I was commenting on your equation of crypto as worthless like the currency of the failed-state of the CSA, which it isn’t. So, if you want to engage in discussion of why crypto is somehow exceptionally bad for the environment, fine, but calling crypto something it isn’t really doesn’t further your cause. Crypto is gaining wide adoption. It isn’t going away, and most cryptos aren’t energy intensive like BTC.
It wasn’t my equation; I was agreeing with someone else’s comment.
I have already told you once that I am not interested in your opinion, especially since you have a vested monetary interest in this topic.
Now good day.
I never said a single thing about “useless,” of course, what I said is they both are EXACTLY as “imaginary,” and they are, even by your own admission. You aren’t arguing about anything I have said, frankly.
When the last tree is cut, the last fish is caught, and the last river is polluted; when to breathe the air is sickening, you will realize, too late, that wealth is not in bank accounts and that you can’t eat money. -Alanis Obomsawin
So much nonsense about how cryptocurrency is useful because you can profit off it, exchange it for currency, and so on, as if those weren’t true for everything from junk bonds to asbestos to art forgeries to crystal meth.
Maybe I’m mistaken in thinking that “no positive uses” is what useless means? Because otherwise, whether it’s useless or not is literally the first thing you talked about in your post. You know gaslighting doesn’t work on a thread where the text is all visible, right?
Say it again louder for all the would-be billionaires in the overpriced gold-plated seats:
But the poor CAN and absolutely will EAT THE RICH; if left with no better options.
only if “blockchain currency du jour” is exactly equivalent to “money,” and vice versa
which they are not
Funny how context is important, isn’t it? What I actually said, in full, was:
Yes, you can do positive or negative things with any form of exchange. Either way, both are exactly as imaginary. And yes, while drastically flawed, BTC is a form of exchange, no matter what anyone would prefer to think. Stable? Nope. Terrible for the environment? Yep. Used to trade for goods and services? Yep.
Yes, I know, it’s right there. It still stands in direct contradiction to what you just said, which is that you “never said a single thing about ‘useless’, of course”. Again, you can’t gaslight people who can read what was said, and it’s extra insulting to try. I am asking you to stop now.
I quoted someone talking about it being useless, so yeah, no. BTC is quite obviously not useless. Beneficial to the planet/society, overall? Generally, no. But that’s not what “use” implies.
Yep, that’s the thing you were implying that I was disagreeing with in my post, that you then claimed wasn’t arguing with anything you said because you never said anything about “useless”. After, I may add, I already complained about people misinterpreting “useful” as “profitable to themselves”. Are we done here yet?
You do realize, that you still haven’t said anything about the actual point contained in my post? So I’ll ask you, “Are we done here yet?”
I am not arguing for crypto at all. But pretending it has no use, or even no legitimate use, is simply not true.
You realize money is very heavily regulated, right…? Try going over a US border sometime with more than $10,000 in cash on you, for a quick refresher on “regulation” -.-’ .
So yeah, cryptocurrencies badly need regulation, largely for the same reasons as traditional currencies (sketchy shit, grift, and damage). And?
Anybody can reply to anything with, “You’re right. And?”
“There are no positive uses for {blockchain currency du jour}” is exactly equivalent to, “there are no positive uses for money.” Guess what? Money is just as “imaginary” as Bitcoin, re: actual value, considering no global currency is backed by actual precious materials, any more.
the fact that no currency in current use is " . . .backed by actual precious metals . . ." is a very different thing from "Money is just as “imaginary as Bitcoin, . . .” the u.s. dollar, for example, is backed by the resources of the united states economy along with, as the saying goes, the full faith and credit of the united states government. and while the g.o.p. death-cult as presently constituted might be delighted to hurl the economy over a cliff to “own” the democrats, even that rash and reckless act would still probably only impair the value of u.s. currency rather than destroy it. a currency does not have to be backed by a precious metal to be real.
Money has value merely because we decide it does, no more, no less.
this is closer to reality but still misses the point that bitcoin has most of the characteristics of an investment instrument and few of the characteristics of a currency. bitcoin has all of the practicality of paying for a burger and fries with a beanie baby or a picasso painting. and in addition to the difficulties inherent in using bitcoin to conduct ordinary daily transactions it has the added bonus of being deleterious to the environment.
if you want to make an argument for using bitcoin as a currency, fine but let’s talk about the real bitcoin not some fantasy version of it.
You do realize that economics often discusses the arbitrary nature of “currency,” right? And that giant stone wheels where the 1st such; seen one lately?
BTC is also nowhere near the only cryptocurrency, and yes, the yuan already basically is one (the US dollar will be a very similar beast very soon).
Cryptocurrencies are used to exchange goods, services, and other currencies, that simple. And yes, I CAN use them online and at POS terminals in quite a few places. While they differ in some ways from traditional currencies, of course, I don’t think you’re making your point very well; they are a fuckton more fungible than artworks, of course, and we both know it.
I think that in many aspects, a “crypto” model without the egregious environmental impact, much like the current models for the digital yuan and dollar, but without any national “branding”, has a lot to say for it. Not having to convert money to spend it anywhere/whenever you want, is a huge advantage in many ways; it would be a de facto global currency.
Glossed over the entire quote, eh?
So yeah, cryptocurrencies badly need regulation, largely for the same reasons as traditional currencies (sketchy shit, grift, and damage). And?
Context: Ryuthrowsstuff was implying that crypto is somehow worse than money, re: the horrible shit you can do with it; that’s plainly false. Yes, cryptocurrencies badly need regulation, but averring that somehow, of itself, makes them worse than fiat currency is nowhere near obvious and has not been established here at all.
So just why does crypto need all the fervent evangelism?
Me, I deeply distrust the kind-heartedness of millionaires telling me how to get rich, how everybody can get rich. I don’t think the world works that way.