The grim truth about cryptocurrency community

[MeGold666]

Almost everyone in this space is here just to "get rich".

Let's be honest, if not the "number goes up" most of the people who claim to "love" cryptocurrency would never got into it.

It shouldn't matter how this people got in but unfortunately the true intent has impact on the project itself.

People don't care about the freedom it gives, that's why so many hold their coins on exchanges which act like banks.
That's why so many don't use crypto to buy things, they just hold it and by just holding it they hold the whole revolution.

We will never see cryptocurrency being used on daily basis if people just keep holding it without using it.
This way they are killing the horse they ride on.

For the horse to be healthy it must run.

[philipma1957]

selling and moving btc left and right has nothing to do with making btc better.

BTC has a tremendous scaling issue
BTC has a reward to fee scaling issue.

If it moved like crazy fees would moon to 5 coins a block .

[MeGold666]

BTC has a tremendous scaling issue
BTC has a reward to fee scaling issue.

It has this issues in part because of the "hodl" narration, nothing is being done because nothing needs to be done.
It's Digital Stone! I mean Gold!

[larry_vw_1955]

Almost everyone in this space is here just to "get rich".

i hate to be the bearer of bad news but no one is getting rich in bitcoin. that horse has left the barn way back in 2013. even if it goes up to $250,000 you're just multiplying your money by 4 times. so you're not really getting rich unless you were already kind of rich. plus you risk it goes down in price before going up so drawdown.

people are sadly mistaken about what bitcoin can really do for them AT THIS POINT. not very much. better to think of it as a way to hedge against deflating fiat. and that's about it. all i would expect bitcoin to do for me.

[BitGoba]

Almost everyone in this space is here just to "get rich".

Let's be honest, if not the "number goes up" most of the people who claim to "love" cryptocurrency would never got into it.

It shouldn't matter how this people got in but unfortunately the true intent has impact on the project itself.

People don't care about the freedom it gives, that's why so many hold their coins on exchanges which act like banks.
That's why so many don't use crypto to buy things, they just hold it and by just holding it they hold the whole revolution.

We will never see cryptocurrency being used on daily basis if people just keep holding it without using it.
This way they are killing the horse they ride on.

For the horse to be healthy it must run.

In economics, Gresham's law is a monetary principle that states "bad money drives out good money." For example, if you have hard money like Bitcoin in circulation, whose inflation decreases every 4 years and moves towards zero, and the dollar, which is printed uncontrollably and quickly loses purchasing power, people will tend to spend the bad form of money that loses purchasing power day by day and save the good form of money whose purchasing power increases.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gresham%27s_law

[MeGold666]

In economics, Gresham's law is a monetary principle that states "bad money drives out good money." For example, if you have hard money like Bitcoin in circulation, whose inflation decreases every 4 years and moves towards zero, and the dollar, which is printed uncontrollably and quickly loses purchasing power, people will tend to spend the bad form of money that loses purchasing power day by day and save the good form of money whose purchasing power increases.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gresham%27s_law

The inflation is there to incentivize spending (using) currency.

Money that's not being used is not money and Bitcoin is currently losing it's main purpose (Digital Cash) and becoming nothing more than a legal Ponzi scheme.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponzi_scheme

[legiteum]

I don't know about "grim" truth, but it's certainly the truth.

Bitcoin's original purpose was to provide a means of numerically-delineated transactions for people who could not safely use the normal means to do so, e.g. bank transactions, credit cards, and so on.

The audience for this product might be very enthusiastic, but it is also very small. Most people are fine with transactions that governments can track and scrutinize if they have a proper reason. Most people don't think they are criminals, or don't want to tangle with their government, or at very least, don't think the government would be interested enough in them that they need to go out of their way to use a special system of value transfer that is slower, more expensive, and more risky than mainstream means.

As Bitcoin became more popular to use by criminals, authorities discovered what was obvious from the beginning: that Bitcoin's public ledger makes it mostly useless, at least by itself, for criminals doing crimes.

Hence Bitcoin was left without it's original purpose starting about 10 years ago.

But nobody cared about that, because Bitcoin's original purpose was long since abandoned and instead it took on a new purpose: speculation instrument. And it turns out that people absolutely love a product that can be used for speculation. There are literally millions of such products available in the world, including some really big ones. And today, Bitcoin may be the world's biggest speculation instrument that is "pure" in the sense that it has no other practical purpose besides speculation that isn't better served by some other product (in other words, while you can transact with Bitcoin, it's ridiculously expensive--like saying you can use hundred dollar bills to light your stove).

Blockchain was never meant to enable a worldwide mainstream payment system. Never. The architecture absolutely prevents anything close to the scale necessary--Bitcoin was intentionally designed to be slow and expensive (e.g. PoW).

I am confident there will be a ubiquitous digital currency that will replace much of the world's daily physical cash transactions, but it will not be based on the blockchain architecture. Instead, it will be an architecture specifcally designed to handle the world's daily transactions--millions of transactions per second, tens of billions per day.

