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Tony C.
··Ωf Jury memberAn interesting take on Bitcoin from a finance guy for whom I have a lot of respect:
Are members invested in Bitcoin/crypto?
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Archer
··Omega Qualified Watchmaker^^^^ Spot on IMO
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mjb
·I'm not sure that I agree 100% with Mr. Green's analogies, but it's an interesting perspective.
His overall premise though, I think, is true.
His overall premise though, I think, is true.
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bananapeanut
·We still live in a world where data is largely controlled by a few big, centralized platforms, so for most people decentralized money doesn’t yet feel strictly necessary—traditional banks and payment systems still work fine for everyday use. That said, this could start to change. There are early signs that the way we use the internet may evolve toward more user-owned systems: experiments with portable profiles, self-sovereign identity, and wallets that let the same digital identity and payment method move with you from site to site. If these models mature and regulations around data ownership keep evolving, more people may choose to control their own data instead of giving companies like Google and Facebook free rein to monetize it.
The communities building this possible future are already living parts of it: many of them pay each other in sats (the smallest unit of bitcoin) and use Bitcoin or Lightning for tips, bounties, and other online payments. This is still niche compared with the global financial system, and Bitcoin activity moves in cycles rather than growing every single day, but over the longer term there’s been more infrastructure, more experimentation, and broader use. In that context, decentralized money isn’t just a theoretical ideal; it’s becoming one of the building blocks for a more user-controlled version of the internet.
The communities building this possible future are already living parts of it: many of them pay each other in sats (the smallest unit of bitcoin) and use Bitcoin or Lightning for tips, bounties, and other online payments. This is still niche compared with the global financial system, and Bitcoin activity moves in cycles rather than growing every single day, but over the longer term there’s been more infrastructure, more experimentation, and broader use. In that context, decentralized money isn’t just a theoretical ideal; it’s becoming one of the building blocks for a more user-controlled version of the internet.
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mjb
·We still live in a world where data is largely controlled by a few big, centralized platforms, so for most people decentralized money doesn’t yet feel strictly necessary—traditional banks and payment systems still work fine for everyday use. That said, this could start to change....
I don't disagree with anything that you wrote, but the original topic of this thread was investing, and I still feel that crypto as an investment, is not a good idea. Because it is decentralized and is not based on anything real like gold or a country's guarantee, it has no intrinsic value.
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bananapeanut
·I don't disagree with anything that you wrote, but the original topic of this thread was investing, and I still feel that crypto as an investment, is not a good idea. Because it is decentralized and is not based on anything real like gold or a country's guarantee, it has no intrinsic value.
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mjb
·I was responding specifically to the claim in the video that Bitcoin has failed as a transactional currency. That might be true if you’re only looking at mainstream retail payments, but it overlooks smaller ecosystems where it’s actually used every day. In the Nostr community, for example, sats are constantly being used as payment, so from that perspective Mike Green’s statement feels like an overgeneralization. In that context, Bitcoin is a tool that fits the Nostr protocol extremely well, and that real, ongoing utility is why I wouldn’t say it has “no intrinsic value” - it clearly does something people find useful, even if its adoption is still limited compared to the broader economy.
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Vercingetorix
··Spam RiskI had to to look up NOSTR. When I see words like enable and empower I close the window.
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bananapeanut
·Remember the guy who sold all of his watches right at the top of the watch bubble and used the proceeds to buy gold bullion. People here couldn't stop making fun of him at the time. Couple years later, gold has more than doubled while the hot watches crashed. Human nature... The NOSTR protocol will most likely play a fundamental role in the internet of the future. Keep an open mind 😉
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The Father
·Bitcoin up and down like a cheap yoyo. Well, a $100,000 one approximately
- Edited by mod
- Edited by mod
Edited by a mod:
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Tony C.
··Ωf Jury memberI'm a gold guy, and have been a Bitcoin skeptic, in no small part because of Saylor's reckless proselytizing. I just stumbled across what I consider to be a thoughtful article by Frank Giustra, a very successful "gold guy", in which he articulates many of my concerns about Bitcoin.
Some readers may find it to be of interest, so here's the link:
Digital Gold
Some readers may find it to be of interest, so here's the link:
Digital Gold
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mjb
·I'm a gold guy, and have been a Bitcoin skeptic, in no small part because of Saylor's reckless proselytizing. I just stumbled across what I consider to be a thoughtful article by Frank Giustra, a very successful "gold guy", in which he articulates many of my concerns about Bitcoin.
Some readers may find it to be of interest, so here's the link:
Digital Gold
My issue with comparing Gold to BTC is that the former is a real, tangible commodity that has many uses including jewelry and electronics, and recently includes decorating the White House. BTC is just a whiff of ether, existing in a virtual ledger, waiting to be hacked.
El Salvador was the first country to declare BTC as a national currency (in 2021). Let's ask them how that's worked out. No muy bien.
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zinterz
·Had an opportunity to get BTC early on. Could I be filthy rich now if I’d have taken the chance? Yes. But, I could never have risked tangible cash for something I didn’t really understand at the time. I don’t regret the decision. Lots of what ifs in life, I can’t sit on those decisions and think about what could have been.
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mjb
·I think the recent (ongoing) crash in crypto should keep most of us out of this. BTC peaked around $126,000 but it's now about half that ($63,600 as I write this) . When the OP started this thread, it was around $13,000, so yes, you could have made a lot of money, but if you bought some recently, you likely lost a bundle.
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Archer
··Omega Qualified Watchmaker
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Pastorbottle
·Speculative investment is always fraught with risk, however when the thing being speculated on has no real use or purpose, then it all turns to shit............a least when the thing has a use and value beyond speculation then you can always use it, even if you did end up paying too much for it!
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pdxleaf
·Could be worse...
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watchyouwant
·Official Trump Price ??? So, if you want to bribe Trump, is that the official Price ? And falling ?
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Pastorbottle
·How do you tell if a politician is honest?.............the honest ones stay bribed!