Bitcoin Forum

So I came across with this topic "Bitcoin or Central Bank Digital Currencies: Which is the Better Bet?" and I find it very interesting  as we have been taking about how banks will struggle due to continues printing of money especially to bail out the pandemic.


source : https://www.bitcoingg.com/news/bitcoin-or-central-bank-digital-currencies-which-is-the-better-bet/


So what do you think, is it right to start betting bitcoin now?

While there's an evident increase in the number of people who are currently using Bitcoin, I doubt the number of purists and decentralized supporters is that large. Even I, as much as I love Bitcoin, have some alts I am still holding onto and sometimes use centralized services - which means I am basically not a purist either.

But even if everyone was non-purist, the main problem is that the mass would accept anything as long as it makes their lives more convenient. It's very easy to bait the mass by launching a CBDC with a "universal basic income"-like programme. The main requirement? Adopting the CBDC. The past 7 months have showed me the fact that, once people get the opportunity to stay home and get money doing nothing, it gets hard to go back to the less convenient life.

On the other hand, I am quite sure Bitcoin will continue to be supported by a significant and increasing amount of people and, although we'll have stupid laws and regulations, we'd still have the possibility to do stuff peer-to-peer as it was originally intended. There'll be people who are using Bitcoin the "regular" way (as in the worst way which can easily be analyzed) and others who'll go off the grid and will probably be targeted by authorities. I'll happily and proudly be part of the latter.

If I was to imagine the future, here's how I see it: Bitcoin becomes "inferior" (as in market cap, volume, tx fees and speed etc) to CBDCs while also becoming the preferred choice for those who seek more financial freedom. There'll probably be a time when the crypto markets will be heavily disrupted by CBDCs as they'll probably make a lot of traders confused the same way OP seems to be: do we choose CBDCs or BTC?

There is no need to betting bitcoin and central banks digital currencies. To be sincerely truthful, bitcoin usage is excellently becoming popular in the global ecosystem and so the other is decreasing slowly just as Western Union money transfer system is experiencing, bitcoin faster transaction beats it on a higher ground level. Could still remember when e-mail stopped the usage of post office, this in turn could possibly happen between bitcoin and Central banks digital currencies in the future.

To be honest, I'm afraid the average person might just use what the government officially issues. And whether or not governments would fully do away with bills and coins, the replacement is actually no better. Digital fiat currencies make monitoring of transactions easier on the part of the authorities.

But if only the average Joe is concerned even a little bit of his privacy and freedom. If he is at least moderately critical of how the financial system is being ran on the basis of a handful of people's faulty decisions, he might be very grateful Bitcoin is an open option. 

I am seeing the same, we can bet on bitcoin but it doesn't mean that it will replace the fiat system, the benefit on betting on bitcoin is not actually as a payment system but the value of money since according to its movement, by demand the value rises which is not a guarantee for fiat system as they can continuously print money.


I guess there are people who would understand how important bitcoin is and how it is so valuable in the future.
Slowly, the corrupt government practices will be revealed and if we don't see it coming, we will suffer its effect, so as early as now, I guess we should start considering to safeguard our money making bitcoin as the best option.

Wait a minute, I didn't know this is a gambling discussion. I thought this is a discussion comparing the pros and cons of Bitcoin and CBDCs and how both would fare in the long run. The excerpt you quoted doesn't seem to suggest that the word bet in the title is literally referring to a wager as in gambling.

I'd say the article is very poorly written, a total garbage in other words.

Before you bet, let's look back at why are you (we) here in crypto market?

Some facts about bitcoin and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC):

Decentralization:
- Bitcoin: Yes; CBDC: No

Limited and fixed total supply:
- Bitcoin: Yes; CBDC: No.

A public and transparent plan of currency issue:
- Bitcoin: Yes: CBDC: No.

More but with three facts, I choose Bitcoin and sure I will bet in Bitcoin.

