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If Bitcoin ever becomes a successful, liquid currency, it will have been partly thanks to the current speculators. They're the ones "mining" the bitcoins. They'

by nandemo 15y ago

If Bitcoin ever becomes a successful, liquid currency, it will have been partly thanks to the current speculators. They're the ones "mining" the bitcoins. They're taking the risk. In a way, it's similar to gold miners of old. They would invest money in digging and mining for the chance of finding gold. They were in it for the profit. Still, it did benefit other people since there was more gold available for both utilitarian and liquidity purposes.

jbooth 15y ago
I think the point isn't about speculators, it's about hoarders. If it becomes a successful, liquid currency, it will be in spite of those hoarding. Coincidentally, with the market looking like it does, at an individual level it's absolutely the right thing to do to hold them, or at best to slowly diversify out, while still not using it for much purchasing. As long as it seems like the right move to hoard them, and their transactional use is a tiny fraction of the amount hoarded, they're not going to be a successful currency as he defines "successful". Closer to a ponzi scheme and/or asset bubble IMO.
- alttab 15y ago
  Upboat. The guy left with all the bitcoins has a lot of bitcoins. What else?
- nandemo 15y ago
  Hoarders are also speculators! They're betting bitcoin will go up in value. By the way, "hoarder" is a loaded term. One man's "hoarder" is another man's "saver". Without people who save, there's no way people can borrow, and so on.
anigbrowl 15y ago
What risk? All the Bitcoin miners I know are patting each other on the back on how much mining their fancy GPU is doing. Risk: one or more graphics cards (that are also used to play videogames) and a slightly elevated electricity bill from leaving the computer on all day and night. There isn't a lot of effort or ingenuity going on here, just an information asymmetry.
- nandemo 15y ago
  There's exchange risk as with any currency. If you exchange US dollars for Mexican pesos, there's a risk that the pesos will lose value relative to the dollar. Of course, the risk of keeping bitcoins is much higher than that of Mexican pesos. By the way, you seem misinformed about the way people are mining bitcoins. Nowadays it's done mostly by professionals running rigs with tons of GPUs, not by individuals who put an extra graphic card on their gaming PCs.

by nandemo 15y ago

jbooth 15y ago

I think the point isn't about speculators, it's about hoarders. If it becomes a successful, liquid currency, it will be in spite of those hoarding. Coincidentally, with the market looking like it does, at an individual level it's absolutely the right thing to do to hold them, or at best to slowly diversify out, while still not using it for much purchasing. As long as it seems like the right move to hoard them, and their transactional use is a tiny fraction of the amount hoarded, they're not going to be a successful currency as he defines "successful". Closer to a ponzi scheme and/or asset bubble IMO.

alttab 15y ago
Upboat. The guy left with all the bitcoins has a lot of bitcoins. What else?
nandemo 15y ago
Hoarders are also speculators! They're betting bitcoin will go up in value. By the way, "hoarder" is a loaded term. One man's "hoarder" is another man's "saver". Without people who save, there's no way people can borrow, and so on.

anigbrowl 15y ago

What risk? All the Bitcoin miners I know are patting each other on the back on how much mining their fancy GPU is doing. Risk: one or more graphics cards (that are also used to play videogames) and a slightly elevated electricity bill from leaving the computer on all day and night. There isn't a lot of effort or ingenuity going on here, just an information asymmetry.

nandemo 15y ago
There's exchange risk as with any currency. If you exchange US dollars for Mexican pesos, there's a risk that the pesos will lose value relative to the dollar. Of course, the risk of keeping bitcoins is much higher than that of Mexican pesos. By the way, you seem misinformed about the way people are mining bitcoins. Nowadays it's done mostly by professionals running rigs with tons of GPUs, not by individuals who put an extra graphic card on their gaming PCs.