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The new US government has crypto-bros at its core and there will be use of the US Treasury to set up a "Bitcoin Strategic Reserve" that will be a way for the cr

by rswail 2y ago

The new US government has crypto-bros at its core and there will be use of the US Treasury to set up a "Bitcoin Strategic Reserve" that will be a way for the crypto-bros to milk the US economy to bail themselves out of the market before it dies. Bitcoins are the most useless "asset" that there has ever been. At least beanie babies had some entertainment value and tulips look pretty. Bitcoins and all the other nonsense contribute nothing to the world's real economy, it's entirely a mechanism for washing or moving fiat currency from one place to another. It is used extensively in Asia entirely for that purpose, paying for drugs and gambling transfers. For the actual economy it is useless and the entire "market" is just barely regulated gambling and entertainment.

panarky 2y ago
It's hard to take seriously an argument that recycles the tired trifecta of tropes "tulips, beanie babies and drug dealers". I don't know if bitcoin will eventually become a low level store of value, or if the red hats now running US government will use it to reduce the nation's indebtedness, or if it will gradually fade away as people lose interest, or if it will crash and burn over a weekend. But I am quite certain that the current system of government currencies, sanctions, repression and surveillance is unsustainable in the long run. One look at the stupendously large debt that can never be repaid should make it obvious that the current state cannot continue forever. Nobody knows how long the long run is, but the fiat system has been flashing signals of stress and potential fracture for at least twenty years. Maybe governments and central banks can keep papering over its fault lines for another decade. But when a thing cannot continue forever, at some point it will stop. Is bitcoin the replacement for the base layer? Or is it at least a way to preserve some wealth, outside the increasingly rickety nation-state-fiat system? Some mainstream finance leaders who manage trillions and are far smarter and better connected that I am, seem to think so. I don't know, and you don't know, but there's more than enough evidence that there's something real here. It can't be easily dismissed as just beanie babies, tulips and drug dealers.
- paulryanrogers 2y ago
  When states fail crypto isn't much of a safe harbor. It's just a fiat with crazy interchange fees, except one with a public ledger. Also mining will come to an end soon as it becomes impossible to meet the energy demand.
  - BLKNSLVR 2y ago
    One of the points is that it is resilient across a 'state failure' because it's not associated with a state. That's precisely one of it's key differentiators from fiat. If you're meaning "when all states fail", well, everything falls off the table, and "told you so"-ing about Bitcoin might be just a little bit petty.
    - paulryanrogers 2y ago
      States are getting more sophisticated at tracing crypto coins. And getting anything useful from them does depend on states not regulating them into obsolescence or black markets, with all the baggage those markets entail. As for pettiness, I'm not the one promoting dubious benefits, nor am I invested in any coins or their downfall. Just concerned the whole thing is making the world worse: more gambling, more corruption, more scams, more wasted energy, more pollution, etc.
noch 2y ago
> Bitcoins are the most useless "asset" that there has ever been. At least beanie babies had some entertainment value and tulips look pretty. Hilariously, some people won't realize that your comment is almost entirely copy-pasta from a decade ago when Bitcoin cost less than $500. Thanks for the laughs though. Good memories.
- paulryanrogers 2y ago
  Bitcoin is still useless except as a gambling ticket or illicit money transfer. And even those use cases are on shaky ground.
  - panarky 2y ago
    Reuters: "Russia is using bitcoin in foreign trade, finance minister says" https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/russia-is-using-bitcoin-foreign-trade-finance-minister-says-2024-12-25/ https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/russia-is-using-b... Your definition of "useless" must be different from mine.
    - paulryanrogers 2y ago
      Sounds like an illicit use to me. Russia bypassing sanctions doesn't appear to be making the world a better place for anyone except kleptocrates.
  - noch 2y ago
    > Bitcoin is still useless Oh gosh. You're actually one of those people. Well, it's a pleasure to meet you! And since you feel Bitcoin is useless (I'm leaving the door wide open for a retort filled with cognitive dissonance), please send me 21BTC for which I'll pay you $1000 immediately? My address is: bc1q6k9fcpk9z9wrt9fhmu2dnkq7cn0w72rkpwwvmm
    - paulryanrogers 2y ago
      What would you do with it if not exchange it for fiat, gamble, or purchase illegal goods or services?

