Is Bitcoin for “Fake Rich”?

[as.exchange]

I know this post might sound ridiculous, but I just want you to think about this…

With the current socio-economic development (worsening) of situation, rich are getting richer, poor are getting poorer. Young generations are either trapped in “forever middle class”, or slip to the poverty, or understandingly (or not) work 9-5 (in some places 9-9-6) like in modern slavery…

However, the poor (not literally poor) ones want to show off, want to get hot girls, want to get attention from rich guys, want to show they also belong to the elite class. So what they can do? – They pretend to be rich / from higher social class.

This is one of the emotions / social factors well played by iPhone in the early days. While it was not the best option from functions, from what it could do, it was priced higher than the same Android-based models. Apple refused to compete in the same old “mobile phone” space, and made out of it a life-style or new generation, where you can be upper class, while not being from there actually (google the stories people selling kidneys or taking loans to buy the new iPhone). And they succeeded! Now if you don’t have the newest iPhone – you are not cool, and “even more poor than me“, while the real elites would be buying Vertu and those phones, “fake rich” happy showing they are rich, while not being one of them. And happy to overpay for it 

 Then comes Tesla. While being highly disadvantageous in terms of performance, design, external/internal interior design, and anything you can imagine as compared to the available at that time cars, they overpriced the very first model, added the ESG b*shit hype, and allowed you to feel part of the “elite new community” who care about environment, who own a car like iPhone (highly manageable from phone, etc.), and they refused to compete in the same pricing category as BMW, Ford, Nisan, etc. And they overpriced it. The story afterwards you know well too

With all the “fake rich” class people needed a new way of showing they are rich, while not being rich / failing to be rich. And Bitcoin, while not being created for that purpose (or being – idk), became a perfect target. Just think about it – you can own a line of code, and nothing more, but be a billionaire sitting on a large pool of digital currency.

YOU LITERALLY OWN A PIECE OF CODE, BUT YOU ARE BILLIONARE PERIOD

What is gonna happen once the post-apocalyptic scenarios come true? When/if there will be no electricity, computers, phones, etc.? People will value no US Dollar backed by state promise to pay off debt… your decentralized piece of code will not exist anymore (I do know about some offline-friendly cryptocurrencies)… only gold or natural resources will become valuable again.

While I do know many “Bitcoin evangelists” will probably hate me for the words above, but don’t you think that Bitcoin intentionally or unintentionally became the new asset for the “fake rich”?

[jackg]

If you own bitcoin you don't even own a line of code. You own a number, that's it.

The Internet and mining won't go down across the world either. There are renewable solutions in Asia and Europe that'd probably be capable of taking over. 50% of power in Europe has to come from renewables, its not as far to get it up to 100% as you might think especially if technology and efficiency improves. And if the Internet goes down for good, we'll probably end up with communism while we work out what to do about it.

To own bitcoin requires some sort of intelligence too (unless you own a crappy etf or a stock) which I think is being missed here. Intelligent people can own bitcoin, you won't see an intelligent person who likes Elon musk or apple.

[Tstar]

What is gonna happen once the post-apocalyptic scenarios come true?

Then not only Bitcoin, but all will be gone. All fiat money are fictional too, like the Bitcoin private keys without electricity.

Start collecting tangible goods - gold, silver, etc.
Learn surviving skills - archery, etc.

[Broly46]

Ironic, the fake rich, looking at the number, the number won’t lie, people can write a wall of text of lies, yet they don’t want to trust the number won’t lie, because they’re so biased, they rather believe in story than a globally recognised parameter of rich: the number won’t lies, the current number of bitcoin is standing at 19k it’s not gonna lie the current gold value is standing at 1930, it’s not gonna lie, the current blue chip value is standing at 30,000 it’s not gonna lie, yup be mature and accept the numbers.

[poodle63]

Post-apocalyptic scenario the only thing that matters most are shelter and food. These paper money, gold, minerals or crypto not gonna matter. It's called post-apocalyptic for reason.
However, isn't that a good thing tho if people thought of crypto more specifically bitcoin as prestigious stuff to show off? atleast the value could go up unlike the iphone for pseudo-rich people which gradually losing its value.

[Darker45]

Bitcoin isn't just a mere fleeting craze or fad. Bitcoin isn't just a new iPhone model. It is an alternate currency or a new asset class, whichever you prefer. And whether it is cool to have Bitcoin or not, it is an undeniable fact that Bitcoin is truly decentralized, transparent, global, and so forth.

If you are one of those guys who bought Bitcoin because it is cool, then it's not Bitcoin's problem. But you should at least have an idea why it is cool. And depending on how much Bitcoin you bought, you may be truly rich or fake rich, but Bitcoin's price is more or less the same for you and me. And right now, 1 BTC is not cheap at $19,502.63.

