3 ms·

I agree with all of his points; I've been making them myself for the past few months. Bitcoin is bad specifically because it is unregulated. Regulation of fina

by exelius 13y ago

I agree with all of his points; I've been making them myself for the past few months. Bitcoin is bad specifically because it is unregulated. Regulation of financial markets exists for a reason: the optimal strategy of individuals and institutions in unregulated financial markets is to lie, cheat and steal to accumulate as much wealth as possible. Credit economies rely on a foundation of trust; and while it may seem hard to trust our financial system, you CAN trust that when you put your money in a bank, it will be there when you go to get it out (thanks, FDIC!) As much as we may not like credit, it provides market efficiency on an extraordinary scale.

sergiosgc 13y ago
The problem is that today's supposedly heavily regulated markets just aren't. Markets are regulated for the little guy, but not for the Goldman Sachs of this world. The '08 financial crisis as clearly shown that most regulatory hurdles established in the late XX century have been lifted, and that for big sharks financial markets are an all you can eat buffet. Worse, we learned nothing. Everything is as it was. It is a matter of time before the same events unfold in an even sadder rerun.
- SideburnsOfDoom 13y ago
  > The problem is that today's supposedly heavily regulated markets just aren't Yes, and Mr Stross is pointing out that Bitcoin may be different, but that doesn't make it better. In fact he lays out good reasons to believe that it is worse.
- tonyhb 13y ago
  I agree with you, and this only highlights that bitcoin needs some level of regulation before it can be used commonly. If bitcoin is going to become commonplace, it needs a lot of support, more infrastructure, and some regulation.
icebraining 13y ago
while it may seem hard to trust our financial system, you CAN trust that when you put your money in a bank, it will be there when you go to get it out Unless your money is in Cyprus. In any case, in Bitcoins you may not be able to trust banks, but on the other hand, you don't need to (as much), since you can store huge sums anywhere, even your own head. Hell, print out a private key and store the paper in a safe of a regular bank, if you want to.
arethuza 13y ago
Doesn't FDIC, as with most depositor protection schemes, have an upper limit on the amount protected - $250K in the case of FDIC: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Deposit_Insurance_Corporation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Deposit_Insurance_Corpo...
- exelius 13y ago
  Yes; but that's largely irrelevant as most people don't have $250k in their bank accounts (and if they do, it's probably in stocks/bonds as opposed to a bank account with a low interest rate). It was just an example, anyway; the FDIC is only one part of a larger financial regulation framework. But the core point remains: lack of regulation around financial instruments is often a bad thing.

by exelius 13y ago

sergiosgc 13y ago

The problem is that today's supposedly heavily regulated markets just aren't. Markets are regulated for the little guy, but not for the Goldman Sachs of this world. The '08 financial crisis as clearly shown that most regulatory hurdles established in the late XX century have been lifted, and that for big sharks financial markets are an all you can eat buffet. Worse, we learned nothing. Everything is as it was. It is a matter of time before the same events unfold in an even sadder rerun.

SideburnsOfDoom 13y ago
> The problem is that today's supposedly heavily regulated markets just aren't Yes, and Mr Stross is pointing out that Bitcoin may be different, but that doesn't make it better. In fact he lays out good reasons to believe that it is worse.
tonyhb 13y ago
I agree with you, and this only highlights that bitcoin needs some level of regulation before it can be used commonly. If bitcoin is going to become commonplace, it needs a lot of support, more infrastructure, and some regulation.

icebraining 13y ago

while it may seem hard to trust our financial system, you CAN trust that when you put your money in a bank, it will be there when you go to get it out Unless your money is in Cyprus. In any case, in Bitcoins you may not be able to trust banks, but on the other hand, you don't need to (as much), since you can store huge sums anywhere, even your own head. Hell, print out a private key and store the paper in a safe of a regular bank, if you want to.

arethuza 13y ago

Doesn't FDIC, as with most depositor protection schemes, have an upper limit on the amount protected - $250K in the case of FDIC: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Deposit_Insurance_Corporation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Deposit_Insurance_Corpo...

exelius 13y ago
Yes; but that's largely irrelevant as most people don't have $250k in their bank accounts (and if they do, it's probably in stocks/bonds as opposed to a bank account with a low interest rate). It was just an example, anyway; the FDIC is only one part of a larger financial regulation framework. But the core point remains: lack of regulation around financial instruments is often a bad thing.