Bitcoin and other cryptos will keep their place as speculation instruments, and may well be around forever in that capacity. There's nothing wrong with speculation and humans have been doing it for thousands of years.

[cryptosize]

Here's the thing (from my perspective):

When you see a hot woman, the first thing that comes to your mind is having sex with her.

That's perfectly normal (at least for a straight man)!

Of course that doesn't mean that every man is entitled to having sex with a hot girl.

But a woman can provide you so much more than just sex... especially if she's intelligent.

It's the same thing with Bitcoin:

Profit is what lures you into the ecosystem, but it can provide so much more, especially if you love self-education, sovereignty etc.

Most people do indeed care for profits and nothing else (zero knowledge/education) and these people deserve no profit, in fact they tend to lose money.

I'm no fan of equality, I believe in meritocracy.

[cryptosize]

In economics, Gresham's law is a monetary principle that states "bad money drives out good money." For example, if you have hard money like Bitcoin in circulation, whose inflation decreases every 4 years and moves towards zero, and the dollar, which is printed uncontrollably and quickly loses purchasing power, people will tend to spend the bad form of money that loses purchasing power day by day and save the good form of money whose purchasing power increases.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gresham%27s_law

The inflation is there to incentivize spending (using) currency.

Money that's not being used is not money and Bitcoin is currently losing it's main purpose (Digital Cash) and becoming nothing more than a legal Ponzi scheme.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponzi_scheme

Why is it a legal Ponzi scheme?

Are nVidia/Apple stocks a legal Ponzi scheme too?

What if someone wants to flee their country with 12 words inside their sock? There are legit use cases than make it even better than physical gold.

[legiteum]

But a woman can provide you so much more than just sex... especially if she's intelligent.

It's the same thing with Bitcoin:

Not really. Bitcoin isn't any good at transactions as there are far better products out there for that that are faster, cheaper and easier. And Bitcoin is a public ledger making every transaction subject to chain analysis unless special tradecraft is used--and products like Monera do all of that by default.

As a practical product, Bitcoin has no use. Even gold has practical uses, but Bitcoin does not. Its value is purely derived from the promise that it will increase in value.

Why is it a legal Ponzi scheme?

Are nVidia/Apple stocks a legal Ponzi scheme too?

What if someone wants to flee their country with 12 words inside their sock? There are legit use cases than make it even better than physical gold.

Equities (stocks) are shares of real companies that make real stuff and real profits. Stocks are hyped up like cryptos are too, but they aren't "pure" meme investments like cryptos are.

And in the world of digital currencies, in terms of transactions (12 words in the socks), Bitcoin is not the best, or even in the top 10 anymore. There are way, way better products for those purposes these days.

[cryptosize]

As a practical product, Bitcoin has no use. Even gold has practical uses, but Bitcoin does not.

Fleeing a country (i.e. Ukraine) is a practical use.

Try doing that with physical gold and tell me what happens when they catch you at the airport x-ray machine.

Equities (stocks) are shares of real companies that make real stuff and real profits. Stocks are hyped up like cryptos are too, but they aren't "pure" meme investments like cryptos are.

"Real" means nothing in an increasingly digitized world.

Care to tell me why nobody buys a physical Playboy magazine anymore, but instead they prefer Instagram/OnlyFans these days?

Meta doesn't sell any physical products, it's 100% digital (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp). Where does their value come from?

You remind me of boomers who insisted digital cameras would have no purpose and yet, Kodak went bankrupt in 2012.

And in the world of digital currencies, in terms of transactions (12 words in the socks), Bitcoin is not the best, or even in the top 10 anymore. There are way, way better products for those purposes these days.

You'll be hard pressed to find a better currency that is censor-free and appreciates over time.

[legiteum]

As a practical product, Bitcoin has no use. Even gold has practical uses, but Bitcoin does not.

Fleeing a country (i.e. Ukraine) is a practical use.

Try doing that with physical gold and tell me what happens when they catch you at the airport x-ray machine.

You can do it far better with many other products out there that are faster and cheaper, easier and more private. Bitcoin, as a digital currency product, is not even remotely competitive and hasn't been in a decade.

Equities (stocks) are shares of real companies that make real stuff and real profits. Stocks are hyped up like cryptos are too, but they aren't "pure" meme investments like cryptos are.

"Real" means nothing in an increasingly digitized world.

Want to try using your digitized world without routers by CSCO? Without physical network lines by VZ (Verizon)? Want to try to find a device to view your digital currency without APPL, GOOG, INTC, AMD. Want to try running the Bitcoin network without NVDA?

Want to buy anything with your digital currency without... every stock on the NASDAQ?

Get, um, real dude .

And in the world of digital currencies, in terms of transactions (12 words in the socks), Bitcoin is not the best, or even in the top 10 anymore. There are way, way better products for those purposes these days.

