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It's remarkable testament to the power of greed that so much computing power is being poured into the digital equivalent of manufacturing Beanie Babies. Are the
by vannevar 13y ago
It's remarkable testament to the power of greed that so much computing power is being poured into the digital equivalent of manufacturing Beanie Babies. Are there any reliable estimates on the volume of Bitcoins that are actually used as currency, compared to the volume of purely speculative trading?
- iguana 13y agoIt isn't greed, it is market opportunity. So long as they're cheaper to mine than they can be sold for, someone will exploit the opportunity. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Once the ASICs replace the other mining systems, the correction estimates will be more accurate.
- jebeng 13y agoMany millions of dollars worth. Huge number if you include gambling related commerce. Even without gambling it is almost certainly an 8 figure amount. edit: monthly
- dasil003 13y agoI realize it's sort of a funny thing to say, but I would argue that a bitcoin has more intrinsic value than a beanie baby. It's ease of transfer is a huge utility.
- vannevar 13y agoI would argue that a bitcoin has more intrinsic value than a beanie baby. I would argue that it has less; kids have always loved stuffed animals, whereas no one found intrinsic value in a cryptographic hash until someone thought to brand and promote one. A Bitcoin's value comes from the Bitcoin system, which does have some utility as a sort of distributed ledger. The problem is there are already plenty of e-cash systems already in place, virtually all of which are easier to use than Bitcoin. As a currency, Bitcoin's volatility is a major disadvantage. No one will spend a Bitcoin if they think it will be worth more tomorrow. No one will take a Bitcoin if they think it will be worth less. Success as a speculative investment is generally antithetical to success as a currency.