Fireman said:
AggieAL1 said:
Quote:
I'm of the belief that BTC has legs and folks should buy it now while it's "down." One of those "have it and not need it vs. need it and not have it" scenarios. It's worth throwing, at the very least, some fun money into it and letting it sit in the event:
a) inflation due to Fed printing money or
b) government cutting off access to your bank accounts
(Both of which have happened in the last two years)
You kid yourself if you believe that bitcoin as a currency is any less susceptible to inflation than dollars.
As a storage vessel for wealth it is just what it has always been - its value rests on how much someone else is willing to pay - like a van Gogh painting, although not nearly as handsome.
You do realize the federal reserve can literally print an unlimited amount of dollars, but there will only ever be 21 million bitcoins? The limitation on quantity is what helps bitcoin avoid inflation, similar to your Van Gogh example.
Scarcity of an exchange medium doesn't stop the growth of demand for materials or labor, it just complicates reaction.
If a worker makes two bitcoins a year to start, who covers any raise he deserves? If OPEC cuts oil output, how does a bitcoin system handle the resulting shortfall without consumers paying more? How are regional bitcoin shortages relieved without a central distributor?
Yes, the Federal Reserve prints large sums of dollars, but it can only distribute them by purchasing existing securities -- of value in themselves. And it is obligated to burn the money when it resells or retires those assets.
Currency without elasticity and mindful control simply boosts volatility and spreads chaos. It doesn't stop price increases.