| > I don't think the average consumer wants an unregulated currency. Ok, so it will continue to apply to just the niche that's okay w/unregulated currency. > People like having a central authority that enforces laws around their currency. I will concede that this is a risk. Every time a theft occurs, there's temptation to try to "solve" the problem of thefts. Once a powerful state endorses a black/grey list of coins tainted by theft (even if it's offered as a "hey this is opt-in, we won't legislate this list"), it will start us on a slippery slope towards centralization and perhaps prohibition/censorship. > People enjoy the benefits of a dollar that doesn't fluctuate wildly in value. Yes, bitcoin may continue to be stuck in a niche like equities or something other than currency. > People enjoy the conveniences of modern banking systems. Yes, and bridging the gap between human/trust/legally secured systems with mathematical ones like bitcoin is a challenge. And yet, businesses have arisen to handle this challenge. Ultimately, the "but it's not really suited for what that guy Fred said it could do" arguments are orthogonal. It doesn't matter that what Fred said was an exaggeration or completely false. Bitcoin will keep churning out new blocks regardless. And yes, people may eventually say to themselves "oh hey if it will never do that then I should sell!" And the value will drop. But what if it were back to USD parity? Would that be bad? Or just the new norm? I contend it's the latter. |
I enjoy watching developments related to cryptocurrency, my big post there was mostly in response to flawed (and often outright ironic) claims by it's defenders along certain ideological lines.