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Bitcoin has inherent value and "physical properties" that far exceed what Gold can offer. 1. Bitcoins can't be counterfeited. If you receive them with even jus
by ewillbefull 14y ago
Bitcoin has inherent value and "physical properties" that far exceed what Gold can offer.
1. Bitcoins can't be counterfeited. If you receive them with even just a few confirmations on the blockchain, it's probably going to be there forever.
2. You can confirm the legitimacy of Bitcoins, en masse, without any cost.
3. You can store bitcoins without any cost.
4. Bitcoins are much easier to transfer to other people.
5. You can form contracts and advanced redemption conditions for transferred coins.
If Bitcoin had no "inherent value" then it should be worthless. Maybe Mises Regression Theorem is wrong?
- tptacek 14y agoNone of these points have anything to do with an intrinsic value for bitcoin; all of them presuppose that bitcoin is intrinsically valuable. Bitcoin can be worthless and yet hard to counterfeit; I can sign a random number right now and it's worth nothing. I can Tweet that number or create a permanent record in any number of other ways. Your second point is the same as your first; it again presumes that there is some value to bitcoin. I can store a lot of things without meaningful cost. That doesn't make them valuable. My application server with seven gigs of dev logs isn't a treasure trove either, despite the ease with which I managed the data relative to bars of gold. Bitcoins are easier to transfer than gold coins. That is true. But spent facial tissue is also easier to transfer than gold. You can form contracts with all manner of instruments, from cows to gravel to pork bellies. Every commodities trader in Chicago has a story about a friend of a friend who ended up with a garage full of pork when they failed to sell a futures contract in time.