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> But fiat currencies are simply currencies that aren't backed by collateral. Apparently the definition is open to interpretation, at least if the wikipedia ar
by npongratz 13y ago
> But fiat currencies are simply currencies that aren't backed by collateral.
Apparently the definition is open to interpretation, at least if the wikipedia article[0] can be believed:
Fiat money has been defined variously as:
* any money declared by a government to be legal tender.
* state-issued money which is neither convertible by law to any other thing, nor fixed in value in terms of any objective standard.
* money without intrinsic value.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_money https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_money
- haakon 13y agoEvery HN thread on Bitcoin is 30-50% debate over what "fiat money" means. Every single time.
- gnaritas 13y agoThat's what happens when people hijack words that mean one thing and then use it to mean another; there's a transition period where confusion rules and people argue about definitions. Bitcoin is a fiat currency by the standard meaning of the word, but Bitcoin'ers don't use it that way, it's their fault for creating a new meaning in their community for the word. Fiat doesn't mean government backed, now it does to them, soon someone will add a new definition in a dictionary somewhere and the debate will rage for decades.