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Does anyone here use Bitcoins?
tomos:
The bitcoin crash of 2013 - Don't you feel silly now?
-Arizona Hot (December 11, 2013, 12:29 PM)
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Articles like this are just 'silly'.
Bitcoin is currently acting like a microcosm of the Stock Exchange - just that everything is all speeded up. It's also not unlike fiat money [only] in that they are both "money without intrinsic value".
So when people who otherwise accept the idea of fiat money, and invest in stocks - or anything along those lines - when these people get all high and mighty about Bitcoin and writing articles *against* it, I just think: hypocrisy. If they want to make an *argument* against it, that's obviously fine - but "Don't you feel silly now?" doesnt quite qualify there.
(FWIW I'm not "for" nor "against" Bitcoin).
Renegade:
Why would I want to use a bit coin?
-bit (December 09, 2013, 02:29 PM)
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Payment processors charge 2~5% on every transaction. Crypto currency fees are optional, and much lower if you choose to pay the fee.
Payments are instant. Bank transfers can take several days.
You don't get payments blocked by a bank that wants to tell you what you can and cannot do with your own money.
You can pay anonymously.
Your money cannot be stolen from you through a bank bail-in as was done in Cyprus and as is now law in places like Canada.
Bitcoins are limited in supply so they are deflationary (increase in value - gain purchasing power) whereas fiat is unlimited and inflationary (you lose purchasing power over time).
You can send money to anyone, anywhere in the world with no restrictions on how much you send.
If you send more than $10,000 to anyone or to yourself across "borders", you don't have a bank tattling on you to a government that will label you a terrorist or drug dealer or put you on a watch list.
You can take your bitcoins with you when you fly and have as much as you want and there's nothing that airport security can do about it.
Bitcoins put YOU in charge of your money. Banks and governments can't force you to do anything you don't want to. e.g. You can buy anything you want or take your money anywhere you want or send it to whoever you want and they can't stop you.
You'd want to use bitcoins because they give you some freedom.
There are more reasons.
The real question is, "When you have the option to use bitcoins (or any decentralised, open source crypto currency), why would you ever want to use fiat?"
There is no good argument for using fiat over bitcoins. All the problems/objections have been solved. I've not read 1 single good or valid objection yet. And I've read a truckload on this.
tomos:
Bitcoins are limited in supply so they are deflationary (increase in value - gain purchasing power) whereas fiat is unlimited and inflationary (you lose purchasing power over time).
-Renegade (December 11, 2013, 10:49 PM)
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This comparision may be true with regard to Bitcoin - but it's not true about crypto currencies in general. New ones keep appearing, and I see no reason why this should stop. The problem with this is exactly the same as with fiat currencies, except worse. As more and more (limitless) currencies, and units come into being, I see no reason that people will say "but Bitcoin is the best" - so Bitcoin and all other crypto currencies will become "inflationary" (i.e. lose value, possibly even becoming worthless).
The real question is, "When you have the option to use bitcoins (or any decentralised, open source crypto currency), why would you ever want to use fiat?"
-Renegade (December 11, 2013, 10:49 PM)
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as per my reasoning above, fiat has some sort of control over itself - cryptocurrencies do not.
(I'm not happy about this but as I said before, I just cant see a way that it can work. Dont mean that way isn't there... we'll see)
Renegade:
Bitcoin = world reserve crypto currency
Alt coins = other currencies
No reason why that can't work at all. We'll just see a lot of currencies fail, and that's ok.
I trade crypto-crypto pairs. I do not trade fiat-crypto pairs. Why would I? I use the world reserve crypto currency (bitcoin) as my primary currency and I trade others.
As fiat currencies continue to be debased by governments and central banks, more people will flock to crypto currencies. It's happening now. People don't want their money to be worth less tomorrow. A bit of upwards volatility is preferable to certain demise.
tomos:
Bitcoin = world reserve crypto currency-Renegade (December 12, 2013, 07:32 AM)
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I'm not sure I understand: what would being a 'world reserve crypto currency' involve?
I cant quite tie it in with the current definition of a reserve currency a la http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reserve_currency.
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