You'll be hard pressed to find a better currency that is censor-free and appreciates over time.

Censor free? Every heard of chain analysis? If avoiding the a government is your goal, then Bitcoin is one of the worst products out there. You are much better off with Monera or something like it. And if you aren't a criminal then you are better off with Haypenny currencies since they are completely private and don't have the bad rep that Monera and those guys have.

As for appreciation over time, you sound like those old boomers who used to say that nothing will ever challenge Microsoft's dominance of the computing world. Bitcoin isn't going to stay on top forever. Things change, granddad .

[BlackHatCoiner]

The origins of cryptocurrency trace back to the cypherpunk movement, which emphasizes privacy and individual freedom-- ideals I deeply respect.

However, I also want to protect my wealth from being eroded by inflation. I'm not interested in investing in the stock market because I don't believe it will safeguard me from inflation, and I'm simply not inclined toward that kind of investment. My goal is to preserve the value of the money I earn. If Bitcoin can achieve this, why should it be criticized? After all, good money should serve as a store of value.

[larry_vw_1955]

The origins of cryptocurrency trace back to the cypherpunk movement, which emphasizes privacy and individual freedom-- ideals I deeply respect.

However, I also want to protect my wealth from being eroded by inflation. I'm not interested in investing in the stock market because I don't believe it will safeguard me from inflation, and I'm simply not inclined toward that kind of investment. My goal is to preserve the value of the money I earn. If Bitcoin can achieve this, why should it be criticized? After all, good money should serve as a store of value.

sounds like precious metals might be a good investment for you in addition to bitcoin since they are all about hedging against inflation as long as you're not against holding them for the longer term as in years. plus aren't they kind of anonymous? can't you sell your gold at a pawn shop and the IRS doesn't know about it? but even if they do, it's no less anonymous than bitcoin since the IRS needs to know about that too when you sell...

[BlackHatCoiner]

sounds like precious metals might be a good investment for you in addition to bitcoin since they are all about hedging against inflation as long as you're not against holding them for the longer term as in years.

I don't prefer precious metals, because:

• I don't know how to verify their integrity.
• There is a much smaller market when it comes to selling it. (I can only sell it to my local stores, near my place.) Therefore, people to whom I'll sell them, will probably take advantage of that fact.
• I cannot move them easily.
• I cannot divide them easily.
• They appreciate a lot less than Bitcoin.

[larry_vw_1955]

I don't prefer precious metals, because:

• I don't know how to verify their integrity.
• There is a much smaller market when it comes to selling it. (I can only sell it to my local stores, near my place.) Therefore, people to whom I'll sell them, will probably take advantage of that fact.
• I cannot move them easily.
• I cannot divide them easily.
• They appreciate a lot less than Bitcoin.

but in a SHTF situation where say the internet is down and things like that, it might be nice to have a bit of precious metal such as gold or silver. bitcoin would be useless.

[BlackHatCoiner]

but in a SHTF situation where say the internet is down and things like that, it might be nice to have a bit of precious metal such as gold or silver. bitcoin would be useless.

In a doomsday scenario, or a WW3, everything apart from food and guns is useless.

[larry_vw_1955]

In a doomsday scenario, or a WW3, everything apart from food and guns is useless.

cryptocurrencies depend on the internet whereas precious metals can still be traded or bartered. so i wouldn't say that precious metals would be useless. bitcoin would be though. good luck trying to find someone who would buy something they can't even validate.

[Ndabagi01]

People don't care about the freedom it gives, that's why so many hold their coins on exchanges which act like banks.
That's why so many don't use crypto to buy things, they just hold it and by just holding it they hold the whole revolution.

You might be right though but i still think that cannot limit the extent to which it can grow or revolutionise. The cryptocurrency community has grown overtime even as people respect to hold on to coins than using it for transactions. It doesn’t matter those holding on to it, but what matters most is the impact it has on the whole community using it, the widespread adoption.

We will never see cryptocurrency being used on daily basis if people just keep holding it without using it.
This way they are killing the horse they ride on.

For the horse to be healthy it must run.

Killing the horse they ride on? The cryptocurrency market has gone past that aspect and I think there’s no room for any form of limitation to how far it can grow now. The number of bitcoin holders have been increasing and I don’t see it declining despite people holding it and not using it for anything. Again, the widespread adoption matters and not using it more often for transactions.

[Xylber]

Not sure if it is your 2nd account (you registered 5 months ago), but those who are here for ever remember that people were actually interested in the technology and the "alternative to fiat money" for real before the GPU mining fever of 2020 or before the rally of 2017. Back then there were other problems, like trashcoins forks everywhere to get a quick buck, but those coins don't exist anymore.

The inflation is there to incentivize spending (using) currency.

Looks for the story of central banking, it explains everything. Devaluation is there to take away purchasing power of the people and concentrate wealth in few hands.