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Except none of those things are true. Bitcoin is just a tinfoil hat combined with a prepper mentality, or libertarian wishful thinking. The first 3 things you

by nutjob2 12y ago

Except none of those things are true. Bitcoin is just a tinfoil hat combined with a prepper mentality, or libertarian wishful thinking. The first 3 things you list can happen to bitcoin since bitcoin is just another currency. The idea that it's intrinsically cheaper doesn't hold water compared to any other currency. Just because some transactions cost money on existing currencies doesn't preclude the exact same thing happening to bitcoin. Again, just another currency. The idea that it's somehow free of national regulation is patently false. The currency may be "virtual" but so are all other currencies, I can send you money without mailing you paper. But the point is that the holders of the currency exist in the real world, not as entities in cyberspace, and those bitcoin holders and dealers can be regulated just like other currencies, unless they want to go to jail.

doczoidberg 12y ago
Of course it's only another currency but as stated it differentiates from current currencies with some advantages. The effort to regulate it is very expensive. Of course everything is possible but you have always to ask for it's costs. I don't say that bitcoin is the future of money but it can be. There is no need for men in the middle in the connected internet world.
pfisch 12y ago
I don't know about the rest of this list, but how could there be inflation? There are a finite number of bitcoins that will ever exist.
- kijin 12y ago
  Inflation just means that the value of a currency goes down. There are many reasons why the value of a currency might go down. Printing too much money (increasing the supply) is one of them, but it is not the only possibility. Decreasing the demand is just as effective. Imagine that someone just found a critical flaw in the algorithms used by bitcoin. Everyone wants to sell and move to dogecoin a.s.a.p. But nobody wants to buy those bitcoins anymore! Bang, that's inflation right there. As long as there are alternatives to bitcoin, the fact that the total number of bitcoins is limited cannot prevent inflation from happening.
snitko 12y ago
To regulate and tax, you must first know someone has bitcoins. Furthermore, you must know how much they have or have an opportunity to effectively find that out. Now, with a bank account it's not a problem: all IRS or some other three letter agency has to do is call a bank. Who are they gonna call with Bitcoin? Bitcoin CEO? How does an IRS agent know I made 50 and not 25 bitcoins? How can the government impose capital controls on my money and prevent me from buying stuff in Iran or some other country to which sanctions are applied? It's not a wet dream. It's reality. You can't control Bitcoin. You can only control people and even that is not done very effectively in the real world, as proved by numerous criminals, tax evaders and expats. Bitcoin makes doing stuff government doesn't like easier. That is all you have to know.
- vertex-four 12y ago
  The moment you buy anything with those bitcoins, it's obvious. You think the IRS wouldn't know you have a car if you never told them? A piece of land? Worst case scenario, they hire more people to go out into the field and audit people. Basically, you can only ever keep bitcoins without the IRS knowing about it if you never spend those bitcoins. When you spend them, the IRS will eventually know about it.
  - snitko 12y ago
    The moment I buy anything within the country. Or something that requires my ID. But what about things like breakfast? Or a taxi ride? The IRS cannot track cash with which you buy small things, nor will it be able to track bitcoins. I mean, theoretically it can be possible, but the effort it would have to put into that kind of surveillance is not worth the profit it would receive. Besides, who talks about spending? If I made money and want to hoard them, I still have to pay IRS the next year? Well, not so with Bitcoin. IRS may as well starve to death waiting for me to spend them.
    - lclarkmichalek 12y ago
      A currency you can't spend is... well, not great. Regardless, I'd take a bet that the IRS can wait for you to spend your bitcoin/be discovered and prosecuted for tax fraud.

by nutjob2 12y ago

doczoidberg 12y ago

Of course it's only another currency but as stated it differentiates from current currencies with some advantages. The effort to regulate it is very expensive. Of course everything is possible but you have always to ask for it's costs. I don't say that bitcoin is the future of money but it can be. There is no need for men in the middle in the connected internet world.

pfisch 12y ago

I don't know about the rest of this list, but how could there be inflation? There are a finite number of bitcoins that will ever exist.

kijin 12y ago
Inflation just means that the value of a currency goes down. There are many reasons why the value of a currency might go down. Printing too much money (increasing the supply) is one of them, but it is not the only possibility. Decreasing the demand is just as effective. Imagine that someone just found a critical flaw in the algorithms used by bitcoin. Everyone wants to sell and move to dogecoin a.s.a.p. But nobody wants to buy those bitcoins anymore! Bang, that's inflation right there. As long as there are alternatives to bitcoin, the fact that the total number of bitcoins is limited cannot prevent inflation from happening.

snitko 12y ago

To regulate and tax, you must first know someone has bitcoins. Furthermore, you must know how much they have or have an opportunity to effectively find that out. Now, with a bank account it's not a problem: all IRS or some other three letter agency has to do is call a bank. Who are they gonna call with Bitcoin? Bitcoin CEO? How does an IRS agent know I made 50 and not 25 bitcoins? How can the government impose capital controls on my money and prevent me from buying stuff in Iran or some other country to which sanctions are applied? It's not a wet dream. It's reality. You can't control Bitcoin. You can only control people and even that is not done very effectively in the real world, as proved by numerous criminals, tax evaders and expats. Bitcoin makes doing stuff government doesn't like easier. That is all you have to know.

vertex-four 12y ago
The moment you buy anything with those bitcoins, it's obvious. You think the IRS wouldn't know you have a car if you never told them? A piece of land? Worst case scenario, they hire more people to go out into the field and audit people. Basically, you can only ever keep bitcoins without the IRS knowing about it if you never spend those bitcoins. When you spend them, the IRS will eventually know about it.
- snitko 12y ago
  The moment I buy anything within the country. Or something that requires my ID. But what about things like breakfast? Or a taxi ride? The IRS cannot track cash with which you buy small things, nor will it be able to track bitcoins. I mean, theoretically it can be possible, but the effort it would have to put into that kind of surveillance is not worth the profit it would receive. Besides, who talks about spending? If I made money and want to hoard them, I still have to pay IRS the next year? Well, not so with Bitcoin. IRS may as well starve to death waiting for me to spend them.
  - lclarkmichalek 12y ago
    A currency you can't spend is... well, not great. Regardless, I'd take a bet that the IRS can wait for you to spend your bitcoin/be discovered and prosecuted for tax fraud.