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Remember that this is a zero-sum game, for every winner that made it big, they are thousands more that had to pay up for their success.
by thrance 2y ago
Remember that this is a zero-sum game, for every winner that made it big, they are thousands more that had to pay up for their success.
- Mithriil 2y agoI don't believe it is zero-sum.. Or at least, not rigourously. I feel the Market Capitalization of BTC must have been bootstrapped at some extent. It seems impossible to me that the sum total of what people have paid to have their BTCs to be more than $2.02T. In other words, the value the market gives it has given value to BTC out of nowhere.
- YZF 2y agoEach transaction has a buyer and a seller. So in that sense it is a zero sum game. However the total market cap can go up and down and create value out of nothing (just like stocks).
- robjan 2y agoMarkets are not a zero sum game. When the price goes up, it goes up for all holders.
- tobyhinloopen 2y agoThe price goes up (or down) because someone bought a stock at that price... For every buy, there's one sell. For every win, there's a loss.
- robjan 2y agoA transaction is zero sum, the market is net positive. For the market to be zero sum, the market cap would have to be constant. If I buy something from someone for $1 then sell it to you for $2, I gained a dollar and you own a share that's worth $2.
- cesarb 2y ago> If I buy something from someone for $1 then sell it to you for $2, I gained a dollar and you own a share that's worth $2. It's easy to see that this is nonsense: I could buy a widget from someone for $1, then turn around and sell it to my brother for $10000, does that really mean the widget is now magically worth $10000, and we doubled our collective holdings? No, what actually happened is that we together still have that same $10000, plus a worthless $1 widget.
- robjan 2y agoOnce again, the trade is within the context of a market and the market values the "widget", Apple Stock, Oz of gold or whatever as whatever people are willing to pay for it. That's how markets work. Individual Opinions are largely irrelevant.
- mlrtime 2y agoYou are 100% wrong, the market is not zero sum. A quick google search will educate you here. Derivatives like options can be zero sum, options expire worthless.
- thrance 2y agoI would have to agree beforehand that the share is worth $2, or else I wouldn't have bought it from you at that price. Somehow the share was already $2 before you sold it to me, but you got it for $1, how come? Your example is nonsensical.
- thrance 2y agoAnd when you sell, it goes down for everyone. I don't consider you richer until you cash out your bitcoins for real money.
- Ekaros 2y agoIt is really negative sum game. As there is constant drain from mining, in buying and then operating equipment. Lot of that is not recovable and do not actually improve anything.