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You can own both gold and Bitcoin. At a minimum unless you think those who think bitcoin is ultimately worthless are right, it’s a way to diversify a gold-like
by gfodor 4y ago
You can own both gold and Bitcoin. At a minimum unless you think those who think bitcoin is ultimately worthless are right, it’s a way to diversify a gold-like asset class along the axis they are similar.
- epolanski 4y agoLet's compare a highly valuable and needed metal with 6000+ years of history as a solid investment, with...cryptocurrencies and their proven record of having no real life utility but lots of speculation. Makes sense.
- defrost 4y ago> Let's compare a highly valuable and needed metal with 6000+ years of history as a solid investment Hi, I've worked in the global mineral exploration industry for decades, both as a mine worker, an exploration geophysicist, and as a compiler of a global DB that now backends the S&P mineral intelligence division. Let's clear up some things about gold. 1) It's valuable because it's valued .. That's pretty much it, it's kind of rare, its shiny, it "stands alone" as a noble metal that doesn't easily react. 2) Much needed - it's used in jewellry, it's essential in high end long life zero maintaince space electronics ... a great deal of other uses (Gold Speaker Cables!!) are just pure performative BD (ie. it's not "essential") - other metals are in the same ballpark for conductivity, etc. 3) The greatest single application for gold, once mined at great expense, is to be formed into ingots and sit about as bullion as "proof" of work (digging a super pit and spending > billion to recover it per annum) and proof of wealth. It's more or less solid crypto that persists after the power goes out, can be worn as shiny jewellery, and has some neat niche applications that it is essential for. I'm not a huge cyrpto fan, although I did hang on the cypher punk boards where the bitcoin paper was first announced (as I have a math background) - I'm no fan of the vast amount of energy wasted (IMHO) on both gold extraction and bitcoin mining.
- epolanski 4y agoI don't understand how does that relates to calling a cryptocurrency a gold-like asset. There's nothing in the world with such a long history of a solid investment that goes back to ancient times on a global scale.
- Ferret7446 4y agoThey're saying that gold is a cryptocurrency-like asset. Gold's value is primarily that looks cool and it serves as proof of work: the work of finding, mining, and processing it. So basically, cryptocurrency (i.e. proof of work limited shiny token) has "a long history of a solid investment that goes back to ancient times on a global scale"
- epolanski 4y agoGold's value stems from its unique properties as a metal and of its scarcicity.
- hem777 4y agoBitcoin’s value stems from its unique properties as a digital network and of its scarcity.
- xigoi 4y agoWhat would those unique properties be?
- hem777 4y agoPermissionless, as in don’t need anyone’s approval and anyone can participate, transfer of value backed by trustless, as in don’t need to trust anyone’s word for it, global consensus system.
- epolanski 4y agoThis applies to every single cryptocurrency out there, it's not unique to Bitcoin.
- gfodor 4y agoYour sarcastic reply was unnecessary, if you read my post you’ll see I carved out the case you’re talking about. Time will tell. If you can’t see literally any axis along which Bitcoin and gold are comparable, then I can’t really help you. It’s obvious there are some ways the two are comparable, even if you think these comparisons are weak or ultimately insufficient to hold up the price.