Table comparing Bitcoin's utility vs. cash and gold?

[Zangelbert Bingledack]

I'm looking for something like this:

                                                                  Cash      Gold       Bitcoins

Instantly transportable worldwide       YES        NO         YES
Giant online transactions possible       NO         NO         YES
Small online transactions possible      NO         NO         YES
Impossible to inflate                               NO         YES        YES
Fast transactions across borders        NO          NO         YES
Unfreezable account                               NO          N/A       YES
Private online transactions possible    NO          NO         YES
Not confiscate-able                                 NO          NO         YES
Etc...

Bitcoin has such an overwhelming host of benefits that it's easy for people to be incredulous or forget about them in the confusion they encounter when evaluating the concept. It may help adoption to have a handy table like this so people can see all the heavy-hitting points in one place.

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[Killdozer]

Well, I mean format what you wrote there better and there you have it? Put it into the wiki perhaps?

[notme]

I'm looking for something like this:

                                                                  Cash      Gold       Bitcoins

Instantly transportable worldwide       YES        NO         YES
Giant online transactions possible       NO         NO         YES
Small online transactions possible      NO         NO         YES
Impossible to inflate                               NO         YES        YES
Fast transactions across borders        NO          NO         YES
Unfreezable account                               NO          N/A       YES
Private online transactions possible    NO          NO         YES
Not confiscate-able                                 NO          NO         YES
Etc...

Bitcoin has such an overwhelming host of benefits that it's easy for people to be incredulous or forget about them in the confusion they encounter when evaluating the concept. It may help adoption to have a handy table like this so people can see all the heavy-hitting points in one place.

Please tell me how I can instantly transport cash worldwide.

[jerfelix]

And I wouldn't say that Bitcoin is impossible to inflate.

There's a published inflation schedule, and it has inflated every day since its existence.  In fact, on its second day, inflation was 100%.  Not a good start!   

It has scheduled inflation well into the 22nd century.  It's still a positive for Bitcoin relative to the others, but your header is  incorrect, saying it's "impossible".


Also, for those that fear that deflation will cause people to hoard bitcoins and spend their Dollars/Yen/etc., you have to realize that it works both ways.  As a merchant, I prefer bitcoin, and so am more likely to offer a better price to receive bitcoins.

[herzmeister]

you can inflate gold (and bitcoins) easily if you kill, say, half of the population.

we don't trust our governments these days do we 

[Zangelbert Bingledack]

This was just an example... what I meant to ask is does such a table exist??

[CIYAM]

This is perhaps a little closer to what you're after:

Code:

                                       Bank Acc Cash      Gold       Bitcoins
Instantly transportable worldwide      YES      NO        NO         YES
Giant online transactions possible     YES      NO        NO         YES
Micro online transactions possible     NO       NO        NO         YES
Impossible to inflate                  NO       NO        YES        YES
Fast transactions across borders       NO       NO        NO         YES
Unfreezable account                    NO       YES       N/A?       YES
Private online transactions possible   NO       NO        NO         YES
Not confiscate-able                    NO       YES?      NO?        YES

Maybe a couple of the values need some discussion but it's not far off (content-wise) - perhaps we could think about adding it to the Wiki?

[Spaceman_Spiff]

Code:

                                       Bank Acc Cash      Gold       Bitcoins
Not confiscate-able                    NO       YES       NO         YES

Maybe a couple of the values need some discussion but it's not far off (content-wise) - perhaps we could think about adding it to the Wiki?

I would say the confiscation of gold is a point of debate.  I know gold was confiscated in the past, but you could argue that you could hide it in a successful manner.

[deadweasel]

Code:

                                       Bank Acc Cash      Gold       Bitcoins
Not confiscate-able                    NO       YES       NO         YES

Maybe a couple of the values need some discussion but it's not far off (content-wise) - perhaps we could think about adding it to the Wiki?

I would say the confiscation of gold is a point of debate.  I know gold was confiscated in the past, but you could argue that you could hide it in a successful manner.

agreed.  like, a hole in the ground.  then say you donated to charity if they show your bank account txns to coinabul or whatever. 

[CIYAM]

I would say the confiscation of gold is a point of debate.  I know gold was confiscated in the past, but you could argue that you could hide it in a successful manner.

Added a ? to that one too (put them in a few other debatable spots).

[ShireSilver]

I made a similar chart not long ago at http://shiresilver.com/currency_comparison
I know it could use better wordsmithing, but there might be some ideas of use.

[CIYAM]

http://shiresilver.com/currency_comparison

Nice one - I think it is also less biased towards Bitcoin so actually a better approach.

