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Fiat money has no intrinsic value but has value because the government, by fiat/decree, says it does. While commodity money has “intrinsic” value because it is

Fiat money has no intrinsic value but has value because the government, by fiat/decree, says it does. While commodity money has “intrinsic” value because it is useful, that doesn’t mean that much of its value is not due to people’s belief in the value. The value of gold exceeds any true value from its usefulness, but it is value stemming from people’s shared belief in the value. So I don’t think it’s at all accurate to call this a ‘fiat’ system.

BobbyJo 5y ago
Your comment makes me believe it is accurate to call it a fiat system. I didn't quite catch which bucket you were claiming NFTs/Crypto fall into? Crypto/NFTs have no intrinsic value. They actually have intrinsic liabilities in terms of resource usage to move it around and keep it alive. It only has value because the buyers/sellers/miners claim/believe it does, which is fiat no?
- berberous 5y ago
  My argument is purely a semantics one. The defining aspect of a “fiat” system is that it has value only by decree (“fiat”), from men with guns. Both crypto and gold, conversely, have value primarily because humans say they do (because they have certain other features, such as are scarce). While gold has certain value as jewelry or in industrial uses, that is not why it has value as money; its value far exceeds that of its practical uses and is based on a shared belief that it is valuable. I also disagree that crypto and NFTs have no intrinsic value, but that’s not the point here. Even if you believe they have no intrinsic value, I think jumping to therefore call it a “fiat” system is a semantic mistake that misunderstands the distinctions being fiat and other monetary systems.
  - BobbyJo 5y ago
    Ahhhhh, I that makes sense. I wasn't picking up which lines you were drawing earlier, so thank you. I agree on all fronts in that case. When I said crypto and NFTs had no intrinsic value I was referring to the use case, not Blockchain itself, or at least that's what I actually believe thinking about things after this comment.

BobbyJo 5y ago

Your comment makes me believe it is accurate to call it a fiat system. I didn't quite catch which bucket you were claiming NFTs/Crypto fall into? Crypto/NFTs have no intrinsic value. They actually have intrinsic liabilities in terms of resource usage to move it around and keep it alive. It only has value because the buyers/sellers/miners claim/believe it does, which is fiat no?

berberous 5y ago
My argument is purely a semantics one. The defining aspect of a “fiat” system is that it has value only by decree (“fiat”), from men with guns. Both crypto and gold, conversely, have value primarily because humans say they do (because they have certain other features, such as are scarce). While gold has certain value as jewelry or in industrial uses, that is not why it has value as money; its value far exceeds that of its practical uses and is based on a shared belief that it is valuable. I also disagree that crypto and NFTs have no intrinsic value, but that’s not the point here. Even if you believe they have no intrinsic value, I think jumping to therefore call it a “fiat” system is a semantic mistake that misunderstands the distinctions being fiat and other monetary systems.
- BobbyJo 5y ago
  Ahhhhh, I that makes sense. I wasn't picking up which lines you were drawing earlier, so thank you. I agree on all fronts in that case. When I said crypto and NFTs had no intrinsic value I was referring to the use case, not Blockchain itself, or at least that's what I actually believe thinking about things after this comment.