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Nothing in this article is new at all (except NFT which wasn't in fad before). I've heard the same arguments ten years ago and repeatedly during the ten years.

Nothing in this article is new at all (except NFT which wasn't in fad before). I've heard the same arguments ten years ago and repeatedly during the ten years. They never stopped the spread or appreciation of BTC. Whether you like to dislike BTC, it is here to stay.

arcticbull 5y ago
Well, not in China though, huh. Yes the case remains the same, because the fundamentals remain the same. It was bad then and it's bad now. What's changed is the scale of the risk it poses to global economies. This is triggering a different response. Let's see how it plays out.
adam_arthur 5y ago
Big difference between making money on something and it having actual real world utility, and long run viability as anything other than speculative vehicle. "I made money so that proves me right" is a pretty weak argument, that could be said about any pyramid scheme. People who made money buying dotcom stocks in the late 90s or houses in the mid 2000s were "right" too, until they weren't. Things without intrinsic value tend not to hold their market value over the long term. I do think Bitcoin has some marginal value, e.g. for countries with hyperinflation and no capital markets, use as payment for illicit activities... But not very compelling overall. Still, gold is a close analogue. But there are important differences there.
- MereInterest 5y ago
  > Still, gold is a close analogue. But there are important differences there, still. The biggest difference is that gold does not require significant upkeep to maintain. Mining gold extracts a resource, which can then be used at low marginal cost. Running proof of work computations enables transactions to occur, and is rewarded as compensation. If the proof of work computations stop, then the reward can no longer be spent. This is why I refuse to use the term "mining", as it brings in a large number of incorrect assumptions of the process.
  - adam_arthur 5y ago
    Yeah, didn't want to go into all the details in my original post. But over 50% of mined gold is actually used for industrial or jewelry purposes. Also you can't create "Gold 2.0" out of thin air. Or flash sell millions of ounces of physical gold tanking the price in a matter of minutes. Bitcoin is only valuable because it's called Bitcoin and has a cool origin story, yet the Blockchain mechanism backing it has been replicated quite exactly many times. There is power in shared belief, but something without a strong cushion of intrinsic value will inevitably get sold off when the hard times comes. Not that I'm big on gold for investing purposes...
rvz 5y ago
> Whether you like to dislike BTC, it is here to stay. Some cryptocurrencies are here to stay. However, with the Tether scam situation unveiling itself, Bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies are in danger of losing their 'value' and it will cause a crash in prices in some useless cryptocurrencies.
- arcticbull 5y ago
  They'll always be with us, like beanie babies. But like the fall of Steg the $40,000 stuffed Stegosaurus - now valued at $900 - history will not be kind to the valuations.
- shawabawa3 5y ago
  > However, with the Tether scam situation unveiling itself The Tether scam situation has been unveiling itself since 2016. Is there any recent news that's made it more likely Tether will default soon?
MereInterest 5y ago
Well, yes, none of the points raised are new. But none of them have been satisfactorily addressed, either. If somebody is shouting that the emperor has no clothes, saying that you heard the same thing yesterday doesn't magically erase the emperor's nudity.

arcticbull 5y ago

Well, not in China though, huh. Yes the case remains the same, because the fundamentals remain the same. It was bad then and it's bad now. What's changed is the scale of the risk it poses to global economies. This is triggering a different response. Let's see how it plays out.

adam_arthur 5y ago

Big difference between making money on something and it having actual real world utility, and long run viability as anything other than speculative vehicle. "I made money so that proves me right" is a pretty weak argument, that could be said about any pyramid scheme. People who made money buying dotcom stocks in the late 90s or houses in the mid 2000s were "right" too, until they weren't. Things without intrinsic value tend not to hold their market value over the long term. I do think Bitcoin has some marginal value, e.g. for countries with hyperinflation and no capital markets, use as payment for illicit activities... But not very compelling overall. Still, gold is a close analogue. But there are important differences there.

MereInterest 5y ago
> Still, gold is a close analogue. But there are important differences there, still. The biggest difference is that gold does not require significant upkeep to maintain. Mining gold extracts a resource, which can then be used at low marginal cost. Running proof of work computations enables transactions to occur, and is rewarded as compensation. If the proof of work computations stop, then the reward can no longer be spent. This is why I refuse to use the term "mining", as it brings in a large number of incorrect assumptions of the process.
- adam_arthur 5y ago
  Yeah, didn't want to go into all the details in my original post. But over 50% of mined gold is actually used for industrial or jewelry purposes. Also you can't create "Gold 2.0" out of thin air. Or flash sell millions of ounces of physical gold tanking the price in a matter of minutes. Bitcoin is only valuable because it's called Bitcoin and has a cool origin story, yet the Blockchain mechanism backing it has been replicated quite exactly many times. There is power in shared belief, but something without a strong cushion of intrinsic value will inevitably get sold off when the hard times comes. Not that I'm big on gold for investing purposes...

rvz 5y ago

> Whether you like to dislike BTC, it is here to stay. Some cryptocurrencies are here to stay. However, with the Tether scam situation unveiling itself, Bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies are in danger of losing their 'value' and it will cause a crash in prices in some useless cryptocurrencies.

arcticbull 5y ago
They'll always be with us, like beanie babies. But like the fall of Steg the $40,000 stuffed Stegosaurus - now valued at $900 - history will not be kind to the valuations.
shawabawa3 5y ago
> However, with the Tether scam situation unveiling itself The Tether scam situation has been unveiling itself since 2016. Is there any recent news that's made it more likely Tether will default soon?

MereInterest 5y ago

Well, yes, none of the points raised are new. But none of them have been satisfactorily addressed, either. If somebody is shouting that the emperor has no clothes, saying that you heard the same thing yesterday doesn't magically erase the emperor's nudity.