Considering that cash is no longer backed by gold or silver, it is merely fiat, and exists as currency because the government says it does. The green rectangles we exchange are of no more intrinsic value than the bits of data on the blockchain. The difference is that the US govt keeps printing trillions, so moment by moment your stack of green rectangles is worth less and less and less. And the government can seize your assets, freeze your bank account, a robber can steal your physical wallet. Crypto currency stored securely is actually far safer and more stable.
I do not disagree that there is still a lot speculation and therefore volatility around bitcoin and such. But it isn't going away, just like the internet didn't go away. Even for the people not convinced in the future of it are starting to move 1-5% of their holdings into BTC just as a hedge against inflation.
Bitcoin replaces gold. Gold's value is not tied to its usefulness, but rather its scarcity. Gold and bitcoin both share an "unforgeable costliness" in that you can't make more appear out of thin air, and there won't be some new process to get more (like advances in aluminum refining). Bitcoin is hardcoded to 21 million max. No one who buys gold intends to DO anything with it, it is just a store of value. BTC is the same thing, except you can actually have full ownership of your BTC and transfer it anywhere in the world instantly. When you buy gold, you really buy a piece of paper from a company that says they will hold the gold for you. Or do you plan to ship thousands of pounds of gold to your house?
I believe purchasing iou's for precious metals is self-defeating. I can hardly dream of affording thousands of pounds of gold, but if my moonshot GME comes through, maybe I can. And build a vault to fill with it and swim in.
We're in somewhat of a physical shortage of silver bullion right now because of the massive retail demand for it as just that sort of hedge against inflation. I've been watching prices hoping for deals and waiting on a couple in-stock alerts myself.
But if I drop an ounce of metal on the floor, it's still an ounce of metal. Get it wet, same. Microwave it and it'll outlast the microwave.
As often as electronics break from drops, or washing machines, or surges, etc, the inherent risk of putting my savings in a fragile device isn't enticing. I remember the story of the guy that went trash diving looking for a thrown out harddrive at the city dump because bitcoin was on it and it might still be retrievable. Do banks have powered safe deposit boxes? For that matter, when the dollar collapses will anything have power to access the crypto? Or will we be writing iou's for bitcoin?
Considering that cash is no longer backed by gold or silver, it is merely fiat, and exists as currency because the government says it does. The green rectangles we exchange are of no more intrinsic value than the bits of data on the blockchain. The difference is that the US govt keeps printing trillions, so moment by moment your stack of green rectangles is worth less and less and less. And the government can seize your assets, freeze your bank account, a robber can steal your physical wallet. Crypto currency stored securely is actually far safer and more stable.
I do not disagree that there is still a lot speculation and therefore volatility around bitcoin and such. But it isn't going away, just like the internet didn't go away. Even for the people not convinced in the future of it are starting to move 1-5% of their holdings into BTC just as a hedge against inflation.
So gold backed crypto would be better than bitcoin? https://www.goldscape.net/gold-blog/gold-backed-cryptocurrency/
Bitcoin replaces gold. Gold's value is not tied to its usefulness, but rather its scarcity. Gold and bitcoin both share an "unforgeable costliness" in that you can't make more appear out of thin air, and there won't be some new process to get more (like advances in aluminum refining). Bitcoin is hardcoded to 21 million max. No one who buys gold intends to DO anything with it, it is just a store of value. BTC is the same thing, except you can actually have full ownership of your BTC and transfer it anywhere in the world instantly. When you buy gold, you really buy a piece of paper from a company that says they will hold the gold for you. Or do you plan to ship thousands of pounds of gold to your house?
I believe purchasing iou's for precious metals is self-defeating. I can hardly dream of affording thousands of pounds of gold, but if my moonshot GME comes through, maybe I can. And build a vault to fill with it and swim in.
We're in somewhat of a physical shortage of silver bullion right now because of the massive retail demand for it as just that sort of hedge against inflation. I've been watching prices hoping for deals and waiting on a couple in-stock alerts myself.
But if I drop an ounce of metal on the floor, it's still an ounce of metal. Get it wet, same. Microwave it and it'll outlast the microwave.
As often as electronics break from drops, or washing machines, or surges, etc, the inherent risk of putting my savings in a fragile device isn't enticing. I remember the story of the guy that went trash diving looking for a thrown out harddrive at the city dump because bitcoin was on it and it might still be retrievable. Do banks have powered safe deposit boxes? For that matter, when the dollar collapses will anything have power to access the crypto? Or will we be writing iou's for bitcoin?