[cryptoboss2020]

I know this post might sound ridiculous, but I just want you to think about this…

With the current socio-economic development (worsening) of situation, rich are getting richer, poor are getting poorer. Young generations are either trapped in “forever middle class”, or slip to the poverty, or understandingly (or not) work 9-5 (in some places 9-9-6) like in modern slavery…

However, the poor (not literally poor) ones want to show off, want to get hot girls, want to get attention from rich guys, want to show they also belong to the elite class. So what they can do? – They pretend to be rich / from higher social class.

This is one of the emotions / social factors well played by iPhone in the early days. While it was not the best option from functions, from what it could do, it was priced higher than the same Android-based models. Apple refused to compete in the same old “mobile phone” space, and made out of it a life-style or new generation, where you can be upper class, while not being from there actually (google the stories people selling kidneys or taking loans to buy the new iPhone). And they succeeded! Now if you don’t have the newest iPhone – you are not cool, and “even more poor than me“, while the real elites would be buying Vertu and those phones, “fake rich” happy showing they are rich, while not being one of them. And happy to overpay for it 

 Then comes Tesla. While being highly disadvantageous in terms of performance, design, external/internal interior design, and anything you can imagine as compared to the available at that time cars, they overpriced the very first model, added the ESG b*shit hype, and allowed you to feel part of the “elite new community” who care about environment, who own a car like iPhone (highly manageable from phone, etc.), and they refused to compete in the same pricing category as BMW, Ford, Nisan, etc. And they overpriced it. The story afterwards you know well too

With all the “fake rich” class people needed a new way of showing they are rich, while not being rich / failing to be rich. And Bitcoin, while not being created for that purpose (or being – idk), became a perfect target. Just think about it – you can own a line of code, and nothing more, but be a billionaire sitting on a large pool of digital currency.

YOU LITERALLY OWN A PIECE OF CODE, BUT YOU ARE BILLIONARE PERIOD

What is gonna happen once the post-apocalyptic scenarios come true? When/if there will be no electricity, computers, phones, etc.? People will value no US Dollar backed by state promise to pay off debt… your decentralized piece of code will not exist anymore (I do know about some offline-friendly cryptocurrencies)… only gold or natural resources will become valuable again.

While I do know many “Bitcoin evangelists” will probably hate me for the words above, but don’t you think that Bitcoin intentionally or unintentionally became the new asset for the “fake rich”?

Bitcoin is good just for money grab
Year 2017 shows dont be late dont be the bag holder!!

Like all the Investment Bitcoin is no Different main thing just dont be the that last guy the bag holder.

[Strongkored]

intentionally or unintentionally became the new asset for the “fake rich”?

I don't know why you say that, if the reason is that you think they haven't real value like fiat, in my opinion, it's because they prefer to save for a higher price, they will actually get rich once they sell it at the price they have targeted.

Bitcoin is good just for money grab
Year 2017 shows dont be late dont be the bag holder!!

Like all the Investment Bitcoin is no Different main thing just dont be the that last guy the bag holder.

yes many think like this

[michellee]

When you only have 1 bitcoin, you are a rich person than the other person who does not know about bitcoin. If the bitcoin price increases, that means your money will become big, but only if you sell your bitcoin. If you do not sell your bitcoin, bitcoin's money value will always change, and you don't own that money. But that will be different if you can use your bitcoin to buy something or pay for something.

We do not have to know the code inside bitcoin because we could only have that bitcoin and use it for our benefit. But yes, if there is no electricity, no internet, and you can not use your bitcoin, that 1 bitcoin will remain 1 bitcoin.

[davis196]

If an Apocalypse happen,the only 2 valuable assets will be FOOD and WATER.
Bitcoin is a line of code(or a number),but gold is just a shiny useless metal.Will you eat gold,when you have no food?Will you buy food with gold,when nobody accepts gold?
In a post-apocalypse world,metals like iron will be more valuable than gold,because you could create useful tools with iron.
I get your point about the "fake rich class",but Bitcoin has nothing to do with iPhone or Tesla.
Bitcoin is supposed to be a currency,a medium of exchange,not a consumer product.
Rich people will always be seen as cool badass players that have high social status,it doesn't matter if they own Bitcoins,Tesla stocks,the new iPhone or something else.

[shoreno]

i find it not so clear if you are hating the btc users or only the fake rich people because you said that btc will become useless once the time will come that there will be no internet and electeicity but didnt you knew that not all that who use btc are bragging that they rich . there are poor users that are humble and will be humble no matter how nuch they gain from the btc they have and there are also rich people that are investing in btc and if these people brag will you still find that offensive ? no because they are the ones that are trully rich .

