Bitcoin changes finance - but for the better or the worse?

[HabBear]

Bitcoin offers an alternative to traditional (fiat based) finance.

There's no interest that's inherent in this system. There's no mechanism for easy lending. There's no money supply manipulation. There's no lending off of a balance sheet (only) asset, i.e., imaginary money.

Does Bitcoin offer a positive evolution to finance? If so, how?

[Qartada]

There's no interest that's inherent in this system.

Interest rates mainly counter inflation.  In the US, for example, interest rates are around 1% and in the past year inflation has been about 1.6%.  Therefore the actual "interest" from that (I don't know what the rates were in the past year so I can't be completely accurate) should be -0.6%.  A benefit which Bitcoin brings to finance is not having natural inflation because of its natural scarcity.  The reason that gold is viewed as a stable asset isn't because it's valuable, it's because its supply can't be manipulated and is therefore constantly scarce, resulting in very little or no inflation because the only thing that could cause it is people actually finding gold - plus currently gold is deflating due to increasing amount of money which is held in it.

The same applies to Bitcoin.  How it changes finance is its limits.

There's no mechanism for easy lending.

I disagree.  Lending is offered by the bank, which is theoretically able to decide whether or not you can be given a loan based on your previous reputation.  The same principles apply to Bitcoin - newbies who come on to the forum asking for a loan get turned down straight away unless they can offer sufficient collateral, while trusted members can loan much more easily.  It's a sort of credit history system.

There's no money supply manipulation.

Even with volatility, I see that as a good thing.  With wider use, like gold, Bitcoin would be inherently stable while governments can mess up big time.

[Amph]

yes and people can't even think about it at the moment, just i said in another post, imagines a world where you have only bitcoin as a main currency

no bank no visa, mastercard circuit would be required, a gigantic reduction in cost would be possible, because you would remove every employees that work in a bank or akin, pretty much like the future deep learning AI will do with every job sector out there

the new banks are each individual and his node(miners full node), this could be enforced if a small reward would be added to full node, to help them grow faster

[Idrisu]

Bitcoin offers an alternative to traditional (fiat based) finance.

There's no interest that's inherent in this system. There's no mechanism for easy lending. There's no money supply manipulation. There's no lending off of a balance sheet (only) asset, i.e., imaginary money.

Does Bitcoin offer a positive evolution to finance? If so, how?

crypto currencies actually "offer a positive evolution to finance" I do go through anonymous facebook page who one day post this question "what will happen if all debt are forgive" this question to me speak about  our current financial system (fiat). Our current system because of lending, liabilities and manipulation of the system by the bankers make people to forever be in debt! Bitcoin as a decentralized crypto currencies', I believe will reset this current system and established assets base one.

[Seansky]

Bitcoin offers an alternative to traditional (fiat based) finance.

There's no interest that's inherent in this system. There's no mechanism for easy lending. There's no money supply manipulation. There's no lending off of a balance sheet (only) asset, i.e., imaginary money.

Does Bitcoin offer a positive evolution to finance? If so, how?

I do think that bitcoin offers a positive evolution to finance. It will not only remove bank, visa, mastercard circuit but it will also improve how people send money to some people far away. Instead of sending via money sending services that sometimes cost so much, they can just use bitcoin with only less than a dollar as fee. The bad effect is that many people will lose their jobs but overall it offers positive evolution to finance.

[BitcoinHodler]

you know bitcoin is money itself too, and the only thing that makes it different is the fact that it is decentralized. all the rest things are the same more or less.
the supply being limited, is the same as a country being restricted on printing endless amount of cash.

the interest rate and lending which you have mentioned here are not dependent on bitcoin, that is between two person and it can very well be done with cash or bitcoin the same way.

[genny2kuk]

Bitcoin offers a very positive effect to finance. It's supply cannot be manipulated, unlike the fiat currencies we have. The increasing supply of currencies lead to inflation and loss of value of these currencies. It also gave some people exclusive power to "print" money at will. We all agree that this supply has led to fall in value of all currencies.

There is also the decentralisation that bitcoin brings. I'm aware that in some places, it is easier to deposit money into your bank account than to withdraw. Even if the funds belong to you. With bitcoin, you can spend your funds anyhow you want, any where you want, anytime you want. You can access your funds at any time of the day.