It's true that Bitcoin has an advantage on these categories, but let's not forget that a centralized digital currency also has it's advantages that are definitely going to be necessary for A LOT of people. Some being:

1. Reversible transactions(both an advantage and and disadvantage)
2. Not needing to backup any private keys
3. Non-volatile(this is a temporary problem for bitcoin, but yea)

etc. Basically, a centralized digital currency is going to be far more idiot-proof compared to Bitcoin.

While I'm personally bullish on Bitcoin, I think it's healthy to look at the disadvantage as well, and not be a perma-bull.

Judging with the current state of our society, most people prefer to use Central Bank Digital Currencies since they know it well and have been using it for a long time. But this doesn't mean their mind won't change for the better. if they only knew how using BTC can protect their privacy in the long run, everyone would even just try to use it. but the only disadvantage of using BTC is the slow and some unfixed transaction fees which make the ordinary people lose their patience when using it and probably won't last the day of using BTC as a means of payment.

these two are not contradictory ideas. you can be well aware of both pros and cons of bitcoin and still be a perma-bull on it. it is all the characteristics of bitcoin that are overwhelmingly better than anything else and shadow any disadvantages that it may have which is why it has such massive potential and keep making it rise in the long term.

Yea, I probably picked the wrong word; I just used "perma-bull" as it was the closest I could think of at the top of my head. What I was describing was people who look at everything as "this is good for Bitcoin", being blinded by the disadvantages of Bitcoin(and the advantages of the alternatives) because of their biases.

It's not a debate, CBDC changes nothing. It's still state-issued money that was made to maintain the status-quo.

Bitcoin is the separation of money and state, and your back-up/fall back once the state loses control of the economic and monetary system.

As a payment system, CBDC will gain more adoption compared to a decentralized system which is bitcoin, digital or paper money, still bitcoin will always lag behind as digital currencies made by government will always gain the trust of the people even though we may say that the government might not be able to run our economy effectively.


I don't think so because in order for bitcoin to gain adoption, we need the government to regulate it, it doesn't matter if they are different (centralized vs decentralized) as in the end, no such thing exist in this world especially about finances that are exempted from regulation.

I've always felt like the two aren't comparable. I mean, honestly, how many people actually use Bitcoin just because it's digital? Its biggest selling point has always been its decentralization -- I'm sure a lot of the average users don't really care about the concept, but it's what allows us to spend any way we like, or make even more money through price fluctuations. This is where Bitcoin's strength lies, and I don't think digital currencies can even begin to compete with it in this area.

I'm sure digital currencies will be used more frequently barring monumental fiat collapse, but that doesn't mean they're better, just that Bitcoin is typically used on other things.

CBDCs are still a concept and its' too early to proclaim their domination,but I'm pretty sure that 90% of the people will accept them.
The vast majority of the people are just conformists,they will follow the rules and accept every BS that is introduced by their governments/central banks.
Being a "Bitcoiner" means that you are not a part of the financially uneducated conformists and you are aware about the BS fiat money banking system.The true "bitcoiners" and supporters of a truly decentralized financial system will always remain a minority.

The answer is actually straight forward...

Whatever the government force onto people, they would gladly accept... and by force, I am referring to the subtle policies/rules/regulations that are implemented to stop the competition and to enforce their own agenda.

You will see a load of GovCoins being developed in the future and a clear distinction being made between GovCoins and all other tokens and then legislation being implemented to protect GovCoins and also to stop the use of all other tokens.

GovCoins are cheaper to create than Fiat currencies, so this is going to happen sooner than you think.  >:(

If you have been using Net banking facility and plastic card facility since some time - you are already familiar with how a Central Bank issued digital currency will work. In real life, I have been living cashless since a long time now after the introduction of "UPI" in my country. If you don't know what UPI is, please Google it. It's a very simple method of transferring money at a very nominal cost. It has become so easy that even street vendors have started using it and the buyers have stopped using wallet because everything is there within their smartphone only. I don't think digital money will bring in any different experiences to the users.

