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> Eg is gold a ponzi scheme? "Dug up, refined, buried again somewhere like fort knox with a very small use other than as a store of value. (eg some electronics)
by Ologn 5y ago
> Eg is gold a ponzi scheme? "Dug up, refined, buried again somewhere like fort knox with a very small use other than as a store of value. (eg some electronics). Whether you decide yes it's ponzi or no it's not, then look at what other difference there is or isn't between gold and btc to justify the conclusion if that conclusion differs.
It is completely different.
Gold is useful. For electronics. For filling teeth. For industrial uses. This is why gold is valuable.
Gold also has properties that make it a good store of value and good currency. It is durable, portable, uniform, and divisible. That is why people "buried again somewhere like fort knox"..."as a store of value". Any commodity with these properties is treated in the same way (mostly other precious metals).
If there is use value and exchange value, gold has both. Bitcoin currently has exchange value but it has no real use value. So they are not the same.
- Scaevolus 5y agoGold has been valued throughout human history for its beauty, and later as currency. Industrial applications are a very recent concern.
- randomhodler84 5y agoThe most important property of Bitcoin is it is digital, and can be transmitted over a communication channel. It requires no physical space. Private keys are easy to encrypt thus prevent access by unauthorized parties. It’s better than gold in every way. Why does anyone want shiny dumb rocks anyway?
- rvnx 5y agoEasy to lose the key yes.
- randomhodler84 5y ago“Lost coins only make everyone else's coins worth slightly more. Think of it as a donation to everyone.“ — Satoshi If you are going to donate coins to the cause, who am I to complain?
- HWR_14 5y agoPresumably, once enough keys are lost, the market will dry up. After all, how many times is the average person going to buy into a system they keep losing everything in.
- randomhodler84 5y agoThat is not a logical conclusion at all. The average person will do it enough times until they learn, or they will pay someone else to handle it. I am sad when people lose their coin, I would prefer it not to be lost.
- HWR_14 5y agoWhy on earth will they keep doing it? They might do it as many as two times, then chalk it up to being some computer scam and never trust it again. But, I cannot see anyone who buys in after 2018 ever buying in again if they lose their keys. Maybe if they bought in pre-2018 they believe in crypto as opposed to want to make money, so they try two times.
- mirceal 5y agoackchyually bitcoin requires physical space. think of all the nodes the blockchain is stored on. Those hard drives / those bits as physical. It's negligible when you think about one bit or one block, but when you think about all the copies I think it may actually be quite significant.
- randomhodler84 5y agoThat is true, there is a physical footprint for the infrastructure. Bitcoin the system requires physical energy and compute and network resources. bitcoin the currency unit does not.
- lawrenceyan 5y ago> It is durable, portable, uniform, and divisible. That's exactly what crypto is too though isn't it?