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That and half the value of Ethereum and Bitcoin evaporated in a matter of days. No one wants "currency" that just up and loses half it's value.

by alar44 5y ago

jack_pp 5y ago
If no one wanted it it would've been down 99%. People were saying the same thing you're saying when bitcoin was 1000$
- ben_w 5y ago
  As the famous quote says, markets can remain irrational a lot longer than you and I can remain solvent. And there isn’t an upper limit to who can buy into bad ideas or how badly they can go wrong. https://youtu.be/lMUtU0tOmNE https://youtu.be/lMUtU0tOmNE
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
- InitialLastName 5y ago
  People can want something without wanting it as "currency". GP is indeed correct that nobody wants a currency whose value fluctuates by 50% over a few days; what the people who want bitcoin want is a high-risk speculative investment that has so far dodged the gatekeeping and restrictions that the developed world tends to place on other high-risk speculative investments.
ipnon 5y ago
You might draw comparisons to the stock market. The Dow Jones lost 90% of its value in the Great Depression, but we didn't do away with the stock market altogether. We fixed the structural problems because there is clear utility to the trading of corporate securities.
- AlexandrB 5y ago
  Currencies that lose 90% of their purchasing power tend to get replaced. Equities/securities? Not so much. I think the point is that Bitcoin is either a terrible currency, or not a currency at all but an equity.
  - tjader 5y ago
    Do they? I more often see a mere slashing of a few zeroes and maybe a slightly different name, but with the old one being convertible and keeping the same monetary policy.
nightski 5y ago
Microsoft has declined 20% since the new year. Should we abandon that company entirely as well? Or what about the VTI (total u.s. stock market index) which has also declined 15%? The truth is crypto currencies such as BTC and ETH are maturing with institutional investment. Their value relative to USD tends to correlate more with the markets and especially tech now.
- AlexandrB 5y ago
  > Microsoft has declined 20% since the new year. Should we abandon that company entirely as well? No one is claiming that MSFT stock should be used as a currency for transactions. If the US dollar lost 20% of its spending power in a few months, many people would be baying for blood. It's bad enough when gas prices rise 20% in a short time.
  - nightski 5y ago
    Well, inflation is reporting in at 7-9% across the country and getting worse. So that is exactly what is happening and is kind of why the market is in decline right now (and all the things that come with it)...
    - AlexandrB 5y ago
      As I understand, the market is in decline because "The Fed" is trying to tamp down inflation by increasing the price of borrowing money. The fact that this kind of market correction is deemed an acceptable byproduct of countering inflation tells you how seriously the "fiat" economic system treats loss of purchasing power. AFAIK, Bitcoin does not have a mechanism for doing something like this to stabilize the currency.
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
      - nightski 5y ago
        Yeah, that kind of glosses over all of the action taking over the past 2 years which heavily contributed to the current situation. But even if we ignore that they have a problem on their hands - the two main goals of the fed are currently at fundamental odds with each other. They have been injecting money to achieve maximum employment which is at fundamental odds with price stability. If they raise rates to stabilize prices (which they are definitely doing, potentially more than anticipated), that is going to affect employment. So it's going to be a tough balancing act. There is also no guarantee that raising rates will have the effect they desire. It could stagnate the entire economy. There is a ton of uncertainty and that is really what is driving the craziness in the markets. Over 97% of my portfolio is in fiat and trust me this makes me very uneasy. The fact that Bitcoin does not have levers is the appeal to a lot of people.

That and half the value of Ethereum and Bitcoin evaporated in a matter of days. No one wants "currency" that just up and loses half it's value.

by alar44 5y ago

That and half the value of Ethereum and Bitcoin evaporated in a matter of days. No one wants "currency" that just up and loses half it's value.

jack_pp 5y ago

If no one wanted it it would've been down 99%. People were saying the same thing you're saying when bitcoin was 1000$

ben_w 5y ago
As the famous quote says, markets can remain irrational a lot longer than you and I can remain solvent. And there isn’t an upper limit to who can buy into bad ideas or how badly they can go wrong. https://youtu.be/lMUtU0tOmNE https://youtu.be/lMUtU0tOmNE
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
InitialLastName 5y ago
People can want something without wanting it as "currency". GP is indeed correct that nobody wants a currency whose value fluctuates by 50% over a few days; what the people who want bitcoin want is a high-risk speculative investment that has so far dodged the gatekeeping and restrictions that the developed world tends to place on other high-risk speculative investments.

ipnon 5y ago

You might draw comparisons to the stock market. The Dow Jones lost 90% of its value in the Great Depression, but we didn't do away with the stock market altogether. We fixed the structural problems because there is clear utility to the trading of corporate securities.

AlexandrB 5y ago
Currencies that lose 90% of their purchasing power tend to get replaced. Equities/securities? Not so much. I think the point is that Bitcoin is either a terrible currency, or not a currency at all but an equity.
- tjader 5y ago
  Do they? I more often see a mere slashing of a few zeroes and maybe a slightly different name, but with the old one being convertible and keeping the same monetary policy.

nightski 5y ago

Microsoft has declined 20% since the new year. Should we abandon that company entirely as well? Or what about the VTI (total u.s. stock market index) which has also declined 15%? The truth is crypto currencies such as BTC and ETH are maturing with institutional investment. Their value relative to USD tends to correlate more with the markets and especially tech now.

AlexandrB 5y ago
> Microsoft has declined 20% since the new year. Should we abandon that company entirely as well? No one is claiming that MSFT stock should be used as a currency for transactions. If the US dollar lost 20% of its spending power in a few months, many people would be baying for blood. It's bad enough when gas prices rise 20% in a short time.
- nightski 5y ago
  Well, inflation is reporting in at 7-9% across the country and getting worse. So that is exactly what is happening and is kind of why the market is in decline right now (and all the things that come with it)...
  - AlexandrB 5y ago
    As I understand, the market is in decline because "The Fed" is trying to tamp down inflation by increasing the price of borrowing money. The fact that this kind of market correction is deemed an acceptable byproduct of countering inflation tells you how seriously the "fiat" economic system treats loss of purchasing power. AFAIK, Bitcoin does not have a mechanism for doing something like this to stabilize the currency.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
    - nightski 5y ago
      Yeah, that kind of glosses over all of the action taking over the past 2 years which heavily contributed to the current situation. But even if we ignore that they have a problem on their hands - the two main goals of the fed are currently at fundamental odds with each other. They have been injecting money to achieve maximum employment which is at fundamental odds with price stability. If they raise rates to stabilize prices (which they are definitely doing, potentially more than anticipated), that is going to affect employment. So it's going to be a tough balancing act. There is also no guarantee that raising rates will have the effect they desire. It could stagnate the entire economy. There is a ton of uncertainty and that is really what is driving the craziness in the markets. Over 97% of my portfolio is in fiat and trust me this makes me very uneasy. The fact that Bitcoin does not have levers is the appeal to a lot of people.