Bitcoin is technically far more inferior than the current UPI system (please don't kill me for speaking the truth)! But bitcoin is also structured in a different way than traditional currency system even if it is digitalized.

If you want to make money out of money - bet on bitcoin but when it comes to usability, digital currencies are far ahead than bitcoin!

The decentralization of Bitcoin makes serious debate when protocol need to be upgraded but the disadvantage can not wash away all advantages of BTC.

CBDC has its most shameful disadvantage: No privacy.

Governments have full rights to trace your CBDC transaction and they do know who you are and what you own. Bitcoin beats CBDC with privacy.

Great points, and for the uninitiated, it might not make much issue... in fact, I know some people actually feel safer putting their money in a centralized entity. All for understandable reasons... I myself don't go all in on Bitcoin, can't afford to, I am not alone in this world so I also have to trust at least 2 governments via their bank guarantee scheme =)

Nothing's to bet on and they aren't comparable because they had different cons and pros that we should be considered on our side, but then, they are competing with wich better.

The concept of the CBDC's using digital currency probably is to compete for the cryptocurrencies but for us, they are both useful to us. But in this competition, Bitcoin has a better advantage than national digital fiat currency. The CBDC's currency is regulated by the bank, this meant established as money by government regulation, monetary authority. On the other hand, cryptocurrency is decentralized and it is governed by the majority of the community, powered by blockchain technology.

So, I think people choose with a better advantages and obviously Bitcoin has now a large adoption. Vast of majority when we talked about transaction online people concerned are privacy which is Bitcoin can able to do that.

I would choose digital banking because it helps to promote the monetary system in the developed country, but investing I would choose bitcoin.
The reason: more transparency means less money laundering and congestion, better system liquidity, etc.
Bitcoin was launched in 2009, and Satoshi quickly mined himself 2 million bitcoins before releasing the source code to anyone. Those who owned the first bitcoins became rich. The latecomers are at higher risk. Bitcoin has more speculative and manipulative value in the market as people have seen bulls and bears in history. I would choose Bitcoin to invest in because it has long term value.

Of course, but if you need an opt-out mechanism, or you need a self-sovereign, censorship-resistant currency, you know where to go. 8)


You don't think so? Can the government print more of Bitcoin's supply at will like they do with fiat? Can the government stop my transaction? Can the government take my coins from me?

Plus I'm not talking about adoption, that will come in the right time, with or without regulation. It can't stopped.

I guess so, but the only real question right now is when will these Governments will implement their own CBDC which I presume would have unwanted repercussions towards its respective economy.

Until then we could just only speculate with different ideas on how people would react to such radical changes, especially on those who don't trust their own Governments. Imho.

People can not avoid to use fiat in their lives. Paper fiat or coming CBDC, we can not avoid to use them but I agree with you that in any nations, choose the most trusted banks to use and at least chose 2 banks (a basic of decentralization, even when use banks try to diversify to at least 2 banks). Big and trusted bank can be compromised and destroyed inside that we don't know till the day it announces a bankcruptcy.

I don't go all in on Bitcoin, same as you. Because as said, I need some amount of fiat to use, and to manage risk. Investment in bitcoin should be made with free money that we don't have plans to use in near future. Beyond bitcoin, another fund in fiat for emergencies.

Many Banks will soon start investing in crypto, realizing that fiat currencies are losing ground.

I believe they rather invest in blockchain technology and create their own cryptocurrency instead than adopting the existing one.  This way bank have full control of the released token.

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Well, I think Central Bank has Bitcoin in their mind but they are too proud to accept that it is superior than their current Digital finance system once fully developed.  Central Bank may adopt Bitcoin but it will not let Bitcoin control the finance system.  In short, Central banks will ride the popularity of Bitcoin with ulterior motive of taking control of its ecosystem if not its blockchain.

