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> People on HN are smarter than me, and they all seem to hate bitcoin with passion, but I haven't yet understood why "Hate" is a strong word, but I dislike Bit

> People on HN are smarter than me, and they all seem to hate bitcoin with passion, but I haven't yet understood why "Hate" is a strong word, but I dislike Bitcoin because so much of its value doesn't come from utility, but from speculation. People rarely buy Bitcoin to actually use it, but instead because they hope/expect the price will go up. And that's what leads to cases like SBF. > and understand that the dollar has no intrinsic value, either. You need US dollars to pay US taxes and buy/sell into the world's largest consumer market. That's why there's a strong demand for dollars.

krupan 3y ago
People are speculating on Bitcoin for different reasons, but many of us are doing so because we have examined it closely and seen it's utility. It is still very early in the adoption phase and so it's hard to see the utility in practice right now, but as you learn more about our current financial system and how Bitcoin works, the potential of Bitcoin is pretty astounding.
- dukeyukey 3y ago
  Some people are, and a lot of them are here if HN. But the _extreme_ vast majority of people buying Bitcoin wouldn't be interested in it if it had a stable long-term value - they're in it for the speculation.
  - hollerith 3y ago
    > the _extreme_ vast majority of people buying Bitcoin wouldn't be interested in it if I am impressed by your powers of perception! You can probably read my mind, too, and tell me why I do the things I do, at least my major purchasing and investment decisions. It's a little scary knowing that there exists people as perceptive as you. It makes me feel naked almost.
w1nst0nsm1th 3y ago
Strong demand for Dollar is linked to commodities being all priced in Dollar. If global oil output had to decrease due to, for example, peak oil, dollar value would collapse very quickly, because all of a sudden, monetary mass would be excessive compared with declining economic activity.

krupan 3y ago

People are speculating on Bitcoin for different reasons, but many of us are doing so because we have examined it closely and seen it's utility. It is still very early in the adoption phase and so it's hard to see the utility in practice right now, but as you learn more about our current financial system and how Bitcoin works, the potential of Bitcoin is pretty astounding.

dukeyukey 3y ago
Some people are, and a lot of them are here if HN. But the _extreme_ vast majority of people buying Bitcoin wouldn't be interested in it if it had a stable long-term value - they're in it for the speculation.
- hollerith 3y ago
  > the _extreme_ vast majority of people buying Bitcoin wouldn't be interested in it if I am impressed by your powers of perception! You can probably read my mind, too, and tell me why I do the things I do, at least my major purchasing and investment decisions. It's a little scary knowing that there exists people as perceptive as you. It makes me feel naked almost.

w1nst0nsm1th 3y ago

Strong demand for Dollar is linked to commodities being all priced in Dollar. If global oil output had to decrease due to, for example, peak oil, dollar value would collapse very quickly, because all of a sudden, monetary mass would be excessive compared with declining economic activity.