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It is until it isn't. The base demand for USD comes from the federal reserve. Bitcoin has a similar base for it's legit uses (like international currency transf

It is until it isn't. The base demand for USD comes from the federal reserve. Bitcoin has a similar base for it's legit uses (like international currency transfer) so both have a demand floor. After that it's all dependent on use and further down market demand. I think when we all are dead future generations will see crypto as a basic value store like gold. No one will call it a pyramid scheme either cause it would have been around since before they were born.

sokoloff 5y ago
I always internalized the base demand for USD as being the only accepted currency to pay your US income taxes in.
CorrectHorseBat 5y ago
Yes, and some currencies do lose value because the government and economies backing them have lost trust. The demand for USD comes from people wanting to do business with one of the biggest economies in the world. The demand for Bitcoin comes from people wanting to make money by hoarding Bitcoins. It could be different, but right now it is not and I'm not sure if Bitcoin (or any other cryptocoin) would survive a transition to become a currency or something else less like a pyramid scheme.
- 0x0nyandesu 5y ago
  You're kinda dismissing it without respecting that it's no different from gold as far as people wanting to hoard it. People also do use Bitcoin when convenient to move money. I personally used it to pay someone in Brazil for some mechanical keyboard services when PayPal failed to transfer the money. Totally legal and organic demand exists.
  - CorrectHorseBat 5y ago
    Have you compared the gold price with the Bitcoin price? I'm not saying it Bitcoin could not be like gold, I'm saying right now it is not and everyone in it doesn't want it to be. And I'm not convinced it ever will be.
    - 0x0nyandesu 5y ago
      I'm thinking in the long long term of hundreds of years. Seems to me when we start exploring space moving around heavy chunks of metal won't be so useful anymore and we'll need to use a Blockchain to verify value transfer.
      - ben_w 5y ago
        While I agree we will probably want something different from the current status-quo when light-lag gets big enough to matter for normal daily financial interaction, one potential solution could be to go back to local banks holding money locally, just as things were here on Earth before ATMs and cheap telephony.
      - CorrectHorseBat 5y ago
        We haven't been using heavy chunks of metal as currency for a while without a need for blockchains. I see mostly disadvantages compared to government backed currencies.

sokoloff 5y ago

I always internalized the base demand for USD as being the only accepted currency to pay your US income taxes in.

CorrectHorseBat 5y ago

Yes, and some currencies do lose value because the government and economies backing them have lost trust. The demand for USD comes from people wanting to do business with one of the biggest economies in the world. The demand for Bitcoin comes from people wanting to make money by hoarding Bitcoins. It could be different, but right now it is not and I'm not sure if Bitcoin (or any other cryptocoin) would survive a transition to become a currency or something else less like a pyramid scheme.

0x0nyandesu 5y ago
You're kinda dismissing it without respecting that it's no different from gold as far as people wanting to hoard it. People also do use Bitcoin when convenient to move money. I personally used it to pay someone in Brazil for some mechanical keyboard services when PayPal failed to transfer the money. Totally legal and organic demand exists.
- CorrectHorseBat 5y ago
  Have you compared the gold price with the Bitcoin price? I'm not saying it Bitcoin could not be like gold, I'm saying right now it is not and everyone in it doesn't want it to be. And I'm not convinced it ever will be.
  - 0x0nyandesu 5y ago
    I'm thinking in the long long term of hundreds of years. Seems to me when we start exploring space moving around heavy chunks of metal won't be so useful anymore and we'll need to use a Blockchain to verify value transfer.
    - ben_w 5y ago
      While I agree we will probably want something different from the current status-quo when light-lag gets big enough to matter for normal daily financial interaction, one potential solution could be to go back to local banks holding money locally, just as things were here on Earth before ATMs and cheap telephony.
    - CorrectHorseBat 5y ago
      We haven't been using heavy chunks of metal as currency for a while without a need for blockchains. I see mostly disadvantages compared to government backed currencies.