[darkteflon]

I’m not gatekeeping. Parent’s misconception wouldn’t survive contact with any decent first-year undergraduate finance text book. There’s plenty of great curricula freely available on OCW, EdX, etc. Take your pick. Just read something.

Edit: You know what, forget the textbook: spend 5 minutes on [wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_value_(economics)).

I usually just ignore this stuff. But people repeat this garbage over, and over, and over on HN to disdain others (have a look at examples in this thread) and it’s just plain wrong.

[shanusmagnus]

Anytime someone talks about how xx "isn't backed by anything, like gold" I know they haven't actually put in a modicum of intellectual work on the topic. Granted, figuring out that money of every stripe is nothing more than a belief coordination mechanism is kind of a mindfuck. Even so, you'd think smart people would at least begin down the road. But nope.

[gitfan86]

Everyone is well aware that the USD is just a worthless piece of paper. No one is suggesting that owning gold is the path to riches. We are just pointing out that investing is crypto is no different than investing in Enron or Bernie Madoffs funds.

[shanusmagnus]

The point I'm making, and that parent is making, isn't about gold as a path to riches. It's about where value comes from. Gold is a convenient illustration.