[Ucy]

.

YOU LITERALLY OWN A PIECE OF CODE, BUT YOU ARE BILLIONARE PERIOD

What is gonna happen once the post-apocalyptic scenarios come true? When/if there will be no electricity, computers, phones, etc.? People will value no US Dollar backed by state promise to pay off debt… your decentralized piece of code will not exist anymore (I do know about some offline-friendly cryptocurrencies)… only gold or natural resources will become valuable again.

While I do know many “Bitcoin evangelists” will probably hate me for the words above, but don’t you think that Bitcoin intentionally or unintentionally became the new asset for the “fake rich”?

A piece of code that's is used to represent value, same as paper. You can even use plastic, amber, stones etc as money. What matter is the value it represents and whether the material can't be counterfeited, is fraud-proof, will last long and can really work well as money

I think Bitcoin could be built in such a way that the full ledger can be printed and used completely offline. You'd will need to replicate the online Decentralization Model (or a better model) and features/principles on a physical level and have People with full Physical Ledgers (more like full nodes) verify transactions of participants in their communities.

[dothebeats]

Well you own nothing except numbers on the screen, and your ownership is defined by some points in a plane that is unique and immutable, as defined by the specifications set by Satoshi and other developers themselves. I will not call this "fake rich," as those sitting in piles of numbers on their bank accounts from derivatives also lie within the same principle. Instead, I'll consider them as rich people, like the normal ones who own lots of money from successful businesses since they own something that is highly-valued by other people.

Our perception of value is something complex, and we just magically agree that something is valuable, or has value, like fiat money. If that is the case, then bitcoin is, and will be, valuable too, and if someone owns a lot of it, they are 'rich' because our perception of value says so.

[Rikafip]

While I do know many “Bitcoin evangelists” will probably hate me for the words above, but don’t you think that Bitcoin intentionally or unintentionally became the new asset for the “fake rich”?

I don't think that you can compare bitcoin to iPhone and Tesla. Those two are status symbols (same as expensive watches) simply because when person is wearing it, he sends the "signal" to others that he is successful/rich/whatever. I never saw someone carrying Ledger around their neck to show off. People I know that own bitcoin usually keep it to themselves and don't brag around how much they own, apart of lambo guys that have "BTC" license plate, but that's another story.

General public is still skeptical of bitcoin, unfortunately. Real life is not bitcointalk. If anything, there is more chance that they will ridicule you for owning some than think that you are successful.

[Mauser]

I don't think a bitcoin millionaire is anything different from a normal millionaire. What if you won your millions in the lottery? Or by trading stocks? Orby selling a company? I would make a difference between all of these. In the end money is money. There so many people willing to sell goods like a car or other things for bitcoins.

[Lorence.xD]

Post-apocalyptic scenario the only thing that matters most are shelter and food. These paper money, gold, minerals or crypto not gonna matter. It's called post-apocalyptic for reason.
However, isn't that a good thing tho if people thought of crypto more specifically bitcoin as prestigious stuff to show off? atleast the value could go up unlike the iphone for pseudo-rich people which gradually losing its value.

Gold will still hold some sort of value in an post apocalyptic scenario, we as humans have always been fascinated by the glitter of gold and I do not think that an apocalypse will remove our love for this kind of things. Minerals will be a debatable case as some might not be of use in the current state of things. If crypto becomes something that you use to show off to your friends for clout, I think it does not change the fact that they are still social climbers, they just changed the medium that represents them but the state that they are in will never change.

[iv4n]

Bitcoin is for everyone! And owning more bitcoins makes you a rich person! You can exchange bitcoins for other currencies or goods, or you can spend them for fun... there's nothing fake in that, it's real as it can be!
But I understand what OP wish to say, and some people made a good comments about that! I met with people who don't think Bitcoin is real, they can't see it and they can't touch it (their big argument) and they think that the entire crypto world is "fake". In the same time these people don't understand the economic and monetary system of our own country, they don't know where cash is coming from, and what banks are doing... They will wake up, but until that point crypto will break new old and many new records, maybe they will regret their decisions...who knows!

[as.exchange]

If you own bitcoin you don't even own a line of code. You own a number, that's it.

Good point I missed! And loved your point about ETFs and BTC-backed stocks of some companies

The Internet and mining won't go down across the world either. There are renewable solutions in Asia and Europe that'd probably be capable of taking over. 50% of power in Europe has to come from renewables, its not as far to get it up to 100% as you might think especially if technology and efficiency improves. And if the Internet goes down for good, we'll probably end up with communism while we work out what to do about it.