So I say that there is so much positives that bitcoin brings to the financial industry

[HabBear]

Lending in Bitcoin is challenging because transactions are final. I could loan you money, you could take that money, and I could never hear from you again. And I have zero way to find you unless you've given up the anonymity that Bitcoin also provides.

Do you believe Bitcoin lending is going to evolve to actual loan contracts and shared knowledge of the lenders (the information that people here complain so much that Coinbase is trying to ask them for)?

There's no mechanism for easy lending.

I disagree.  Lending is offered by the bank, which is theoretically able to decide whether or not you can be given a loan based on your previous reputation.  The same principles apply to Bitcoin - newbies who come on to the forum asking for a loan get turned down straight away unless they can offer sufficient collateral, while trusted members can loan much more easily.  It's a sort of credit history system.

[Yakamoto]

Bitcoin offers an alternative to traditional (fiat based) finance.

There's no interest that's inherent in this system. There's no mechanism for easy lending. There's no money supply manipulation. There's no lending off of a balance sheet (only) asset, i.e., imaginary money.

Does Bitcoin offer a positive evolution to finance? If so, how?

Although there is no interest, and this means that there is less overall need to invest your wealth into something (which helps to stimulate economic growth, meaning that we have a lot less economic growth in an entirely Bitcoin-based system) however you also keep a lot more of the value that your work has over time, meaning the stuff you do today would actually have value in 50 years.

Now, then again, it would require a huge change in the economic system we have in place today, so, based on the current lay of things, Bitcoin is a negative for "modern" economics, however it is good in other economic systems.

There's a lot more that can be talked about this, but this is just one post so far. I'd enjoy talking more about alternatives and how deflationary (or net-zero) economies could work.

[webtricks]

Yes, indeed! Bitcoin has changed finance for better.
Bitcoin is acclaimed as the most liquid asset. It can be readily transfer from peer to peer without any answerability.
So it can be easily used as money but at the same time regarded as asset or investment!
Moreover, since it is asset, it possesses zero charges to hold. Japan legalisation involves zero charges for holding btc and further legalisation in rest of the world can widened this.
In the last, it has shifted gear from government's money to people's money.

[eternalgloom]

Lack of supply manipulation, like you mentioned, could actually be considered a benefit.
The value of Bitcoin should only go up over time due to limited supply.

Now I'm also not sure if Bitcoin itself could ever replace the current financial system, but another future crypto currency might.

[Cyndonald]

Lack of supply manipulation, like you mentioned, could actually be considered a benefit.
The value of Bitcoin should only go up over time due to limited supply.

Now I'm also not sure if Bitcoin itself could ever replace the current financial system, but another future crypto currency might.

That's correct, Guy. Bitcoin will continue to go up higher  and it could replace current financial systems however it also needs some regulations to avoid money laundering and terrorist financing .

[szpalata]

Lack of supply manipulation, like you mentioned, could actually be considered a benefit.
The value of Bitcoin should only go up over time due to limited supply.

Now I'm also not sure if Bitcoin itself could ever replace the current financial system, but another future crypto currency might.

I beg to differ on your last paragraph, If another future cryptocurrency can replace the current financial system then why not Bitcoin? Remember all Altcoins are forking bitcoins somehow and so if the fake could survive what about the original?

[Hydrogen]

Off the top of my head, btc has positives in terms of.

-Putting pressure on wire transfer services to reduce their transaction fees.
-Putting pressure on state sanctioned currencies to compete in terms of price stability.

There are positive ways in which btc changes finance for the better.

[Clement Kaliyar]

Bitcoin offers an alternative to traditional (fiat based) finance.
There's no interest that's inherent in this system. There's no mechanism for easy lending. There's no money supply manipulation. There's no lending off of a balance sheet (only) asset, i.e., imaginary money.
Does Bitcoin offer a positive evolution to finance? If so, how?

Yes,it could bring people out of the borrowing attitude as there is no agency which lends bitcoins.Interest which is paid in huge amounts will be avoided which would help improve every individual's family financial status.It provides a earning opportunity to even people of backward countries.Bitcoin would surely be a revolutionary invention of this century which would surely turn this world's economic situation upside down.

The lending process in bitcoin is a bit risky simply because of the volatile nature of bitcoin ,most of the people loan the coins to gamble or to trade and most of the time convert it to fiat and if that is the case the risk involved are higher as you cannot predict what the price would be a couple of months later and it will be a big burden if you are returning the loan with bitcoins since you have to purchase the coins with fiat when the price is high.

