3 ms·
Edward doesn't know what money is. Whether it is issued by a government or not is a matter of convenience (or legal issues) and not a condition. Everything can
by vilda 13y ago
Edward doesn't know what money is. Whether it is issued by a government or not is a matter of convenience (or legal issues) and not a condition.
Everything can be a currency satisfying these criteria:
(1) enough quantity
(2) limited quantity
(3) convenient to move/exchange
(4) widely accepted
That's it, nothing else.
All currencies is based on "faith". Any currency is doomed if it looses trust. For instance cigarettes were used as currency in Germany between world wars.
And it seems to me that Edward admits that at the end: "governments are not fully living up to the responsibility". Yep, he is contradicting the claim that monetary policies are independent of the government. They are not and you can see it in the price of gold.
Since bitcoin is based on math and official currency on politics, bitcoin is inherently more trustworthy. Its deflationary tendency, limited supply, and lack of physical presence are common drawbacks of bitcoin as a "common" currency. Not trust. And they are actually advantageous for its particular area.
- parasubvert 13y agoWho does understand what money is? We have debates it for centuries. Money is both trust (credit) AND commodity. Though most economists religiously pick one view (Keynesians) or the other (Austrians). Being based on "math" is nonsensical. Money is based on math, that's the whole reason it evolved - to keep track of debts! The question is one of the axioms behind the monetary system. Bitcoin's axioms are every bit as political as a fiat currency, the only difference is the entity that made the political judgement. Users of Bitcoin must trust in the algorithm, as users of currency must trust in the central bank.