Mostly agree, but "value", or even "intrinsic value" isn't about providing an income stream. Precious metals have served as money, along with several other commodities, because they serve as a store of value, and fulfill the other requisites for money (scarcity, durability, divisibility, distinct look and sound, homogeneity through space and time, malleability, and beauty)
Bitcoin surely fails on at least a couple of those points. Kurt On Thu, Mar 6, 2014 at 2:39 PM, Ken Schaefer <[email protected]> wrote: > Bitcoin has inherent value because it has “a hard to find number with > certain cryptographic properties”? > > > > Whilst I will grant you that the cryptographic properties are inherent, I’m > not sure you could prove that they have any value. > > > > Is there a decent sized market for the supply and purchase of such numbers? > No. And thus there is no value – value only exists when someone else is > prepared to compensate you providing them with the item in question. > > > > As for gold and silver – are you talking about “intrinsic value”? If so, > then neither gold nor silver has intrinsic value, as they provide no income. > Investing in gold or silver is entirely a capital gains play – you’re hoping > someone else will take it off your hands for more than you paid for it. > Contrast to a bond or share, where the underlying security provides you with > an income stream because the funds are used to pursue actual economic > activity (obviously subject to the usual risk/reward caveats) > > > > Cheers > > Ken > > > > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] > On Behalf Of Ken Cornetet > Sent: Friday, 7 March 2014 9:09 AM > > > To: [email protected] > Subject: RE: [NTSysADM] OT:Bitcoin > > > > No, because Dave has at some point in the past went from doing what he does > best (personal finance) to being an expert on all things financial. This is > a good example. He clearly has done zero research into bitcoin, and yet he > is an expert on it. > > > > Now, I’m not saying bitcoin is a good investment, but I am saying that Dave > clearly doesn’t understand what it is, or what makes it valuable. In fact, > he gets things exactly 180 degrees wrong. Bitcoin’s strengths are that it > doesn’t depend on a government backing it. Like gold or silver, and unlike > paper money, bitcoin has an inherit value (a hard to find number with > certain cryptographic properties). > > > > He also conflates the the failure of MtGox with the bitcoin currency itself. > That’s a bit like saying dollars are junk because some savings and loans > failed during the 70s (which weren’t FDIC insured and real people lost real > money). > > > > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] > On Behalf Of Webster > Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2014 2:17 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: RE: [NTSysADM] OT:Bitcoin > > > > Just because he thinks Bitcoins are a pile of crap and a scam? > > > > > > Webster > > > > From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on > behalf of Ken Cornetet <[email protected]> > > Sent: Thursday, March 6, 2014 12:28 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: RE: [NTSysADM] OT:Bitcoin > > > > I have great deal of respect for Dave’s financial philosophy and advice for > the most part, but Dave long ago lost the distinction between his opinions > and facts. > > > > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] > On Behalf Of Rod Trent > Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2014 12:59 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: RE: [NTSysADM] OT:Bitcoin > > > > Oh, he does. He says it pretty plainly. > > > > > > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] > On Behalf Of Tigran K > Sent: Thursday, March 6, 2014 12:37 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [NTSysADM] OT:Bitcoin > > > > He doesn't understand what bitcoin is. > > > > > > On Thu, Mar 6, 2014 at 9:21 AM, Rod Trent <[email protected]> wrote: > > To me…this pretty much explains the whole Bitcoin scam… > > > > http://youtu.be/32l1ht1wlLI > > > > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] > On Behalf Of J- P > Sent: Thursday, March 6, 2014 12:02 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [NTSysADM] OT:Bitcoin > > > > http://www.pcworld.com/article/2105280/10-questions-on-the-mt-gox-implosion.html > > > >
