eric_cc

Bitcoin still has the potential to become the worlds reserve currency. That’s pretty legit.

Bitcoin has the potential to become the world’s reserve currency. Your smug dismissal of it is ignorant at best.

Consider how power structures (eg nation states) may change in such a future.

If wanting an immutable currency that is not controlled by a central government means I’m in a cult of like-minded, then guilty as charged.

Source?

> No one is tethering their home purchase budget to BTC.

Whether you tether the purchase of a home to bitcoin or the US dollar is more a state of mind, tribalism, etc. Both the US dollar and bitcoin have no intrinsic value. They both derive value from a human belief system - I believe they have value and that others believe the same. They are both just networks in that sense.

> Even "jug of water in the desert" is tethered more to dollars than BTC because what are you more likely to have in your pocket, and why?

This is silly. But to add to the silliness - you could have bitcoin in your brain. Just memorize your words.

> Dollars are tethered to the government taxing us in dollars, so we get paid in dollars, and our government has nukes & aircraft carriers and such

Now THIS is truly different. The US dollar has violence on its side. I concede that bitcoin is a peaceful currency - at least thus far. Hopefully it stays that way.

> Other than its usefulness as "untraceable" (what people think, but not what is true.. it is more like "unblockable") cash, and for money laundering/drugs.. it is a trading instrument for punters.

This is political bias and parroting talking points of anti-bitcoiners. While your other points are thoughtful, this is not. Why not just call bitcoin a butthead?

Good points. Consider all the different investment instruments out there. Abstractions on top of abstractions on top of abstractions of buying power. Yes, a stable currency is desirable. But volatile abstractions are also beneficial to powerful entities.

Totally agree. I only meant to illustrate that all abstractions of buying power fluctuate in their ability to secure basic needs - food, water, shelter, supplies.

I’d counter that buying power is the only metric that matters. All these abstractions of buying power may distract and distance you from this most important metric - often to the benefit of companies and nation states.

It’s “buying power”

when you say up and down you are referring to buying power. And yes, the buying power of a $20 grocery store gift card has gone way down the last few years. Consider how much milk and eggs you could buy in 2018 compared to today.

Now do the US dollar!

You’re doing the ignorant a favor for no real gain. Bitcoin adoption will continue. Bitcoin’s progress remains unstoppable. No amount of downvotes can stop it. And the next giant leap in buying power will just make the anger and denial stronger here - a classic case of cognitive dissonance.

> BTC added no value to the retail experience.

You’re missing the point entirely. Bitcoin will gain usability parity with the US dollar. And bitcoin is a better currency that anything mutable and controlled by governments. Bitcoin is a currency that is not subject to the whims of unpredictable central government financial policies. Bitcoin’s buying power fluctuates because we are still dealing with The Fed monetary policies. In time that will smooth itself out. Aside from violence (US military), what is the US dollar’s features that make it better than bitcoin in any way?

Aside from some advertisers leaving, what other metric are you basing this on?

Did Twitter fail?

While I agree with your sentiment, if VR becomes a 99.999999999% match it’ll change human existence whether we personally like it or not.

> I remember hardly any significant negative criticism of the iphone, watch, or airpods.

Sounds like you have a memory problem. I’m sure you can find the threads archived if you need reminded of the criticisms.

> in a swirley

What does this even mean?

> the entire department’s response is to stop doing their job.

This is one hell of a claim. Can you share some good sources that verify it?

> police in America tend to go on low-key strike when a liberal prosecutor is elected

This is not true nor is it verifiable. This is a bullshit political talking point. And it’s ridiculous.

Because: Argentina.

Not sure if you truly grasp the global impact that the United States fed policy has.

Market becomes less speculative.

In recent years, you can argue that bitcoin has acted as a canary in the coal mine. Bitcoins chart is pretty much the same as stocks (especially tech/growth stocks). It just moves slightly ahead of stocks sometimes.

I totally agree. Cash has value because it’s backed by violence.

You’re correct that this community will be salty as bitcoin reaches value milestones such as $100,000/coin. And it’s easy to fall into the trap of laughing at their misery. But it would be much much more enjoyable for me to see bitcoin “click” for them.

It takes the effort of thinking deeply about what money is, where it came from, how it’s used geo-politically, how it’s used against populations, etc. it’s a lot of effort, honestly.

But let’s not cheer on bitcoin’s USD value. The real victory is when it’s detached and we stop comparing bitcoin to garbage fiat.

And what’s the main use of cash from the perspective of the US government? And what makes cash have value? And what has been the history of money thus far that has led to this junction?

Hacker News is especially hostile toward crypto. Most likely, people here won’t even bother to engage in an honest conversation. “It’s a scam, it’s for crime” is the consensus. It’s frustrating when you’re surrounded by “confident idiots”, people who are uneducated about a topic that portray confidence. As I’ve gotten older, I just care less about educating people for free.

Bitcoin is going nowhere. Time itself will teach the naysayers. HN will be angry, in denial, etc as the trend of bitcoin adoption plays out. But they can’t be so ignorant as to stop it. In other words, their education is not required.

Crypto was never built to magically help you evade justice. This is a ridiculous take.

Agree completely with your point. Moving their funds from the train wreck was smart.

Shaming those that withdrew their funds reminds me of meme stock culture where participants shame sellers and make holding “no matter what” the highest virtue. The suckers that listen to that bullshit are the bag holding losers.

The tech isn’t going anywhere. Perhaps the speculative bubble over gif NFT’s is behind us but I guarantee there will be uses for unique on-chain tokens for a long time to come.