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People spend billions to buy real estate and leave it empty. Finance is not about utility (anymore; was it ever?), but about perception. Bitcoin wins because it
by cblconfederate 5y ago
People spend billions to buy real estate and leave it empty. Finance is not about utility (anymore; was it ever?), but about perception. Bitcoin wins because it is mathematics; everything else is coercion and persuasion/marketing.
- qeternity 5y agoThis is of course ridiculous. Leaving real estate empty changes then utilization rate, not the utility function. If I have a loaf of bread that I haven’t eaten yet, that bread still has utility to me or other people.
- cblconfederate 5y agoIf i have a bitcoin that i haven't used, that bitcoin still has utility to me or other people
- qeternity 5y agoYes, I never said it didn’t. What I said was the utility of other assets are backstopped by things that aren’t first order price appreciation. The overwhelming majority of people are interested in bitcoin and crypto due to speculative properties. The utility of being able to interact with these blockchains right now (which is the utility provided by the L1 tokens) is drastically reduced if the bubble bursts. We see this with Ethereum gas fees. There is a positive feedback loop, which of course cuts both ways. In real estate, the utility is overwhelmingly the shelter provided, and the price is backstopped by this utility. In equities, price appreciation is the dominant utility, but is backstopped by the underlying business (as the business returns capital to shareholders). The price is a function of utility, as opposed to the utility being a function of the price (as is the case in crypto).