[Qartada]

Lending in Bitcoin is challenging because transactions are final. I could loan you money, you could take that money, and I could never hear from you again. And I have zero way to find you unless you've given up the anonymity that Bitcoin also provides.

Do you believe Bitcoin lending is going to evolve to actual loan contracts and shared knowledge of the lenders (the information that people here complain so much that Coinbase is trying to ask them for)?

There's no mechanism for easy lending.

I disagree.  Lending is offered by the bank, which is theoretically able to decide whether or not you can be given a loan based on your previous reputation.  The same principles apply to Bitcoin - newbies who come on to the forum asking for a loan get turned down straight away unless they can offer sufficient collateral, while trusted members can loan much more easily.  It's a sort of credit history system.

It could be that both occur at the same time.  Bitcoin allows convenient cryptographic proof of ownership.  So what could be done is that if Bitcoin progressed further and was monitored better by governments, there could be an optional third party in loan transactions.  Each party verifies that the address being used is theirs, and then the third party can view the transactions taking place between the two parties (and begin whatever processes happen when someone defaults a loan).  Fortunately, Bitcoin isn't anonymous it's pseudonymous, and if you associate yourself with that pseudonym any public transactions can take place.

It may also be that the current lending system (lending to someone based on their pseudonym's trust and no collateral, no loan systems) continue to take place alongside this, for those who want to retain their privacy in loans and not rely on a third party.  But Bitcoin allows both.

[shinratensei_]

There's no interest that's inherent in this system. There's no mechanism for easy lending. There's no money supply manipulation. There's no lending off of a balance sheet (only) asset, i.e., imaginary money.

Another aspect will still exist.
I've seen on the lending service and interest still be applicable.

Does Bitcoin offer a positive evolution to finance? If so, how?

It can be a positive evolution for the financial sector, because of the automation for the finance sector by using the bitcoin.

But a lot of the people on the finance will lose their jobs.
The automation or evolution on the finance system will not require the manual guides like the finance employees.

Another reason because the automation will need a full-time operation.

[jorneyflair]

Bitcoin offers an alternative to traditional (fiat based) finance.

There's no interest that's inherent in this system. There's no mechanism for easy lending. There's no money supply manipulation. There's no lending off of a balance sheet (only) asset, i.e., imaginary money.

Does Bitcoin offer a positive evolution to finance? If so, how?

You can look at it in many perspectives.

The government, the bankers, and the average Joe.

The government, no need to say. They are the ones that controls the entire system and "makes sure it runs smoothly". They are the ones that manipulate every variable like the interest rate and the monetary supply. They are the ones that are on top of the hierachy. They hate bitcoin because it takes that control away from them - sure, they can get a shit ton of mining devices and start mining, but that costs a shit ton of money, and if they print too much money, the whole thing will spiral out of control and their scheme will be worthless.

The bankers, next level down, they profit from fractional reserve lending practices. This is not possible with bitcoin, which means that they will have to either switch business models or go out of the business. The money transmitters as well, they will go out of business because bitcoin can be sent anywhere across the globe without having to add extra fees.

The average Joe should really benefit if we all started using bitcoin. It is a store of value, most importantly. Which means that they don't need to worry about their money losing value in the long term. But we have to accept bitcoin as bitcoin, but not as the value of fiat that is behind that bitcoin. Once we achieve that, then that's true adoption.

[HabBear]

Off the top of my head, btc has positives in terms of.

-Putting pressure on wire transfer services to reduce their transaction fees.
-Putting pressure on state sanctioned currencies to compete in terms of price stability.

There are positive ways in which btc changes finance for the better.

So i have to disagree with you. I don't think wire transfer services are changing their fee structure at all, but some people now realize there's an alternative to typical wire transfer options.

And how is Bitcoin encouraging fiat currency stability? Bitcoin is super unstable!

[pinkflower]

Bitcoin offers an alternative to traditional (fiat based) finance.

There's no interest that's inherent in this system. There's no mechanism for easy lending. There's no money supply manipulation. There's no lending off of a balance sheet (only) asset, i.e., imaginary money.

Does Bitcoin offer a positive evolution to finance? If so, how?

It doesnt. What it does is it disrupts the status quo and intends to give the people a way to make transactions without the banks being needed. Think of BTC as something that should be separate from the financial system but we could still do what the banks can without them.