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And so will AC systems in local banks. You can essentially include the entirety of operations of the bank, and the lifestyle of the people employed by the bank

And so will AC systems in local banks. You can essentially include the entirety of operations of the bank, and the lifestyle of the people employed by the bank. There are literally millions and millions of people throughout the world who do nothing more than manage and monitor a system that moves numbers around and deals with proxy derivatives like bills and coins. Not that bitcoin is a panacea -- personally it seems completely untenable -- but if we want to talk waste, the current regime is extraordinarily wasteful.

ncza 12y ago
But how much (dare I say little?) of it would be unneeded if bitcoin succeeded?
- tormeh 12y ago
  It can't succeed. Cryptocurrencies might succeed, but not bitcoin. It's not even inflationary; it's a cross between a payment system and a pyramid scheme. Its a bit pedantic, but please don't say bitcoin when you mean cryptocurrency, as bitcoin is a pretty bad one.
  - calinet6 12y ago
    Maybe a naïve question, but are there any good ones we should support instead?
  - oafitupa 12y ago
    > It's not even inflationary And that's exactly the whole point, and is the very reason it's working. > a pyramid scheme Then every other successful investment is a pyramid scheme. Gold is a pyramid scheme! Storing food for catastrophes is a pyramid scheme! Paintings are a pyramid scheme!
    - ufo 12y ago
      Not every investment has to be a pyramid scheme. If you are generating value or selling a product then you end up with more money than what your investors are putting in. What makes bitcoin into kind of a pyramid scheme is that right now a big part of the reward for miners is the 25 bitcoin you get from mining a block. Only a very small fraction comes from the transaction fees. The only way to keep bitcoin stable is by having a constant supply of new users buying into bitcoin by acquiring those fresh bitcoins from the miners.
- the_mitsuhiko 12y ago
  I don't see a world in which Bitcoin would safe even only a single person in the traditional banking world. Bitcoin can neither replace banks nor creditcards. It might replace the ACH.

ncza 12y ago

But how much (dare I say little?) of it would be unneeded if bitcoin succeeded?

tormeh 12y ago
It can't succeed. Cryptocurrencies might succeed, but not bitcoin. It's not even inflationary; it's a cross between a payment system and a pyramid scheme. Its a bit pedantic, but please don't say bitcoin when you mean cryptocurrency, as bitcoin is a pretty bad one.
- calinet6 12y ago
  Maybe a naïve question, but are there any good ones we should support instead?
- oafitupa 12y ago
  > It's not even inflationary And that's exactly the whole point, and is the very reason it's working. > a pyramid scheme Then every other successful investment is a pyramid scheme. Gold is a pyramid scheme! Storing food for catastrophes is a pyramid scheme! Paintings are a pyramid scheme!
  - ufo 12y ago
    Not every investment has to be a pyramid scheme. If you are generating value or selling a product then you end up with more money than what your investors are putting in. What makes bitcoin into kind of a pyramid scheme is that right now a big part of the reward for miners is the 25 bitcoin you get from mining a block. Only a very small fraction comes from the transaction fees. The only way to keep bitcoin stable is by having a constant supply of new users buying into bitcoin by acquiring those fresh bitcoins from the miners.
the_mitsuhiko 12y ago
I don't see a world in which Bitcoin would safe even only a single person in the traditional banking world. Bitcoin can neither replace banks nor creditcards. It might replace the ACH.