Doug Casey on Bitcoin

[Ukigo]

Take a look at :

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[Torminalis]

Guess who has all their money in Gold?

Aside from being a pretty and maleable metal, I do not understand why Gold is valued any more highly than Bitcoins aside from the history of trading. Gold is no more 'backed' than Bitcoins, you can't eat either at the end of the day.

[relative]

gold is backed by thousands of years of history.

[Torminalis]

Bitcoins have a History of being traded, albeit a far shorter one.

If a history of tradability is all that one requires in order to be 'backed' then Bitcoins are likely to far better backed in the long run as they have unique properties that Gold simply does not. Try sending gold by Morse code for example.

[hugolp]

gold is backed by thousands of years of history.

Also, gold has some qualities that Bitcoin does not have. On the other hand, Bitcoin does have some qualities gold ddoes not have. They are complementary.

[relative]

gold is backed by thousands of years of history.

Also, gold has some qualities that Bitcoin does not have. On the other hand, Bitcoin does have some qualities gold ddoes not have. They are complementary.

right. I dont understand the negative reaction towards bitcoins by some goldbugs either.
the only chance gold will ever be used for trade again is by receipts issued by a central authority.
we've been there before. no authority can be trusted to not issue more receipts than gold was deposited.

libertarian goldbugs should welcome it anyway as one competing currency among many.

[killer2021]

gold is backed by thousands of years of history.

Also, gold has some qualities that Bitcoin does not have. On the other hand, Bitcoin does have some qualities gold ddoes not have. They are complementary.

right. I dont understand the negative reaction towards bitcoins by some goldbugs either.
the only chance gold will ever be used for trade again is by receipts issued by a central authority.
we've been there before. no authority can be trusted to not issue more receipts than gold was deposited.

libertarian goldbugs should welcome it anyway as one competing currency among many.

Yes, I think the biggest fear they have is the fact that gold has been used as money for centuries. With that being said, gold gains a significant increase in value. Also for centuries mankind has used gold to show off wealth in the form of jewelry. The other major use of gold is to produce coins or bars which is obviously used for investing. The reason people invest it/hoard it is simply because at one point it was used as money.

If this idea that gold is money is ever put at jeopardy then guess what happens to the value of gold? Falls off a cliff. Bitcoin puts seep competition against gold because lets face it, bitcoins are finite, difficult to obtain, and easier to transfer than gold.

Just to put it into perspective: Bitcoin is the cubic zirconia of the diamond industry. Why buy a real diamond when you can buy a zirconia diamond at a fraction of the cost?

The only real uses for gold are in the dental industry, electronics industry and scientific industry which only consume about 10% of the mined production. The rest goes into investments or jewelry. Most of the world entire history of mined gold is still in existence (ie. not thrown away). This is because most of it is recycled.

[Gabi]

Well, I’m not surprised the U.S. government should take such action.

If this happens, will the US government attack Europe and arrest everyone using bitcoin here?   US is not the world  

[killer2021]

Well, I’m not surprised the U.S. government should take such action.

If this happens, will the US government attack Europe and arrest everyone using bitcoin here?   US is not the world  

Should be interesting to see how that unfolds since bitcoin is impossible to stop just like torrents or wikileaks. If you ban bitcoins in the us then you can still use them in other parts of the world. Many people think that the us government can just write a law and shut down bitcoin network or something, as if there is one central server controlling the whole network.

In many parts of the world, the government has alot bigger issue to worry about than some kids using bitcoins. Also, lets face the fact that some countries stand to gain if btc is widely used.

[relative]

Yes, I think the biggest fear they have is the fact that gold has been used as money for centuries. With that being said, gold gains a significant increase in value. Also for centuries mankind has used gold to show off wealth in the form of jewelry. The other major use of gold is to produce coins or bars which is obviously used for investing. The reason people invest it/hoard it is simply because at one point it was used as money.

If this idea that gold is money is ever put at jeopardy then guess what happens to the value of gold? Falls off a cliff. Bitcoin puts seep competition against gold because lets face it, bitcoins are finite, difficult to obtain, and easier to transfer than gold.

Just to put it into perspective: Bitcoin is the cubic zirconia of the diamond industry. Why buy a real diamond when you can buy a zirconia diamond at a fraction of the cost?

The only real uses for gold are in the dental industry, electronics industry and scientific industry which only consume about 10% of the mined production. The rest goes into investments or jewelry. Most of the world entire history of mined gold is still in existence (ie. not thrown away). This is because most of it is recycled.

I didnt mean to say gold will become worthless because of bitcoin, or that bitcoin > gold.
(in fact, I still believe it is far less likely that bitcoin will be adopted as a widespread form of payment than gold will "fall off a cliff")

I just dont see the rivalry. one has nothing to do with the other, gold wont be used for trade again.

[Timo Y]

gold is backed by thousands of years of history.

Salt was backed by thousands of years of history ... until somebody invented the refrigerator.

[relative]

gold is backed by thousands of years of history.

Salt was backed by thousands of years of history ... until somebody invented the refrigerator.

good. then calculate the likelihood of something like that happening in your lifetime, and there is your risk for gold.

