Bitcoin: Is the crypto-currency doomed?

bod1467 · 20 January 2016 at 6:06PM

Fightsback wrote: »

Precisely why BC is fatally flawed as a trustworthy and stable standard medium of exchange. It is not backed by asset and is entirely an article of faith, which I shall leave to those of a religious persuasion.

One could argue that currency is the same ... have you ever read a bank note? "I promise to pay the bearer on demand" or words to that effect.

Fightsback · 20 January 2016 at 6:30PM

bod1467 wrote: »

One could argue that currency is the same ... have you ever read a bank note? "I promise to pay the bearer on demand" or words to that effect.

I'll take my chances with The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street rather than the Bank of Illusion as she's a sprightly 321 years and still going strong

Pitarou · 20 January 2016 at 6:34PM

PasturesNew wrote: »

I'd not ever use it - the whole fact it's a made up thing, on the Internet, used for anonymous transactions .... I figure if it ever went teets up I'd be in up to my whatsits and lose out big time.

I don't like to trust what I can't see/understand, touch/trust.

I've no need for clandestine transactions...

I entirely agree.

For someone like me, the only purpose of investing in Bitcoin is speculation, and that's not something I'm interested in doing.

Pitarou · 20 January 2016 at 6:50PM

bod1467 wrote: »

One could argue that currency is the same ... have you ever read a bank note? "I promise to pay the bearer on demand" or words to that effect.

True, as far as it goes, but national currencies still have a special status that Bitcoin does not. There is a reason why the people of a country tend to use their own country's currency (unless it's being violently debased), and it has nothing to do with patriotism or faith in the central bank.

In general, a country's laws will always recognise that a debt has been paid if it has been paid in that country's currency. Other forms of payment may be acceptable, depending on circumstances, but a debt is automatically recognised as discharged if an appropriate amount has been paid in the coin of the realm.

In particular, this applies to tax. Tax collectors may will usually only accept payment in their nation's currency.

So people are forced to use their national currency for certain purposes. And if you and your neighbours are already using it for one thing, it makes for you to use it to trade with each other.

Jivesinger · 20 January 2016 at 10:34PM

Fightsback wrote: »

Trouble is it's bulky and doesn't move at the speed of light

Bitcoin doesn't move at the speed of light either though - not even close.

As I understand it, a big part of the problem covered in the link in the OP is that Bitcoin can't handle more than a certain rate of transactions, and various developers were fighting against speeding it up.

Fightsback · 20 January 2016 at 10:40PM

Jivesinger wrote: »

Bitcoin doesn't move at the speed of light either though - not even close.

So submarine fibre optic cables really have plankton carrying the the data packets instead of photons ?

Jivesinger · 20 January 2016 at 11:11PM

Fightsback wrote: »

So submarine fibre optic cables really have plankton carrying the the data packets instead of photons ?

As I understand it, the data packets arrive at light speed, but then queue up for ages waiting for all the block chain malarkey to be calculated on one of the few sites where anyone can be bothered to run Bitcoin 'mining' any more. I think, anyway...

Pitarou · 21 January 2016 at 1:08AM

Jivesinger wrote: »

As I understand it, the data packets arrive at light speed, but then queue up for ages waiting for all the block chain malarkey to be calculated...

That's exactly it.