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Bitcoin is a store of value, like gold. Not a currency. Yes, it's very volatile and no, just like gold, it doesn't protect you from inflation in the short run

Bitcoin is a store of value, like gold. Not a currency. Yes, it's very volatile and no, just like gold, it doesn't protect you from inflation in the short run. but, it does protect from inflation in the long run. It doesn't have the adoption of gold yet, that's why there's more risk, but also more upside too.

jsemrau 4y ago
to quote Nassim Taleb "Gold and other precious metals are largely maintenance free, do not degrade over an historical horizon, and do not require maintenance to refresh their physical properties over time. Cryptocurrencies require a sustained amount of interest in them." if we turn off the servers then this value store would disappear.
- sharperguy 4y ago
  Running a bitcoin server is relatively cheap. I have had a bitcoin full node running on my raspberry pi now for over a year (many people have had it much longer than that). It's one of the main design principles of bitcoin, that it needs to be possible for someone to conceivably verify all transactions on a home setup. This ensures that we do not have to trust large operators to verify that the chain is following the protocol correctly. It is one of the major problems with other coins, like ethereum, where this is not possible. This would leave it subject to pressure from political institutions in the future, which could force the reversal of transactions or freezing of accounts.
  - jsemrau 4y ago
    I was really disappointed that it was really easy to turn-off Luna blockchain . I was also disappointed when a hacker penetrated 5/9 Axie Infinity Servers. Both of these incidences outline that nobody has build a fast, secure, and decentralized solution yet. Maybe Cardano is the closest.
mbesto 4y ago
> Bitcoin is a store of value, like gold. Not a currency. Currencies have two properties: store of value and medium of exchange. Gold has utility outside of store of value (you can make earrings or toilets out of it). Bitcoin does not. Bitcoin has very limited uses as medium of exchange ("you can buy a pizza with it!"), I'm not aware anyone ever actually barters with gold anymore. Both are speculative assets that store value, but have either lack medium of exchange or have limited use. Gold at least has some utility outside of these two properties. That's it, there really is anything else to compare the two things by.

jsemrau 4y ago

to quote Nassim Taleb "Gold and other precious metals are largely maintenance free, do not degrade over an historical horizon, and do not require maintenance to refresh their physical properties over time. Cryptocurrencies require a sustained amount of interest in them." if we turn off the servers then this value store would disappear.

sharperguy 4y ago
Running a bitcoin server is relatively cheap. I have had a bitcoin full node running on my raspberry pi now for over a year (many people have had it much longer than that). It's one of the main design principles of bitcoin, that it needs to be possible for someone to conceivably verify all transactions on a home setup. This ensures that we do not have to trust large operators to verify that the chain is following the protocol correctly. It is one of the major problems with other coins, like ethereum, where this is not possible. This would leave it subject to pressure from political institutions in the future, which could force the reversal of transactions or freezing of accounts.
- jsemrau 4y ago
  I was really disappointed that it was really easy to turn-off Luna blockchain . I was also disappointed when a hacker penetrated 5/9 Axie Infinity Servers. Both of these incidences outline that nobody has build a fast, secure, and decentralized solution yet. Maybe Cardano is the closest.

mbesto 4y ago

> Bitcoin is a store of value, like gold. Not a currency. Currencies have two properties: store of value and medium of exchange. Gold has utility outside of store of value (you can make earrings or toilets out of it). Bitcoin does not. Bitcoin has very limited uses as medium of exchange ("you can buy a pizza with it!"), I'm not aware anyone ever actually barters with gold anymore. Both are speculative assets that store value, but have either lack medium of exchange or have limited use. Gold at least has some utility outside of these two properties. That's it, there really is anything else to compare the two things by.