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Bitcoin Was Made for This Moment. So Why Isn’t It Booming?

9 points by mwattsun 5y ago

mwattsun 5y ago
https://archive.ph/GcH5L https://archive.ph/GcH5L
mikece 5y ago
- throwyawayyyy 5y ago
  But... isn't that the point? Bitcoin was designed to evade such controls. And it can't.
  - rapjr9 5y ago
    Because Bitcoin currently has to be converted to a country-supported currency to be spent. If you could buy everything directly with Bitcoin then the Bitcoin-to-currency chokepoints would not work (and it is possible that some volume of Bitcoin already escapes such control points). I'm starting to think of cryptocurrencies not as currencies or like gold but as a replacement for banks and exchanges and SWIFT. Central bank supported cryptocurrencies may encourage much wider acceptance of them as a direct person-to-person/business-to-business/person-to-business/government-to-person method of exchange, bypassing banks. Of course government approved cryptocurrencies may also be designed to track all transactions complete with identity of the participants.
lkrubner 5y ago
Again, several economists, such as Paul Krugman, have pointed out that Bitcoin is a bit like gold in that it will be attractive when real interest rates are rock bottom, but it will be a laggard in an environment of rising interest rates. The long era after the crisis of 2008, when interest rates were 0%, were ideal for Bitcoin. But we are now entering an era of rising inflation and rising rates, and so Bitcoin is likely to do poorly in the years ahead.
- TechBro8615 5y ago
  I found this comment confusing, because I’ve only ever cited the opinion of Paul Krugman as evidence that its opposite must be true.
- landemva 5y ago
  Unlike gold coin in drawer, it is straightforward to earn yield on crypto. Some methods of crypto yield are centralized, and some are not.
  - toomuchtodo 5y ago
    Crypto yield has to compete with similar risk adjusted returns from securities with an underlying in a rising interest rate environment.
jinpa_zangpo 5y ago
Because "this moment" was anticipated and is accounted for in the current price. Bitcoiners are a paranoid group and have been expecting government overreach for years. Those late to the party, like DHH, are a minority.
- aaaaaaaaata 5y ago
  This is the right answer, and will not be appreciated by this crowd.

9 points by mwattsun 5y ago

mwattsun 5y ago

https://archive.ph/GcH5L https://archive.ph/GcH5L

mikece 5y ago

throwyawayyyy 5y ago
But... isn't that the point? Bitcoin was designed to evade such controls. And it can't.
- rapjr9 5y ago
  Because Bitcoin currently has to be converted to a country-supported currency to be spent. If you could buy everything directly with Bitcoin then the Bitcoin-to-currency chokepoints would not work (and it is possible that some volume of Bitcoin already escapes such control points). I'm starting to think of cryptocurrencies not as currencies or like gold but as a replacement for banks and exchanges and SWIFT. Central bank supported cryptocurrencies may encourage much wider acceptance of them as a direct person-to-person/business-to-business/person-to-business/government-to-person method of exchange, bypassing banks. Of course government approved cryptocurrencies may also be designed to track all transactions complete with identity of the participants.

lkrubner 5y ago

Again, several economists, such as Paul Krugman, have pointed out that Bitcoin is a bit like gold in that it will be attractive when real interest rates are rock bottom, but it will be a laggard in an environment of rising interest rates. The long era after the crisis of 2008, when interest rates were 0%, were ideal for Bitcoin. But we are now entering an era of rising inflation and rising rates, and so Bitcoin is likely to do poorly in the years ahead.

TechBro8615 5y ago
I found this comment confusing, because I’ve only ever cited the opinion of Paul Krugman as evidence that its opposite must be true.
landemva 5y ago
Unlike gold coin in drawer, it is straightforward to earn yield on crypto. Some methods of crypto yield are centralized, and some are not.
- toomuchtodo 5y ago
  Crypto yield has to compete with similar risk adjusted returns from securities with an underlying in a rising interest rate environment.

jinpa_zangpo 5y ago

Because "this moment" was anticipated and is accounted for in the current price. Bitcoiners are a paranoid group and have been expecting government overreach for years. Those late to the party, like DHH, are a minority.

aaaaaaaaata 5y ago
This is the right answer, and will not be appreciated by this crowd.