Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

All true. And Bitcoin could have a real value long-term (decades), if enough people believe (and continue to believe) that it does.

The forex example is a bit off, though. If I don't believe the price of the Euro, for example, well, there's still a ton of stuff being produced in countries that use the Euro, and they trade with other countries, and that sets a price for the Euro in relation to those other countries. But how much stuff is produced in places that use Bitcoin?

Perhaps I should have said in "places" that use Bitcoin, because it doesn't have to be countries. But how much stuff is for sale only in Bitcoin? That's where Bitcoin is going to have a price as a currency. If there aren't many things with Bitcoin-only prices, then Bitcoin can still have a value, but it's value is more like gold - as an investment that's not subject to inflation. Even as that, it can have a value forever - gold's done pretty well at that, after all.

But I still think it's too soon to see if Bitcoin will do that. Gold has several millenia of being accepted; Bitcoin has 10 years. We'll see what happens in the long term.



Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: