Idea:A universal currency needs a universal unit of value. Let's deal w/ $ flux.

[asperous]

It's time to accept Bitcoin price fluctuations aren't going anywhere. Even look at the value of gold over history, its value was constantly changing.

We tend to use the dollar or euro as the standard of value, but how stable is that really in terms of value?

What if we invented or chose another unit of value as the standard? Like the consumer price index, or the average cost of an hours worth of human labour.

Then we could denote prices in that instead and communicate prices to people across the globe without worrying about Bitcoin or dollar price fluctuations.

[odolvlobo]

What if we invented or chose another unit of value as the standard? Like the consumer price index, or the average cost of an hours worth of human labour.

You are looking for something whose value never changes and whose value never changes against other things. I don't think such a thing exists. It is certainly not the CPI or the average cost of human labor.

[franky1]

the consumer price index is bad as it is more volatile. but thinking about labour is a good idea.

the current 'dollar' method translates to 1btc=$350, which is:
USA: 40 hours in california, 60 hours in wyoming
china: 246 hours in hainan , 138 hours beijing
UK: 34 hours england, 32 hours in ireland

for instance if an american company in california wanted to pay someone a wage they would give them $350. which is minimal wage for california. but converting that to british pounds, the guy in the UK loses out and gets paid 20% below UK minimum wage.

but what would be good is that no matter what country, state, province you live in xx hours labour based at minimum wage in whatever country you lived in would get you 1bitcoin. rather than

but if we base prices on a 'cost of living' measure. which each person can than translate to their native currency. that way if the dollar or euro crash due to inflation crisis (remember Zimbabwe dollar) or a international company wanted to pay somebody for X hours worked bitcoin will still have a fair value system that anyone anywhere can get fairly paid in bitcoins for x hours of their working lives and have it translate to a fair native currency price. no matter where they lived

[TheButterZone]

Could try to average the cost across all block rewarded miners of how expensive it is to generate 1 BTC out of the 25 BTC reward, or to get really weird...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preferred_walking_speed
In the absence of significant external factors, humans tend to walk at about 1.4 m/s (5.0 km/h; 3.1 mph)

So 1 BTC could be denominated as 70 hours of walking ($350/5 km) now.

Might just need an altcoin that is generated by a treadmill dynamo.

[Elokane]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_(currency)

[asperous]

I like the 'cost of living' idea. Though for a world currency we would have to settle on one cost of living or have some sort of multiplier system.

Imagine 365 units == basic cost of living in South Africa. 1 unit == estimated amount of money needed to live 1 day.

Then you know you are being ripped off because beer costs 5 units in the us.

To take this further and give it a cynical twist, an iPad could cost "50 poverty days" given that most of the world lives off of less than 10$ a day. Yes sir, I would like a raise bringing my annual salary to 6000 poverty days.

There's also this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purchasing_power_parity.

[odolvlobo]

I like the 'cost of living' idea. Though for a world currency we would have to settle on one cost of living or have some sort of multiplier system.

Imagine 365 units == basic cost of living in South Africa. 1 unit == estimated amount of money needed to live 1 day.

Then you know you are being ripped off because beer costs 5 units in the us.

To take this further and give it a cynical twist, an iPad could cost "50 poverty days" given that most of the world lives off of less than 10$ a day. Yes sir, I would like a raise bringing my annual salary to 6000 poverty days.

There's also this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purchasing_power_parity.

The cost of living is different for different people, it varies depending on the standard of living, and it changes over time.