To own bitcoin requires some sort of intelligence too (unless you own a crapoy etf or a stock) which I think is being missed here. Intelligent people can own bitcoin, uouwwon't see an intelligent person who likes Elon musk or apple.

In the post-apocalyptic scenario even renewables are unlikely to save you. The only "widely-accepted and agreed on assets / forms of payment" will be left only real assets eventually, like gold, silver, etc. - something what is in possession by the "old elites" and the "truly rich", while the rest are left to play around with iPhones, Teslas and Bitcoins?..

Then not only Bitcoin, but all will be gone. All fiat money are fictional too, like the Bitcoin private keys without electricity.

Start collecting tangible goods - gold, silver, etc.
Learn surviving skills - archery, etc.

Yes, totally agree. And who controls / owns those now? - I think the answer can be as I mentioned about "the truly rich - old elites"?

Ironic, the fake rich, looking at the number, the number won’t lie, people can write a wall of text of lies, yet they don’t want to trust the number won’t lie, because they’re so biased, they rather believe in story than a globally recognised parameter of rich: the number won’t lies, the current number of bitcoin is standing at 19k it’s not gonna lie the current gold value is standing at 1930, it’s not gonna lie, the current blue chip value is standing at 30,000 it’s not gonna lie, yup be mature and accept the numbers.

Well here we talk about globally accepted and consensus-based reference for intrinsic value of asset - market price. While it surely gives indication of your current net worth, it doesn't mean you are rich though. If today you hold 1,000 of Bitcoin and tomorrow every single country bans it and makes it illegal to hold Bitcoin, then you cannot even use it as collateral for getting loans. With gold (for example) such scenario is unlikely as making it illegal would mean collapse of all central banks (not the case with BTC), would mean end of production of important electronic components (not the case with BTC), collapse of supply chains and monetary systems (if Bitcoin dissapears tomorrow only small % of people will actually care, as most of the population still doesn't even know what that is). That's why doesn't that show you the similarity with Tesla / iPhone - small group of people worked together to hype it to make it as indication of own status and wealth, while in reality the truly wealthy ones stay with traditional side.

[nemey]

I think it is very bad to say that Bitcoin is "Fake Rich". Even though maybe you yourself also store Bitcoin and like it. Could it be that these are just words to scare, in order to buy as much Bitcoin as possible. But what I know is that Bitcoin is amazing, it has proven to be able to last for a long time even since 10 years ago. So of course it can be said that Bitcoin as a real asset of wealth is not just a fake.

[as.exchange]

Post-apocalyptic scenario the only thing that matters most are shelter and food. These paper money, gold, minerals or crypto not gonna matter. It's called post-apocalyptic for reason.
However, isn't that a good thing tho if people thought of crypto more specifically bitcoin as prestigious stuff to show off? atleast the value could go up unlike the iphone for pseudo-rich people which gradually losing its value.

Well here I have to agree - shelter, food, and as another commenter said - water (basic needs) will matter only. But from there eventually people will have to restart economy for which they will need medium of exchange, which is unlikely to be BTC since there might be no electricity.

Bitcoin isn't just a mere fleeting craze or fad. Bitcoin isn't just a new iPhone model. It is an alternate currency or a new asset class, whichever you prefer. And whether it is cool to have Bitcoin or not, it is an undeniable fact that Bitcoin is truly decentralized, transparent, global, and so forth.

Here I agree about everything, but "isn't a new iPhone" - not so sure. It depends on how you perceive that. Can I buy with iPhone something? - yes. Can I "invest" in iPhone? - yes, - buy wholesale at pre-orders, and sell retail during public release (if you would be in China you would see that's a common model to earn money ). Yes, absolutely BTC & iPhone are incomparable in terms of life-span - you unlikely will see price appreciation of iPhone 10000% times like with BTC over 5-10 years (but the opposite), but for short period of time - can. Different lengths of cycles. Like some animals live only few days - for them it's a long live; for humans 100 years is a long live, but for some plants - 1,000 years is a long live. Just the difference on micro/macro levels. But eventually, while most of Forum participants are relatively young (unlikely to be 60-90s yo), and do wish to "be rich", but not all are ready to work hard for that. So they get to pay $19,000 (if they have) to own a number on the screen with the hope that in the future that number will be perceived even more expensive.

Perhaps I don't get your point, but someone who has 100 bitcoins isn't "fake rich", they are just "rich".

They are just "rich" now, for a moment in time when price hit $19k, but after a moment - there's a flash crush, and they are on the street? How about if you own 100 tones of gold? 100 apartments in NY? 100 production factories? - as opposed to owning "a number showing you have 100 numbers of X"