The president-elect wrote that the coalition of non-Western countries “should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. Economy” if it backs a currency other than the U.S. dollar.
The lack of denial and deflection when accused of holding a sizable investment in it is very telling.
Besides that, calling it a currency is a joke. Its value is based entirely on speculation as an investment opportunity, and it’s nearly useless for anything other than converting to some international currency. Outside of illegally purchasing highly-regulated goods or paying criminals to decrypt your computer, it has fewer merchants accepting it than Amex. Furthermore, proof-of-work blockchains are an enormous waste of electricity and needlessly stupid contributor to global warming.
It’s actually bad for the purposes you listed because of the blockchain being an immutable multiple ledger system of transactions, criminals who use it find themselves unable to launder it unless converting it to another currency or currencies, such as the dutch shuffle where they move USD to banks in Europe then back to the USA.
BTC is PoW and it has cost a lot of power, that is true, but there are diminishing returns on that which make it uneconomic in many regions where the power costs outweigh the returns. You can use it as a currency without doing any mining yourself.
Also, literally every currency’s value is based entirely on speculation as an investment opportunity. USD is propped up by foreign banks buying up bonds and reserves, stores only accept payments in the assumption that the value of the dollar will cover more than the cost to sell those goods in the first place.
All money is fake. One money isn’t more or less fake than the other.
It’s actually bad for the purposes you listed because of the blockchain being an immutable multiple ledger system of transactions, criminals who use it find themselves unable to launder it unless converting it to another currency or currencies, such as the dutch shuffle where they move USD to banks in Europe then back to the USA.
Tumblers exist to solve the problem you mention. They’re even used by actual exchanges, and they make it much harder to find out where cryptocurrency is going from/going to.
BTC is PoW and it has cost a lot of power, that is true, but there are diminishing returns on that which make it uneconomic in many regions where the power costs outweigh the returns. You can use it as a currency without doing any mining yourself.
Not having to mine a block yourself doesn’t change the fundamental fact that proof-of-work is necessary for verifying every transaction on the blockchain. The energy spent on that can be far better used for performing physical work or computing things to help society than hash-bruteforcing busywork. Even when there’s excess supply, that energy can go into pumped storage hydropower to help provide capacity when demand is higher. It’s ass-backwards that cryptocurrency mining companies have to be incentivized to reduce demand on energy grids during heat waves while people are being cooked in their homes.
Also, literally every currency’s value is based entirely on speculation as an investment opportunity. USD is propped up by foreign banks buying up bonds and reserves, stores only accept payments in the assumption that the value of the dollar will cover more than the cost to sell those goods in the first place.
I agree with you on this.
All money is fake.
And this.
One money isn’t more or less fake than the other.
I don’t agree on this. Bottlecaps are a more tangible currency than bitcoin.
It was a metaphor, but since you’ve decided that you can credible pro-bitcoin arguments with memes and insults, I don’t think we need to go further.
With how fervent the guy is about arguing for the stability and benefits of Bitcoin, I suspect he has a sizeable investment in it.
With the way you defend the USD, I suspect you have a sizeable investment in it.
I think you’re misinterpreting my distain for cryptocurrency as support for USD. Both of them can collapse and I wouldn’t be upset about it at all.
You say that as if there is any alternative. There is already one major decentralized currency used around the world, like it or not.
I can’t even mock you for choosing the alternative because there isn’t any.
The lack of denial and deflection when accused of holding a sizable investment in it is very telling.
Besides that, calling it a currency is a joke. Its value is based entirely on speculation as an investment opportunity, and it’s nearly useless for anything other than converting to some international currency. Outside of illegally purchasing highly-regulated goods or paying criminals to decrypt your computer, it has fewer merchants accepting it than Amex. Furthermore, proof-of-work blockchains are an enormous waste of electricity and needlessly stupid contributor to global warming.
Wholeheartedly, fuck Bitcoin.
It’s actually bad for the purposes you listed because of the blockchain being an immutable multiple ledger system of transactions, criminals who use it find themselves unable to launder it unless converting it to another currency or currencies, such as the dutch shuffle where they move USD to banks in Europe then back to the USA.
BTC is PoW and it has cost a lot of power, that is true, but there are diminishing returns on that which make it uneconomic in many regions where the power costs outweigh the returns. You can use it as a currency without doing any mining yourself.
Also, literally every currency’s value is based entirely on speculation as an investment opportunity. USD is propped up by foreign banks buying up bonds and reserves, stores only accept payments in the assumption that the value of the dollar will cover more than the cost to sell those goods in the first place.
All money is fake. One money isn’t more or less fake than the other.
Tumblers exist to solve the problem you mention. They’re even used by actual exchanges, and they make it much harder to find out where cryptocurrency is going from/going to.
Not having to mine a block yourself doesn’t change the fundamental fact that proof-of-work is necessary for verifying every transaction on the blockchain. The energy spent on that can be far better used for performing physical work or computing things to help society than hash-bruteforcing busywork. Even when there’s excess supply, that energy can go into pumped storage hydropower to help provide capacity when demand is higher. It’s ass-backwards that cryptocurrency mining companies have to be incentivized to reduce demand on energy grids during heat waves while people are being cooked in their homes.
I agree with you on this.
And this.
I don’t agree on this. Bottlecaps are a more tangible currency than bitcoin.