[hugolp]

gold is backed by thousands of years of history.

Salt was backed by thousands of years of history ... until somebody invented the refrigerator.

In spanish, wage is called "salario", and that comes from being payed with "sal" (salt).

[kiba]

This call for the Bitcoin and the Goldbug article!

When somebody figure how to mine asteroids, gold as a valuable commodity will be over forever.  

[killer2021]

Yes, I think the biggest fear they have is the fact that gold has been used as money for centuries. With that being said, gold gains a significant increase in value. Also for centuries mankind has used gold to show off wealth in the form of jewelry. The other major use of gold is to produce coins or bars which is obviously used for investing. The reason people invest it/hoard it is simply because at one point it was used as money.

If this idea that gold is money is ever put at jeopardy then guess what happens to the value of gold? Falls off a cliff. Bitcoin puts seep competition against gold because lets face it, bitcoins are finite, difficult to obtain, and easier to transfer than gold.

Just to put it into perspective: Bitcoin is the cubic zirconia of the diamond industry. Why buy a real diamond when you can buy a zirconia diamond at a fraction of the cost?

The only real uses for gold are in the dental industry, electronics industry and scientific industry which only consume about 10% of the mined production. The rest goes into investments or jewelry. Most of the world entire history of mined gold is still in existence (ie. not thrown away). This is because most of it is recycled.

I didnt mean to say gold will become worthless because of bitcoin, or that bitcoin > gold.
(in fact, I still believe it is far less likely that bitcoin will be adopted as a widespread form of payment than gold will "fall off a cliff")

I just dont see the rivalry. one has nothing to do with the other, gold wont be used for trade again.

You have to understand there is a major correlation. The reason gold trades at the value it does is primarily because people place a value on it. In most parts of the world gold is the symbol of wealth and money. It is the stuff of kings and empires. There is a huge value being placed on gold for those qualities. BUT that value ONLY exists if people think that gold = wealth. If that idea is ever lost, then gold will be like just any other metal and will trade primarily at the value placed on it by industrial consumers.

[FreeMoney]

gold is backed by thousands of years of history.

Salt was backed by thousands of years of history ... until somebody invented the refrigerator.

good. then calculate the likelihood of something like that happening in your lifetime, and there is your risk for gold.

100%...?

Bitcoin: A refrigerator for gold

Naw, I love some gold. When Bitcoin is close to correctly priced I'm going to buy a ton (literally maybe).

[relative]

I didnt mean to say gold will become worthless because of bitcoin, or that bitcoin > gold.
(in fact, I still believe it is far less likely that bitcoin will be adopted as a widespread form of payment than gold will "fall off a cliff")

I just dont see the rivalry. one has nothing to do with the other, gold wont be used for trade again.

You have to understand there is a major correlation. The reason gold trades at the value it does is primarily because people place a value on it. In most parts of the world gold is the symbol of wealth and money. It is the stuff of kings and empires. There is a huge value being placed on gold for those qualities. BUT that value ONLY exists if people think that gold = wealth. If that idea is ever lost, then gold will be like just any other metal and will trade primarily at the value placed on it by industrial consumers.

I understand that. I don't understand how that contradicts anything I've said?

[relative]

Bitcoin: A refrigerator for gold

not really. gold traditionally is a store of value in case established monetary systems collapse (see: spike because of financial crisis and devaluations of fiat currencies), and, for that reason still, to back monetary systems. central banks still hold large amounts.

bitcoin needs infrastructure. in fact, very complex and vulnerable infrastructure.

[killer2021]

I didnt mean to say gold will become worthless because of bitcoin, or that bitcoin > gold.
(in fact, I still believe it is far less likely that bitcoin will be adopted as a widespread form of payment than gold will "fall off a cliff")

I just dont see the rivalry. one has nothing to do with the other, gold wont be used for trade again.

You have to understand there is a major correlation. The reason gold trades at the value it does is primarily because people place a value on it. In most parts of the world gold is the symbol of wealth and money. It is the stuff of kings and empires. There is a huge value being placed on gold for those qualities. BUT that value ONLY exists if people think that gold = wealth. If that idea is ever lost, then gold will be like just any other metal and will trade primarily at the value placed on it by industrial consumers.

I understand that. I don't understand how that contradicts anything I've said?

I was explaining why goldbugs fear bitcoin. Most goldbugs believe that gold is money and will eventually be used as money again. Thats why they hate bitcoin. If the dollar collapses and people start to use bitcoin instead of gold, there goes their big plan of gold going up 10,000,000%.

But of course many libertarians (such as myself) see bitcoin as just another currency and yes I agree with you that gold and bitcoin can compliment each other (but I prefer to hold silver, myself).

[Timo Y]

bitcoin needs infrastructure. in fact, very complex and vulnerable infrastructure.

Complex, yes. Vulnerable no.  Localized internet outages do not threaten bitcoin's long term value.  It would require a massively catastrophic event to destroy the entire internet, worldwide, permanently. An event that would almost certainly also destroy the infrastructure protecting your gold: bank vaults, police forces, transport systems, electricity grids, etc.

...unless you are the survivalist type who lives in the woods and buries his gold in the ground.