In conclusion, Central bank had its say when it comes to financial system because they have the authority.  There is no way Bitcoin can compete with them when it comes to authority.  But Bitcoin will definitely have an effect on how central banks shape the future of financial system.

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They can't print more BTC but they can create another cryptocurrency according to their likings.


I definitely agree on this part but without regulation, it will take more time to be adopted.  And when it is adopted, government will find ways to regulate it.

I think Bitcoin is a safer bet. Centralized cryptocurrencies are neither trustworthy in the eyes of people nor revolutionary enough. They are boring: too stable and much like fiat, but you have to learn how to use cryptos. If fiat crashes, I don't think the centralized coins will survive. If it doesn't, there's no need for them (debit cards with fiat are just fine). Moreover, it seems that the govs are cautious when it comes to cryptos with centralization and regulation, and if they are not certain, there's no reason for people to be. Bitcoin will not necessarily crash if fiat crashes, and the fact that its price and supply cannot be controlled by any particular institution seems reassuring to me.

If only some people will try BTC to know how bitcoin is tested and trusted, they will like to bet with bitcoin than central bank.I think central bank is centralized,it can cause go slow in the market at anytime, because it's control by the government,while bitcoin is decentralized,is  not control by government.
Betting with  bitcoin which is good in digital currencies for easy profit making.

To be honest, I definitely prefer use Bitcoin when compared to CBDC, there are several reasons why I prefer use Bitcoin.
It is clear that I chose Bitcoin because as long as it is decentralized, the total Bitcoin supply is limited and most importantly
transparent. But most of the people around the world, would prefer CBDC which has support from the government.
 

We will have to wait and see, currently there is no much point for governments releasing their own coins because most people will not use them and the few that could like us will not adopt them because we know those coins are going to be even worse than their fiat counterparts, so they need something to bait people, above it was suggested that governments could seduce people with free money and that is definitely a possibility.

However it does not matter what they do if people like us keep supporting bitcoin then they will always have to face a competitor they cannot kill and that has characteristics that are superior to their fiat making it an attractive investment option for those do not believe the fiat currencies can last much longer.

     Well, if you really think about it, bitcoin is the winner here if we talk about the long run. It's pretty logical since we can all see the flaws of the fiat we use wherever you are in the world. Although bitcoin has flaws of it's own, if you really are careful and if your country really does allow crypto currencies, then bitcoin truly is the better bet. But hey, that's just me and my view. Just saying that with the things happening in the world today, I trust bitcoins more than fiat.

What changes it will achieve when a central bank currency goes digital, nothing happen if the country is still printing out money in any form, i am not going to compare between the central banks and the cryptocurrency space as both has different applications and i started using a decentralized currency for my freedom and privacy which i will never get in a centralized currency and both has its advantages and disadvantages.

Yeah, that's how I'm spreading my risk. 2 banks in my home country, and one in my resident country, across 3 currencies (my home, euro and dollars). I could still be f*cked but I'm more confident of a free bank insurance scheme than anything else right now. And then of course I have my Bitcoin, which I have the least confidence in (during my lifetime).

As I said, it'd be very different if I were alone in this life but well, we have to live in reality, and we can't gamble with the lives of others...

You'll enjoy that freedom and privacy now but in the long run when massive adoption happens, all transactions will become subject to regulation by the government. What I'm saying is not how it's use because we know they are both digital currencies and CBDC is even better as it's centralized, meaning, it's faster and you might enjoy a small fee compared to using bitcoin, what I am emphasizing is its value in the long run, real value because inflation will hit us but bitcoin will remain to a coin that is good to hedge that inflation.

That was the point, they can create CBDCs, but it wouldn't be having the hard-money properties of Bitcoin, and it would be under centralized control. What would be the point of it?


Regulation is not equal to adoption. It can't be censored, it can't be taken from you, and it can't be controlled by the government.

