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I think bitcoins real value to people is it's a P2P solution to the double spend problem. "monopoly money, or acorns, or lumps of clay" can be created almost i
by retrogradeorbit 14y ago
I think bitcoins real value to people is it's a P2P solution to the double spend problem.
"monopoly money, or acorns, or lumps of clay" can be created almost indefinitely. Of course BTC can too, but must be done by forming consensus amongst the majority of the P2P systems. Lumps of clay you don't need consensus. Just more clay.
"What drives the citizens of a country to use the currency issued or authorized by that country's government?"
Legal Tender law. If a debt is offered to be paid in 'legal tender' and the debtee refuses to accept it, the debtor can have the court discharge the debt under the law.
- betterunix 14y ago""monopoly money, or acorns, or lumps of clay" can be created almost indefinitely" Make an acorn for yourself in that case. Acorns are pretty similar to Bitcoin in that regard: you need Oak trees to produce acorns, just like you need CPU time to produce Bitcoin. "Legal Tender law. If a debt is offered to be paid in 'legal tender' and the debtee refuses to accept it, the debtor can have the court discharge the debt under the law." Not all countries have such laws. There is, however, another important category of law that gives fiat currencies their value: taxes. The fact that law-abiding citizens must pay their government periodically creates a large demand for whatever the government accepts as a tax payment. Typically, governments accept a currency they issue, or else they authorize the use of some other currency.