[gizmo686]

If you read the full answer, you would see that his position is that doing that is better than not doing it. If you are correct that it is even more difficult to do so, then his position is that bitcoin is even worse than gold in this regard.

> When ‘Bitcoin maximalists’, as you call them, wax lyrical about the inability to print money (and celebrate this inability as Bitcoin’s feature, rather than its bug), they are being terribly unoriginal – banal, I dare say. Capitalism nearly died in 1929, and tens of millions did die in the war that ensued, because of this toxic fallacy that underpinned the Gold Standard then and Bitcoin now. Which fallacy? The fallacy of composition, as John Maynard Keynes called it.

Regarding your specific points on the differences between gold and Bitcoin:

* easy to counterfeit - Point to Bitcoin

* hard to store securely - I'd class this as a point for Gold.

* expensive to transact with at a distance - As opposed to Bitcoin, which is just expensive to transact; and gets more expensive the more people use it, as there is a finite amount of transactions per unit time.

In practice, most people dealing with Bitcoin are dealing with it through ~banks~ exchanges which gave them a Bitcoin denominated IOU; and which may or may not be engaging in fractional reserve banking.

[tphyahoo2]

"In practice, most people dealing with Bitcoin are dealing with it through ~banks~ exchanges which gave them a Bitcoin denominated IOU; and which may or may not be engaging in fractional reserve banking."

You're not wrong. Most people do it with IOUs, ie exchanges. But most people, don't have most of the bitcoin.

"Crypto Exchanges Hold 6.6% of Bitcoin Supply – One of the Lowest in History"

https://bitcoinke.io/2021/09/percentage-of-bitcoins-on-excha...

I'd like this number to be even lower. And as more exchanges (and governments) default, I expect it will be.

"* hard to store securely - I'd class this as a point for Gold."

fair to debate, a lot does get lost because people lose paper backups. but is this really harder than gold? I think it's largely unfamiliarity that will improve with time.

"* expensive to transact with at a distance - As opposed to Bitcoin, which is just expensive to transact; and gets more expensive the more people use it, as there is a finite amount of transactions per unit time."

if you don't understand how lightning works, of course you will believe this. lots of fud right now. encourage you to kick the tires here, and actually install a lightning wallet and see. as a retail guy, you can start selling slurpees via lightning, today.

https://medium.com/coinmonks/strike-partners-with-shopify-bl...

no it's not perfect, but it is non custodial. now imagine you are in venezuela or weimar germany.

[tphyahoo2]

"If you read the full answer, you would see that his position is that doing that is better than not doing it. If you are correct that it is even more difficult to do so, then his position is that bitcoin is even worse than gold in this regard."

Yes, I did read the full answer. And yes, (according to him) it is.

Yanis is a marxist, as others in this thread point out. Point 10 in communist manifesto, calling for a state central bank, is incompatible with both gold and bitcoin, and pretty much any other form of personal money beyond maybe some petty cash.

""10. A state bank, whose paper issues are legal tender, shall replace all private banks. This measure will make it possible to regulate the credit system in the interest of the people as a whole, and will thus undermine the dominion of the big financial magnates. Further, by gradually substituting paper money for gold and silver coin, the universal means of exchange (that indispensable prerequisite of bourgeois trade and commerce) will be cheapened, and gold and silver will be set free for use in foreign trade. Finally, this measure is necessary in order to bind the interests of the conservative bourgeoisie to the Government."

https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/pdf/Man...

Communist Manifesto, Demands of the Communist Party in Germany / 10 Demands

"Given all this, you may be puzzled to hear me call myself a Marxist. But, in truth, Karl Marx was responsible for framing my perspective of the world we live in, from my childhood to this day. This is not something that I often volunteer to talk about in “polite society” because the very mention of the M-word switches audiences off. But I never deny it either. After a few years of addressing audiences with whom I do not share an ideology, a need has crept up on me to talk about Marx’s imprint on my thinking. To explain why, while an unapologetic Marxist, I think it is important to resist him passionately in a variety of ways. To be, in other words, erratic in one’s Marxism."

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2015/feb/18/yanis-varoufaki...

Lots of weasel room here. But basically, Varoufakis doesn't believe people should have personal financial freedom. And he makes a good case for it!

But no thanks.

[sangnoir]

> But basically, Varoufakis doesn't believe people should have personal financial freedom.

In his own words, he believes those who love personal freedom shouldn't tolerate capitalism, from first principles (from TFA). Later, he states that personal digital wallets would benefit individuals and increase freedom by cutting off banks and their rent-seeking using exclusive central bank accounts.

His position is that Bitcoin and the current state of cryptocurrency are incapable of defeating the ills of capitalism, contrary to pro-crypto boosters claims.

[tphyahoo2]

I don't think most bitcoin maxis would claim bitcoin can fix capitalism. Any more than gold could fix capitalism.

Hard money is the least bad option. The universe is still cruel, and life is unfair.

The irony is that communist states love gold, and bitcoin.

Venezuela, like usual for marxist states, confiscates valuables from individuals that manage to squirrel some. Bitcoin, bitcoin miners, whatever can be confiscated and operated to provide hard currency for the government.

Beware those who will help you, by denying you freedom.