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I've also been fascinated by bitcoin but never made the leap. The problem I always come back to is that it isn't a currency, a store of value, private, and I d

I've also been fascinated by bitcoin but never made the leap. The problem I always come back to is that it isn't a currency, a store of value, private, and I disagree with bitcoin's approach to decentralization. (A long list, I know. Every couple years I get the itch then rediscover all my complaints). Attempting to create a decentralized currency based on anything other than a supply-constrained natural resource is simply a losing game as far as I see it. The currency will be based only on promises, belief, and trust. A decentralized network is more akin to a Mexican standoff, trust and belief aren't what keep everyone from pulling the trigger.

woodrowbarlow 2y ago
but most national currencies have long since abandoned of the idea of being backed by physical resources, and have shifted towards promises, belief, and trust. are you saying that de-centralization introduces unique aspects that make physical backing a necessity?
- Yiin 2y ago
  bluntly put you can pay taxes only in that currency and governments have power to enforce it, meanwhile btc has only as much power as currencies you can exchange it to. If you couldn't exchange btc to fiat, it would lose value rapidly.
- _heimdall 2y ago
  Exactly. State currencies have their issues, but they do at least accept that a currency built only on faith and trust must be centralized. I am proposing that making a currency decentralized creates certain limitations. Without a central authority its extremely unlikely that a monetary system built on faith will last long. For bitcoin the claim is that the network is what you must have faith in, not a central authority. I don't find that compelling personally, mainly because I haven't found the protocol to be so bulletproof that I only need to trust it and can believe that the network will hold regardless of how many bad actors may attempt to corrupt it (not saying that is happening today, only that it is inevitable with time).
  - Sohcahtoa82 2y ago
    > mainly because I haven't found the protocol to be so bulletproof that I only need to trust it and can believe that the network will hold regardless of how many bad actors may attempt to corrupt it (not saying that is happening today, only that it is inevitable with time). On the plus side, the protocol effectively has a built-in bug bounty program! :-D

woodrowbarlow 2y ago

but most national currencies have long since abandoned of the idea of being backed by physical resources, and have shifted towards promises, belief, and trust. are you saying that de-centralization introduces unique aspects that make physical backing a necessity?

Yiin 2y ago
bluntly put you can pay taxes only in that currency and governments have power to enforce it, meanwhile btc has only as much power as currencies you can exchange it to. If you couldn't exchange btc to fiat, it would lose value rapidly.
_heimdall 2y ago
Exactly. State currencies have their issues, but they do at least accept that a currency built only on faith and trust must be centralized. I am proposing that making a currency decentralized creates certain limitations. Without a central authority its extremely unlikely that a monetary system built on faith will last long. For bitcoin the claim is that the network is what you must have faith in, not a central authority. I don't find that compelling personally, mainly because I haven't found the protocol to be so bulletproof that I only need to trust it and can believe that the network will hold regardless of how many bad actors may attempt to corrupt it (not saying that is happening today, only that it is inevitable with time).
- Sohcahtoa82 2y ago
  > mainly because I haven't found the protocol to be so bulletproof that I only need to trust it and can believe that the network will hold regardless of how many bad actors may attempt to corrupt it (not saying that is happening today, only that it is inevitable with time). On the plus side, the protocol effectively has a built-in bug bounty program! :-D