[ShireSilver]

http://shiresilver.com/currency_comparison

Nice one - I think it is also less biased towards Bitcoin so actually a better approach.

I also tried to make it not be biased towards my own product, at least to the extent that I can :-)

I'm trying to learn how to better market both bitcoins and my Shire Silver. There's a decent amount of Austrians who do care about stuff like sound money and inflation and all that, but most folks really don't care. Gotta work the angles they are interested in like that bitcoin transactions can't be reversed. I talked to a local convenience store owner the other day and just casually brought up bitcoins. His ears really perked up when I mentioned that there's no charge-backs and then I talked about the really low fees. [I had brought it up by asking him if I should use my card as debit or credit so as to save him fees. Apparently the formulas make a difference depending on the amount you're spending.]

[Zangelbert Bingledack]

I made a similar chart not long ago at http://shiresilver.com/currency_comparison
I know it could use better wordsmithing, but there might be some ideas of use.

That's what I was looking for. We could make different tables for different audiences. Some could be more sales-pitch-like and some could be optimized for seeming fair and balanced while still showing BTC's obvious superiority for certain situations. Some could be targeted toward libertarians, some toward investors, some toward privacy freaks, some toward merchants, some toward the man on the street.

The idea is that during the long process of wrapping your head around Bitcoin and going through skeptical phases, you never lose sight of the extremely compelling advantages.

[Vince Torres]

This is bullshit and you're using a strawman argument with cash.

-Cash can be deposited in the bank and transfered in any quantity instantaneously. So that points moot.

-Cash can't technically be inflated, its a cotton and wool base and doesn't leave any room for air.

-I can hand cash over to my buddy across any (fenceless) border, imaginary or otherwise.

-I guess you can freeze my bank account, but you'd ruin the money.

-Who the fuck is monitoring me buying shit?

-confiscate-able isn't a real word. You can't do not a real word to cash.

Boom you fucking suck.

[herzmeister]

i also tried this a while ago

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=58547.0

[ShireSilver]

I made a similar chart not long ago at http://shiresilver.com/currency_comparison
I know it could use better wordsmithing, but there might be some ideas of use.

That's what I was looking for. We could make different tables for different audiences. Some could be more sales-pitch-like and some could be optimized for seeming fair and balanced while still showing BTC's obvious superiority for certain situations. Some could be targeted toward libertarians, some toward investors, some toward privacy freaks, some toward merchants, some toward the man on the street.

The idea is that during the long process of wrapping your head around Bitcoin and going through skeptical phases, you never lose sight of the extremely compelling advantages.

Yes. Having multiple versions, that don't contradict each other, for different audiences would be helpful. Having links to further explanations is good too but the table itself should be kept simple and easy to read.

[klaus]

                                                                 Cash      Gold       Bitcoins
Giant online transactions possible       NO         NO         YES

atm this is simply not true. sorry, giant meens 10 ; 9 or at least 8 digits

[n8rwJeTt8TrrLKPa55eU]

Zangelbert, check out Bitcoin Magazine #7.  On page 6, there's a fairly complete and lengthy table like what you're looking for, albeit comparing BTC to "Digitized Money" (i.e. noncash electronic balances).  it should be easy to add 2 more columns covering metals and physical cash.

[franky1]

I'm looking for something like this:

                                                                  Cash      Gold       Bitcoins

Instantly transportable worldwide                      YES       NO         YES
Giant online transactions possible                      NO        NO         YES
Small online transactions possible                      NO        NO         YES
Impossible to inflate                                         NO        YES        YES
Fast transactions across borders                        NO         NO         YES  1
Unfreezable account                                         NO        N/A         YES
Private online transactions possible                    NO         NO         YES  2
Not confiscate-able                                          NO          NO         YES  3
Etc...

every rule has its exception
1. im standing at the border between 2 countries. with a gold nugget in my hand. a friend of mine is on the other side of the fence.. i throw him the gold nugget.. quarter of a second, no complaints
now im standing at the same fence, with a laptop, a friend of mine on the other side is doing the same. we are trying to find a wifi hotspot. we manage it finally, i send the bitcoin, he doesnt trust the coin is physically in his hand so he waits atleast 10 minutes for a confirmation.

2.email received (safety deposit box 279 at london bank holds the gold and cash, combination: 898934 it is now yours, bank has been informed of new owner. goodbye)

3. cash stored secretly is a fireproof box - cant confiscate it
    gold stored secretly is a fireproof box - cant confiscate it
    virus, hackers, scams take your coin - CAN confiscate it

again every rule has an exception