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Hate to go against my gold bug brothers, but no monetary supply requires a physical backing; just confidence. Yes backing a currency in gold will give confiden

Hate to go against my gold bug brothers, but no monetary supply requires a physical backing; just confidence. Yes backing a currency in gold will give confidence. Yes backing a fractional reserve with a military and resources will give confidence. If bitcoin can TRULY deliver on its promises as a payment transmitter, than it may just get enough confidence to become a currency as well. As it stands now however, it looks like a speculative commodity.

thekaleb 13y ago
Like gold, BTC has scarcity, but unlike gold, it has no intrinsic value. I do, however, value my Bitcoins.
- tmountain 13y ago
  BTC the currency may have no intrinsic value, but the bitcoin network has tremendous value as a means for frictionless transactions across borders.
- blhack 13y ago
  People constantly talk about the industrial applications of gold. If we end up in a place where world governments have fallen to the point where we no longer trust their money, and have switched back to gold, what industry is going to still be around using gold? I just don't see this.
  - dragonwriter 13y ago
    There's no currency backed by all world governments collectively, just currencies backed by particular world governments (usually individually, though the Euro is backed by a particular group). It's quite easy to imagine a failure of monetary policy by any one (or more relevantly, any two) of those central banks that would leave gold using industries in existence in the world, and gold in a better position than the relevant fiat currencies. If there were a single global universal fiat currency, that might not be the case, but ethereal isn't one.
    - tokenizer 13y ago
      > If there were a single global universal fiat currency, that might not be the case, but ethereal isn't one. I think we may see this if bitcoin becomes too popular. I mean, it may be too late by then, but why not try right? Oppressors gotta oppress.
- Sambdala 13y ago
  Leaving aside the issues of whether or not there is such a thing as intrinsic value (I would argue there isn't), any industrial/jewelry/etc uses of Gold would put a floor on it's price of something in the low double digits per ounce, if that. This just means for Gold, you effectively have a Put option for a very small percentage of what it's currently trading at, instead of 0% of what it's trading at.
- tokenizer 13y ago
  I think some fans of gold don't see the benefits of the network (and network effect) of bitcoin. That said, if it becomes too much of a liability to store (hackers, taxes, transmission) in the future without the growth, then it'll lose confidence. I feel like any problems with security though would only become a reality when it would hit mass appeal.
brc 13y ago
The difference is that nothing can remove the confidence behind gold - not even forced confiscation by the state (which just results in hoarding and buried treasure). However, it's easy, simple to undermine confidence in fiat currency - just overissue and prevent conversion to other forms. Can confidence in Bitcoin be removed? Not sure about that one. Would banning trade in it like gold can be banned remove all confidence? Very hard to say, and something to watch.
- tokenizer 13y ago
  You make good points. I agree with your point on gold. I was just highlighting the fact that confidence is what is key, and people are not 100% rationale, which can lead to weird confidence, whether that means no confidence for a good system, or good confidence.

thekaleb 13y ago

Like gold, BTC has scarcity, but unlike gold, it has no intrinsic value. I do, however, value my Bitcoins.

tmountain 13y ago
BTC the currency may have no intrinsic value, but the bitcoin network has tremendous value as a means for frictionless transactions across borders.
blhack 13y ago
People constantly talk about the industrial applications of gold. If we end up in a place where world governments have fallen to the point where we no longer trust their money, and have switched back to gold, what industry is going to still be around using gold? I just don't see this.
- dragonwriter 13y ago
  There's no currency backed by all world governments collectively, just currencies backed by particular world governments (usually individually, though the Euro is backed by a particular group). It's quite easy to imagine a failure of monetary policy by any one (or more relevantly, any two) of those central banks that would leave gold using industries in existence in the world, and gold in a better position than the relevant fiat currencies. If there were a single global universal fiat currency, that might not be the case, but ethereal isn't one.
  - tokenizer 13y ago
    > If there were a single global universal fiat currency, that might not be the case, but ethereal isn't one. I think we may see this if bitcoin becomes too popular. I mean, it may be too late by then, but why not try right? Oppressors gotta oppress.
Sambdala 13y ago
Leaving aside the issues of whether or not there is such a thing as intrinsic value (I would argue there isn't), any industrial/jewelry/etc uses of Gold would put a floor on it's price of something in the low double digits per ounce, if that. This just means for Gold, you effectively have a Put option for a very small percentage of what it's currently trading at, instead of 0% of what it's trading at.
tokenizer 13y ago
I think some fans of gold don't see the benefits of the network (and network effect) of bitcoin. That said, if it becomes too much of a liability to store (hackers, taxes, transmission) in the future without the growth, then it'll lose confidence. I feel like any problems with security though would only become a reality when it would hit mass appeal.

brc 13y ago

The difference is that nothing can remove the confidence behind gold - not even forced confiscation by the state (which just results in hoarding and buried treasure). However, it's easy, simple to undermine confidence in fiat currency - just overissue and prevent conversion to other forms. Can confidence in Bitcoin be removed? Not sure about that one. Would banning trade in it like gold can be banned remove all confidence? Very hard to say, and something to watch.

tokenizer 13y ago
You make good points. I agree with your point on gold. I was just highlighting the fact that confidence is what is key, and people are not 100% rationale, which can lead to weird confidence, whether that means no confidence for a good system, or good confidence.