I'm more favored to the implementation of CBDC in the long run BUT that doesn't mean that I'm against BTC growing in the long term. More people would probably rather experience less hassle and fewer problems when concerning finance, and asking for a central body to do everything for you seems like a chance they can't pass out on. The problem here is about privacy, but if most payments were made were only related to, for example, paying bills, taxes, etc., then CBDC is still the best bet. You can then use BTC whenever you want to as a free option. It's like both currencies being used interchangeably, but without any issue or problem with them coexisting together, which is probably wishful thinking in my part.

We may talk trash all we want about how CBDC makes our privacy non-existent, but it is an issue of advantages and disadvantages as most have said, with CBDC mainly being used for security reasons. Not that I'm saying people use BTC to do bad stuff all the time, but it isn't an issue that we can avoid and it can completely happen.

OK, but what would be the difference? What's the point of CBDC? Convience? We already have debit cards, and money-apps. Central Bank issued currencies ARE digital.

yes i think for the average guy if given the choice between using a govt backed CBDC as opposed to Bitcoin most people will simply use the CBDC. The fact is that most people really don't care all that much about their digital privacy ( case in point the the whole  PRISIM situation which most people seem to have forgotten about andhas been largely swept under the rug)  and will always pick the option that their local and central governments tell them to use. The fact that you would most likely be able to make and receive official payments ( taxes, state subsidies/ benefits etc.) in the CBDC rather than Bitcoin will IMO play a large part in its adoption.

Bitcoin of course will still be used by most people who do value their privacy, but i think it will take a very large failure on the part of the state for the average guy to truly understand the benefits provided by Bitcoin.

True, but how many people are going to be able to see through the attempts of governments to deceive them? Governments are seeing that this market is not going to disappear and that they do not have the weapons to destroy it, so they are doing the next best thing which is to try to subvert it, they are going to release their own coins so they can deceive people to adopt them and think that they have a new form of money that is better than their fiat.

But the truth is that those coins are going to be even worse than their fiat, a centralized cryptocurrency is the opposite of what Satoshi Nakamoto was trying to achieve and instead of bringing us freedom it will give total power to governments.

Yes using a CBDC just seems like a horrible option and will only allow states to monitor your activities more efficiently and  this is completely contrary to why most people use Bitcoin today . You are better off using plain cash.

That being said i still feel that if a State forces their CBDC down the throats of people either through incentives ( airdropped money/ state subsidies etc) or threats  ( would depend on the country as to what method is used) a lot of people will just end up giving in and using the CBDC.

I would rather bet on Bitcoin against a cryptocurrency that is controlled by governments. One of the most important features that Bitcoin users like is the decentralized nature of it. People also like that Bitcoin is transparent. Because people would prefer seeing what is really going on behind the scenes.

I don't quite understand the point these central banks are trying to make. We already have digital versions of fiat currency, such as PayPal and Payza. What makes these payment methods any different from the proposed central bank digital currencies? Fiat currencies already exist in the digital form and we don't need additional variations from the central banks.

You are not wrong, I really believe that people will adopt those centralized cryptocurrencies however as long as those currencies have the same weaknesses as their fiat counterparts then bitcoin will continue to be an alternative for people like us and for people that open their eyes and finally realize the system they are part only benefits those at the top.

So when an economic crisis caused by the weakness of fiat emerges it will take those centralized cryptocurrencies with them leaving the field wide open for bitcoin to be widely adopted, but even if that happens it will not be the end of the story as most likely governments will tolerate this for a few years and then they will try to impose their will on the people once again.

Even if the government did create a digital currency to substitute for paper money, it still would have the regulations currently regulating fiat currency, would still have the characteristics of fiat currency. It is noteworthy to know that bitcoin was made to do away with sith all these.
Bitcoin, as a currency, was made to not be controlled by the government. It was also made for transparency in financial transactions. This is what makes Bitcoin unique and special.
So Yes, I'd place my bet on Bitcoin one million times

I would bet on Bitcoin against fiat money. Because fiat money is under control of governments and it can be easily manipulated. Bitcoin is not like that. Bitcoin is not bound to anywhere. No government has the power to manipulate it. In the long run, Bitcoin can be better choice I think.

