Bitcoin Is Not Real Money | Hacker News Reader

Bitcoin Is Not Real Money

realclearpolitics.com

9 pointstestrun8 comments

I wonder why this article wasn't written when Bitcoin was valued at $1100. Also this 'Bitcoin is not money' circlejerk is getting pretty old and has been discussed to death.

> So fellas, please go back to the drawing board.

What a smug douche.

The arguments in this article are so immature and out-of-touch that they do not merit a response.

Let's be clear about what is fluctuating, it is the value of bitcoins compared to other currencies. At this stage, the market value of bitcoin compared to the US dollar (for example) is not yet firmly established. Events like the Mt.Gox scandal and moves by governments to block bitcoin trading has knocked back the price of bitcoin, but these are early days for cryptocurrencies, a few shifts in the maturity of the market should ensure a more stable future as long as they are popular. These shifts include a next-gen Mt.Gox (architected to avoid the issues of its predecessors), and mining rate slowing down (will be inevitable at some point, it's just a question of time).

Fluctuation in "hundreds of dollars" doesn't say anything - it has to be talked about in percentage to make any sense. The fluctuations are big in that sense, too, but it shows how much credibility the author has on the subject.

Liquidity is what makes markets fluctuate less generally. Part of bitcoins high volatility is directly attributable to the dearth of exchanges. The dearth of exchanges is directly attributable to regulations that're difficult to comply with (mainly because of the license cost and difficulty of the process), and to established Banks/MSBs not willing to use their already being in compliance with those regulations to explore bitcoin.

TV presenter and Failed economist Larry Kudlow has an impressive resume of being wrong about things

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Kudlow

The regulation so that Square, Paypal, Dwolla and every other bank can participate in Bitcoin EXISTS.

KYC, AML, etc. exist. The SEC exists. MSB and Banking licenses exist. SEC regulation on exchanges exists.

These regulations are expensive for startups. But they're a nobrainer for established institutions because they already qualify.

There's nothing the "community" can do to make regulatory compliance easier for Banks and MSB'es. Because Banks and MSB'es are ALREADY licensed, regulated and in compliance.

The whole thing is a red-herring.

If you can buy things with something, then it's money.

No need to complicate things, bitcoin is money..

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