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He's trying to tie the value of bitcoin to the forced syncing process - "bitcoin represents spent electricity." That's just not right. In reality, bitcoin repre

by pfraze 13y ago

He's trying to tie the value of bitcoin to the forced syncing process - "bitcoin represents spent electricity." That's just not right. In reality, bitcoin represents agreement by parties to honor debts in its ledger. Bitcoin's backing is the information system, not the resources that go into it. The value is tied to people's faith in the currency and ledger system. EDIT - other criticisms: - He criticizes energy waste, but doesn't compare it to the energy use of existing financial systems. - He points at the risk of owning wallets without recognizing that this should be a diminishing risk as better software develops.

thinkcomp 13y ago
I never actually wrote the phrase you have above in quotes. Regardless, tracking debts and using resources are not mutually exclusive as you suggest.
- pfraze 13y ago
  I wasnt trying to quote directly, but to clarify, Greenspan (you?) wrote: At its core, Bitcoin is a proxy for another commodity we are all familiar with: electricity You're right that tracking debts (or, to be more correct per cpervica's comment, tracking balances) and using resources are not mutually exclusive, but I don't think that resource usage is the scarce resource that bitcoin represents, as Greenspan (you?) suggests. I think the scarce resource is a set of values contained in the bitcoin ledger, and the mining needed to change their ownership is (as the second question puts it) an externality.
  - thinkcomp 13y ago
    (I am Aaron.) I disagree.
cperciva 13y ago
debts in its ledger Except there are no debts, since there are no debtors. The ledger is a registry of ownership, not debts.
- jamesaguilar 13y ago
  People think that about all kinds of money, but I think economists often prefer to think of it as a good or service owed to you in the future. Any kind of money necessitates this kind of concept of debt.

by pfraze 13y ago

thinkcomp 13y ago

I never actually wrote the phrase you have above in quotes. Regardless, tracking debts and using resources are not mutually exclusive as you suggest.

pfraze 13y ago
I wasnt trying to quote directly, but to clarify, Greenspan (you?) wrote: At its core, Bitcoin is a proxy for another commodity we are all familiar with: electricity You're right that tracking debts (or, to be more correct per cpervica's comment, tracking balances) and using resources are not mutually exclusive, but I don't think that resource usage is the scarce resource that bitcoin represents, as Greenspan (you?) suggests. I think the scarce resource is a set of values contained in the bitcoin ledger, and the mining needed to change their ownership is (as the second question puts it) an externality.
- thinkcomp 13y ago
  (I am Aaron.) I disagree.

cperciva 13y ago

debts in its ledger Except there are no debts, since there are no debtors. The ledger is a registry of ownership, not debts.

jamesaguilar 13y ago
People think that about all kinds of money, but I think economists often prefer to think of it as a good or service owed to you in the future. Any kind of money necessitates this kind of concept of debt.