We win anyway. Digital currencies are expanding and this is the main thing. But the most interesting thing is that for holders of fiat funds there is an easy and simple opportunity to purchase bitcoin.
Of course, it is difficult now to judge how simple this opportunity will be, but nevertheless it will be a new round in the circulation of bitcoin and fiat funds.

I'd rather go with Bitcoin, im sure many people here in the community would say the same. We all know that stimulating the economy through massive quantitative easing doesn't do any good for the poor sector, it only benefits the rich and billionaires. Also, liquid injection does more harm than good. Let's take for example Venezuela, and how many printing destroyed their fiat value.

Let's be real, most improvements in terms of financial management or in other words, money, was in terms of making it EASIER for most, if not all people. We all started with bartering stuff, trading item x for item y in the past, but not all items could be valued properly, so coins were made. From there, countless changes were made to arrive at what we call fiat right now. The decentralized system is actually the same as what we have now, BUT, it makes us move more specifically. Unlike in fiat/centralized systems, the difference is for centralized, it's like asking for someone to walk to a place for you, while decentralized is asking for YOU yourself to walk to said place.

I like Bitcoin and all, yes, but let's be real. The entire world liking Bitcoin, sure possible, but using it? I doubt it. There are a lot of benefits that people see in fiat or in the future CBDC, and I doubt Bitcoin being decentralized is enough of a factor to actually influence that, most especially since a lot of people don't really know the value of decentralization, or even if they did, they don't really care since they want easier lives.

You make some good points but even if people cannot see the value of decentralization right now that does not mean they are not going to see it in the future, how could this happen? With a global currency crisis of course.

Since bitcoin exists some countries have already experimented problems with their fiat currencies and for the most part we see the people use the dollar as a refuge against the high inflation they experiment but we have also seen some people using bitcoin to achieve the same effect, once a currency crisis happens that is global in scale people will have to look for alternatives and gold will be one of those but bitcoin will be one of them as well and that is when people will understand the value of decentralization for a currency.

Due to the lack of education about Bitcoin, surely more people will listen to the government and choose to accept CBDC than Bitcoin.
Something like that will happen, because the fact that supporting Bitcoin will always be a minority. But the crypto community will
without a doubt be betting on Bitcoin directly instead of CBDC. Because Bitcoin is decentralized which makes it different from fiat,
but the fact is that few people really understand about decentralization. So in the end even though the crypto community supports
and like Bitcoin, but many people will still use CBDC.

National currencies are always manipulated by the government and keep them at a stable exchange rate within the allowable level. Central bank cryptocurrencies may not be an exception.
We all know Bitcoin is mined, has a limited supply, and is decentralized.
Central bank cryptocurrencies are a question mark.
We do not understand it, its supply, and its rate.
Bitcoin grows for a long time and it will continue to rise.

It depends, because most of the time, cryptocurrencies are transparent and if central bank would like to create their own crypto for example, a stable coin of their fiat which uses smartcontract on the ethereum blockchain, it could still be verified and checked. once it was deployed on the blockchain, there will be no changes made to the stable coin unless, the bank will interfere to kind of fork it to produce another currency.

Other factor subjected to manipulation of central bank is the way how they will issue it. Such as implementation of stricter KYC procedures and taxation.

This is not really a problem don’t you think? I know that some people have the dream of bitcoin replacing fiat currencies but I do not think this is possible at all since governments are always going to try to force us to use their currency as this gives them power.

But as long as bitcoin exists we can use it to our benefit, whether we do this by investing in it and watch our investment grow while the rest have to accept the lose of purchasing value of their fiat money or whether we use it as a store of value bitcoin will always have a market as long as people like us that understand the economy exists and that is all what we need.