by rswail 2y ago

panarky 2y ago

It's hard to take seriously an argument that recycles the tired trifecta of tropes "tulips, beanie babies and drug dealers". I don't know if bitcoin will eventually become a low level store of value, or if the red hats now running US government will use it to reduce the nation's indebtedness, or if it will gradually fade away as people lose interest, or if it will crash and burn over a weekend. But I am quite certain that the current system of government currencies, sanctions, repression and surveillance is unsustainable in the long run. One look at the stupendously large debt that can never be repaid should make it obvious that the current state cannot continue forever. Nobody knows how long the long run is, but the fiat system has been flashing signals of stress and potential fracture for at least twenty years. Maybe governments and central banks can keep papering over its fault lines for another decade. But when a thing cannot continue forever, at some point it will stop. Is bitcoin the replacement for the base layer? Or is it at least a way to preserve some wealth, outside the increasingly rickety nation-state-fiat system? Some mainstream finance leaders who manage trillions and are far smarter and better connected that I am, seem to think so. I don't know, and you don't know, but there's more than enough evidence that there's something real here. It can't be easily dismissed as just beanie babies, tulips and drug dealers.

paulryanrogers 2y ago
When states fail crypto isn't much of a safe harbor. It's just a fiat with crazy interchange fees, except one with a public ledger. Also mining will come to an end soon as it becomes impossible to meet the energy demand.
- BLKNSLVR 2y ago
  One of the points is that it is resilient across a 'state failure' because it's not associated with a state. That's precisely one of it's key differentiators from fiat. If you're meaning "when all states fail", well, everything falls off the table, and "told you so"-ing about Bitcoin might be just a little bit petty.
  - paulryanrogers 2y ago
    States are getting more sophisticated at tracing crypto coins. And getting anything useful from them does depend on states not regulating them into obsolescence or black markets, with all the baggage those markets entail. As for pettiness, I'm not the one promoting dubious benefits, nor am I invested in any coins or their downfall. Just concerned the whole thing is making the world worse: more gambling, more corruption, more scams, more wasted energy, more pollution, etc.

noch 2y ago

> Bitcoins are the most useless "asset" that there has ever been. At least beanie babies had some entertainment value and tulips look pretty. Hilariously, some people won't realize that your comment is almost entirely copy-pasta from a decade ago when Bitcoin cost less than $500. Thanks for the laughs though. Good memories.

paulryanrogers 2y ago
Bitcoin is still useless except as a gambling ticket or illicit money transfer. And even those use cases are on shaky ground.
- panarky 2y ago
  Reuters: "Russia is using bitcoin in foreign trade, finance minister says" https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/russia-is-using-bitcoin-foreign-trade-finance-minister-says-2024-12-25/ https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/russia-is-using-b... Your definition of "useless" must be different from mine.
  - paulryanrogers 2y ago
    Sounds like an illicit use to me. Russia bypassing sanctions doesn't appear to be making the world a better place for anyone except kleptocrates.
- noch 2y ago
  > Bitcoin is still useless Oh gosh. You're actually one of those people. Well, it's a pleasure to meet you! And since you feel Bitcoin is useless (I'm leaving the door wide open for a retort filled with cognitive dissonance), please send me 21BTC for which I'll pay you $1000 immediately? My address is: bc1q6k9fcpk9z9wrt9fhmu2dnkq7cn0w72rkpwwvmm
  - paulryanrogers 2y ago
    What would you do with it if not exchange it for fiat, gamble, or purchase illegal goods or services?