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> Crypto basically has no functionality. Transferring payments across the world is functional, and yes, the traditional financial system also does this, but it

> Crypto basically has no functionality. Transferring payments across the world is functional, and yes, the traditional financial system also does this, but it doesn't mean crypto has no functionality. Edit: Previous statement I was responding to has changed. I still don't agree that crypto has no utility though. I agree with almost everything I was responding to except that part. Yes, real estate has more utility, for sure. To me it doesn't matter that crypto has some overlap with traditional finance. This is an iteration on technology, which has its own pros/cons, but some folks are trying to come up with something better. Time will tell if that succeeds or not. IMO, it's too early to tell. You can also see that I wasn't the only person who responded to the parent comment that Bitcoin may be a competitor to capital flowing to gold as a potential inflation hedge.

UncleOxidant 5y ago
Ok, but as you point out it's not a unique in transferrability - once you've transferred that crypto in the end it's still crypto - you can't live in it or even use it to make jewelry. Locking in your mortgage payment is an inflation hedge and you get a house to live in. Millennials are into the peak home buying years and are now the largest generational cohort. Add to this that we haven't built enough housing to keep up with population growth over the last dozen years or so and this is why housing has gone up so much.
- w4llstr33t 5y ago
  My understanding is that foreign real estate buyers have also pushed real estate prices up. That said I think you make a lot of good points and crypto is about the only thing I disagree with you on.
beowulfey 5y ago
Money itself is not "functional" in this sense; the point is that real estate provides value and a function other than value.
lottin 5y ago
This is like saying that a rock is functional because it can be transferred from one place to another. Sorry, "being transferred" is not a function that is performed by the object that is being transferred.
- w4llstr33t 5y ago
  If you have technology that can transfer a rock across the world in seconds then I would be interested in that. Same w/ crypto (with the added benefit of crypto not requiring a centralized entity to do so). My main point is let's wait and see how this new technology evolves instead of just shooting it down. I don't think everything about traditional finance is perfect. Negative interest rates in some parts of the world are one sign of that. I think we can iterate on traditional finance as well as explore other potential solutions. The aversion to cryptocurrency as a technology, when Bitcoin has only been around for a bit over a decade, seems premature to me. There have been comparisons of cryptocurrency to the internet, which everyone may not agree with, but what if we just shut down the internet before it really took off? Well, we wouldn't be having this conversation.
  - lottin 5y ago
    I don't think after a decade it is "premature" to jump to conclusions. If someone hasn't been able to figure out bitcoin by now, they probably never will (in my opinion, it takes about 20 minutes to a person of an average intelligence).
- xyzzy123 5y ago
  When something's too big and heavy to move you turn it into a financial instrument anyway and change (e.g. yap stones) the ownership. I still think there's something a little bit special about bitcoin. It simultaneously has the properties of modern electronic currency BUT has some elements of "permission-less-ness" like cash or gold.

UncleOxidant 5y ago

Ok, but as you point out it's not a unique in transferrability - once you've transferred that crypto in the end it's still crypto - you can't live in it or even use it to make jewelry. Locking in your mortgage payment is an inflation hedge and you get a house to live in. Millennials are into the peak home buying years and are now the largest generational cohort. Add to this that we haven't built enough housing to keep up with population growth over the last dozen years or so and this is why housing has gone up so much.

w4llstr33t 5y ago
My understanding is that foreign real estate buyers have also pushed real estate prices up. That said I think you make a lot of good points and crypto is about the only thing I disagree with you on.

beowulfey 5y ago

Money itself is not "functional" in this sense; the point is that real estate provides value and a function other than value.

lottin 5y ago

This is like saying that a rock is functional because it can be transferred from one place to another. Sorry, "being transferred" is not a function that is performed by the object that is being transferred.

w4llstr33t 5y ago
If you have technology that can transfer a rock across the world in seconds then I would be interested in that. Same w/ crypto (with the added benefit of crypto not requiring a centralized entity to do so). My main point is let's wait and see how this new technology evolves instead of just shooting it down. I don't think everything about traditional finance is perfect. Negative interest rates in some parts of the world are one sign of that. I think we can iterate on traditional finance as well as explore other potential solutions. The aversion to cryptocurrency as a technology, when Bitcoin has only been around for a bit over a decade, seems premature to me. There have been comparisons of cryptocurrency to the internet, which everyone may not agree with, but what if we just shut down the internet before it really took off? Well, we wouldn't be having this conversation.
- lottin 5y ago
  I don't think after a decade it is "premature" to jump to conclusions. If someone hasn't been able to figure out bitcoin by now, they probably never will (in my opinion, it takes about 20 minutes to a person of an average intelligence).
xyzzy123 5y ago
When something's too big and heavy to move you turn it into a financial instrument anyway and change (e.g. yap stones) the ownership. I still think there's something a little bit special about bitcoin. It simultaneously has the properties of modern electronic currency BUT has some elements of "permission-less-ness" like cash or gold.