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Old 08-02-17, 11:17 AM   #8
Skybird
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The Bitcoin got split.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-40800270

I have a very alarmed sentiment about cryptocurrencies. To me, they are a hype. You can gamble and win a stash, yes, but also, it is a snowball system.

Consider that most of the quantity of cryptocurrency units gets invested into - other cryptocurrencies. Consider that cryptocurrencies do not have any inherent value at all, not even the few pennies it costs to have the paper and ink for printing a banknote. A cryptocurrency unit in itself is a certain quantity of - nothing. It represents no material value at all. It has no securities at all. And now big gamblers "invest" big ammounts of nothing into other nothings. This cannot be good. Real money is no "dissipative structure" and no "self-emerging order". It is a material trading good of inherent value representing it's material value the market gives for it. FIAT paper money and cryptocurrencies are that NOT.

The Bitcoin split means that one of the arguments in defence of Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies, that they are limited in availability and cannot see their total ammount of units in circulaiton bengn artificially inflated, is wrong. What this split means, in the end, is right this: inflation. It is an increasing of the speed of blockchain transacitons - but also of unit mining. And that compares to switching on the money printer. Its a wanted inflation, although wanted for other reasons than why central banks want to inflate paper money and book money. Or maybe not...? maybe the real difference is not the motivation, but the persons having the motivation.

There is nothing of value in all this. No real material something of anything. Its paper money without money, its book money. Talking about a glass of water does not ease your thirst, since you still cannot drink it.

The algorithms generating it, can be manipulated or replaced obviously - this is what has been done now. The comparison to precious metals and their limited availability for raising mining production arbitrarily and without limits, is not correct. You cannot increase at arbitrary will the ammount of silver or gold or plation getting mined, there are practial limits. With cryptocurrencies, there are just - conventions. Like conventions for paper money.

Also note that the currency moners have their own interest to mine: profit. The ygte paid for running the infrastructre needed to do these immense calcualiton that shoudl simulate the mininmg of gold on the mountain. Just that Bitcoin mining never creates any ore.

The part of the technology that I like, is the blockchain. That can be used for transaction outside the monitoring and control of a third party, and it does not really matter what currency gets traded there. It reminds a bit of the Middle Eastern transaction method named Hawala. The trust element in Hawala gets replaced with the blockchain's thousands and thousands of copying databases - mere trust (or finding out that this trust was undeserved...) is not even needed. Banks have no place in this. Or men in the middle.

And states cannot control the people's property and wealth, thats why they hate Hawala and cryptocurrencies. It threatens their own powers.

Recommend blockchain technology to people, guys - but warn people of cryptocurrencies. Both are not the same. Investing into cryptocurrencies, is no investing, since investing means to invest into something material at a time when its market/trade value for reasons that do not really matter is lower than its real inherent value. You then invest and see it grow, creating you a profit to compensate you for the risk you took. To "invest" into something of nill, zero, no value, that is most likely the latest hype of a snowballing system, and that has no inherent material value at all, is no invest,ment - its gambling. You could as well go ito the casino and put money on numbers at the roulette table. That also is a gamble, its not an investment.

We need a material fundament for the currency units we do trades in. So that they are like tickets you get when handing over your coat while visitiong a show in the theatre. For every ticket handed out, there is a coat brought in. For every ticket given back, one coat gets given back. THAT is money. FIAT paper money does not fulfill this condition, book money does not - and cryptomoney also does not.

Be on your guards. Its a bubble, created by a snowball system. From nothing comes nothing - you better believe in that. I like the blockchain concept - but I do not see cryptocurrencies as one bit better than FIAT money. And by now you should really know how much I love the concept of FIAT money.
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