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by lambda 4588 days ago
Because it loses value slowly enough. That's the whole "stability" part. Holding onto USD for a year or two doesn't lose a significant amount of value, so you can save up effectively and plan on what you will be able to buy with it at the end. And you can put it in an interest bearing bank account or invest it to further offset or counteract the effect of inflation for longer-term savings.

Unstable currencies you generally need to convert to a more stable currency immediately, if you don't want to be subject to the sudden swings in value.

2 comments

> Because it loses value slowly enough.

Yes, I agree and stated as such in my post.

My point is that I don't think you're pointing out a fundamental flaw in bitcoin. Deflation in a currency is not a deal breaker. Bitcoin is volatile right now because it is so young. People are predicting it will reach a huge market capitalization, which would necessarily entail a huge USD price per bitcoin because there are so incredibly few bitcoins in comparison to USD. Anytime something is increasing in value there will be considerable gambling and speculation to come along with it as random people jump on and off the train repeatedly.

What bitcoin really needs is a unique and innovative service which could not exist without it. This would encourage people to hold a small balance in bitcoin which they would be willing to spend in order to enable participation in this service not otherwise possible. As the currency stabilizes and more and more use cases emerge, people will slowly but steadily become more comfortable holding larger balances in bitcoin.

> Deflation in a currency is not a deal breaker.

Its pretty much a deal breaker in the use of currency as a the general medium of exchange and pricing. Its not a deal breaker in its use as a store of value, obviously, but that's more about being an investment vehicle than a currency.

> As the currency stabilizes and more and more use cases emerge

What I'm missing here is any explanation of why we should expect bitcoin volatility to stabilize.

> Because it loses value slowly enough

More than that it loses value predictably enough, with an active financial system around it to make and hedge out those predictions for you.