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Sorry to submit yet another Bitcoin article, but this one turned out to be somewhat of a revelation for me. Thinking of bitcoins as digital collectibles seems a
by zeteo 14y ago
Sorry to submit yet another Bitcoin article, but this one turned out to be somewhat of a revelation for me. Thinking of bitcoins as digital collectibles seems a much better metaphor than thinking of them as money. Collectibles have a fixed supply, and their value depends on some concept that people are interested in. Consider e.g. Nazi memorabilia from WW2: fewer and fewer are discovered each year, the total supply is fixed, their value depends a lot on hobbyists' varying interest in WW2. Bitcoin is also unusual for a digital good in that it has a fixed supply, and its value depends a lot on enthusiasts who are interested in cryptocurrencies, fixed money supply etc.
- sageikosa 14y agoMemorabilia market prices vary by the quality and history of the piece; pieces with "richer" history fetch higher prices. BitCoin behaves more like a commodity. I expect derivative instruments based on BitCoin mining rates any day now.
- zeteo 14y agoThe comparison is obviously to a single type of item. Say "Mauser HSc, excellent condition, provenience unknown". But there's no reason why individual bitcoins can't acquire additional value once history accrues to them. Let's say celebrity X publicly buys a bitcoin and spends it in a well-publicized event. People will probably bid extra to acquire this "famous" bitcoin afterwards.
- TylerE 14y agoBitcoin doesn't work like that. There isn't some sort of serial number assigned, or anything.
- zeteo 14y agoEach bitcoin has an attached chain of transactions. If it's a matter of public record that a certain address belonged to say, Stephen Colbert, then you can definitely brag that you own Colbert's bitcoin. (That he donated to the Libertarian Party or something.)
- sageikosa 14y agoWhile it may be possible to value BitCoins that way, that's not the driving force behind current price tracking, any more than a 1933 double eagle or 1804 silver dollar affects the price of gold or silver.
- zeteo 14y agoI'm not saying BitCoins are currently used this way. It was just a thought experiment to prove they can acquire extra value from association with particular people or events. Just like other collectibles.
- jondtaylor 14y agoI don't think this is the case. My understanding is that wallets have transactions attached.
- glomph 14y agoThere is actually quite a bit of discussion into 'coloured' bitcoins, which would basically work exactly like that.
- jondtaylor 14y agoI may be mistaken but I don't think Bitcoins (the units themselves) have an identity like that only wallets are entities. It's similar to how a celebrity would drink water and water would be worth more than the rest. Once the debit and credit occurs who is to say which coins are from what source...
- redxaxder 14y agoBitcoin is also unusual for a collectible in how much it can be subdivided.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- Ingaz 14y agoBitcoin was not money but a digital resource analogous to gold or oil by design. I'm a little surprised that in 2013 somebody do not know this.
- tome 14y agoGold and oil both have uses that are not based on them being scarce goods. Gold is arguably more similar to bitcoin than oil is, but neither is really analogous.