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It is quite plausible that bitcoin becomes the global reserve asset, just as gold was in the past. Bitcoin is superior to gold in every single aspect except for

It is quite plausible that bitcoin becomes the global reserve asset, just as gold was in the past. Bitcoin is superior to gold in every single aspect except for the number of years it has existed. To learn more: https://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Standard-Decentralized-Alternative-Central/dp/1119473861 https://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Standard-Decentralized-Altern...

arcticbull 4y ago
Gold was a terrible reserve asset which is why we stopped using it. Recreating all the same things that made it bad, and also removing industrial applications, doesn't a good reserve make. And any book with a [edit](foreword) by Michael Saylor, the man whose fraud basically popped the 2001 tech bubble isn't worth the paper it's printed on. The man should have at the time been banned from running any publicly traded company. [1] [edit] What's next, a medical ethics book by Elizabeth Holmes with a [edit](foreword) by Martin Shkrelli? [1] https://www.computerworld.com/article/2589923/update--microstrategy-executives-to-pay--11-million-to-settle-sec-fraud-ch.html https://www.computerworld.com/article/2589923/update--micros...
- monero-xmr 4y ago
  Gold was great, except the difficulty storing, transporting, and conducting commerce in it meant centralized institutions (the Bank of England) monopolized its storage out of convenience for international trade. Seizures, debasement, and so on until the gold standard ended. Biggest mistake ever made, but luckily bitcoin exists now.
  - awb 4y ago
    It was amazing for countries rich with it. But not great for countries without it, or for undeveloped countries with it that couldn’t defend it.
    - robocat 4y ago
      Oil would make a far better base than gold, for a bunch of good reasons. Not that it would be good, because it has a bunch of obvious problems, many of which would occur with gold too. Of course many commodities are used instead of currency by blocked countries. As are cryptocurrencies.
- hackernewds 4y ago
  TIL. I did not know this about M Saylor. Thank you for sharing it. Also I think you meant to write "foreword"
  - arcticbull 4y ago
    Yeah, haha, I did. macOS autocorrect keeps changing one for the other out from under me. Thanks for catching it.
Gustomaximus 4y ago
Would not gold have the superior aspect it has actual use behind its value? Obviously the store of value part pushes up price, but there is also a big need for gold in electronics and jewellery etc. Bitcoin at the moment is largely speculation and has little use beyond that currently, though has potential to become an active currency of significance, we are yet to see that.
- gotorazor 4y ago
  There is very little use for gold in electronics. In jewellry, yes. But that's only because people in developing world see their jewellry as a form of savings. Those are the same contries where the people don't buy jewellry lower than 18k. Nobody in North America or Europe knows how to get the fair value of gold in the crappy 14k necklaces. USD is useful because it is a meaning unit of exchange.
- roenxi 4y ago
  Not really; because the price of gold tends to the marginal cost to produce. If a marginal producer can generate a kilo of gold for $60k, then gold is worth around $60k/kilo. Its uses or lack thereof are not that important. If all the uses of gold went away magically, it'd be worth less for various reasons but still a similar order of magnitude.
postalrat 4y ago
We will probably have the math in a few years to defeat the crypto in Bitcoin. Then it's RIP Bitcoin.

arcticbull 4y ago

Gold was a terrible reserve asset which is why we stopped using it. Recreating all the same things that made it bad, and also removing industrial applications, doesn't a good reserve make. And any book with a [edit](foreword) by Michael Saylor, the man whose fraud basically popped the 2001 tech bubble isn't worth the paper it's printed on. The man should have at the time been banned from running any publicly traded company. [1] [edit] What's next, a medical ethics book by Elizabeth Holmes with a [edit](foreword) by Martin Shkrelli? [1] https://www.computerworld.com/article/2589923/update--microstrategy-executives-to-pay--11-million-to-settle-sec-fraud-ch.html https://www.computerworld.com/article/2589923/update--micros...

monero-xmr 4y ago
Gold was great, except the difficulty storing, transporting, and conducting commerce in it meant centralized institutions (the Bank of England) monopolized its storage out of convenience for international trade. Seizures, debasement, and so on until the gold standard ended. Biggest mistake ever made, but luckily bitcoin exists now.
- awb 4y ago
  It was amazing for countries rich with it. But not great for countries without it, or for undeveloped countries with it that couldn’t defend it.
  - robocat 4y ago
    Oil would make a far better base than gold, for a bunch of good reasons. Not that it would be good, because it has a bunch of obvious problems, many of which would occur with gold too. Of course many commodities are used instead of currency by blocked countries. As are cryptocurrencies.
hackernewds 4y ago
TIL. I did not know this about M Saylor. Thank you for sharing it. Also I think you meant to write "foreword"
- arcticbull 4y ago
  Yeah, haha, I did. macOS autocorrect keeps changing one for the other out from under me. Thanks for catching it.

Gustomaximus 4y ago

Would not gold have the superior aspect it has actual use behind its value? Obviously the store of value part pushes up price, but there is also a big need for gold in electronics and jewellery etc. Bitcoin at the moment is largely speculation and has little use beyond that currently, though has potential to become an active currency of significance, we are yet to see that.

gotorazor 4y ago
There is very little use for gold in electronics. In jewellry, yes. But that's only because people in developing world see their jewellry as a form of savings. Those are the same contries where the people don't buy jewellry lower than 18k. Nobody in North America or Europe knows how to get the fair value of gold in the crappy 14k necklaces. USD is useful because it is a meaning unit of exchange.
roenxi 4y ago
Not really; because the price of gold tends to the marginal cost to produce. If a marginal producer can generate a kilo of gold for $60k, then gold is worth around $60k/kilo. Its uses or lack thereof are not that important. If all the uses of gold went away magically, it'd be worth less for various reasons but still a similar order of magnitude.

postalrat 4y ago

We will probably have the math in a few years to defeat the crypto in Bitcoin. Then it's RIP Bitcoin.