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by lokedhs
3127 days ago
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"Econ 101: The price of a currency is based on people's trust in that currency." Right, but how many people really trust Bitcoin? And by trust, I mean trust that it will retain its value for the foreseeable future. I have trust that the Euro will retain its value, so I feel confident pricing my product and services using it. On the other hand you'd be crazy to price anything in Bitcoin. No one has trust in Bitcoin as a currency. Some people have some degree of trust in it as an investment vehicle, which is fine. That doesn't make Bitcoin a currency any more than gold is. |
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So, the same thing that gives the Euro and Gold value (that people will take it trade for goods and services) is one of the components accounting for Bitcoin's valuation. The majority of Bitcoin's value at this point is likely speculation. However some percentage of the value is not derived from currency arbitrage or speculation.
Even if Bitcoin trade participating merchants do not trust the market valuation of Bitcoin enough to be willing to hold Bitcoin for very long after they accept it as part of a transaction (and therefor immediately convert it to USDs) it is still valued by the participating merchant in line with the trade. The same could be said for the value of the electronic ledger recordings created by credit cards. They are generally viewed to have around equivalent value to USDs. But, they are not a currency either.