-principle.asp I guess some schools of economic thought do claim such nonsense. Maybe you should have a word with them. But wait there is more: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scarce https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scarce scarce: deficient in quantity or number compared with the demand : not plentiful or abundant Wow, who would have guessed it's in the actual definition of the word?
    - lottin 5y ago
      > I guess some schools of economic thought do claim such nonsense. And what would that school of economic thought be exactly? > Wow, who would have guessed it's in the actual definition of the word? The definition of the word 'scarce' implies the notion of high price?
      - rantwasp 5y ago
        yes: deficient in quantity or number compared with the demand if you believe in all the economic bs we are being fed, something scarce is going to increase in value until it's no longer scarce. that's literally the definition: deficient in quantity or number compared with the demand
        lottin 5y ago
        > yes: deficient in quantity or number compared with the demand If you want to go with that definition, then bitcoin isn't scarce by definition. Something can have a fixed supply and be abundant compared with the demand.
      - deleted 5y ago

dmitriid 5y ago

> But if you compare bitcoin with bitcoin you have the same amount of bitcoin today you had yesterday. Yup. So the people who were in on it early will have significantly more bitcoin than anyone who gets it by the time its hard to get it.