Bitcoin is a store of value. Unlike gold, there is a finite amount of BTC. That, alone, makes BTC exclusive. As far as I know, it is the only item in our universe there is only so much of. We are still mining gold, and we will still be mining gold forever, either here or on asteroids, our moon, or other planets. Gold is worth more for what it can do than as a value of money. Plus, gold is too heavy to lug around.
We used to have a gold standard in America, but it was gotten rid of some time ago. Under this system, we could only spend money equal to our government's gold stash.
Why did we get rid of the gold standard? So we could print money at will. We have no idea how much money the government prints. Inflation anyone?
Diamonds are a perfect example of perceived value, except there are tons of diamonds hoarded deliberately to artificially increase their value. If Russia released all the diamonds it has stashed in the Kremlin, that $10K diamond you just bought for your girlfriend would be worth $12 bucks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by INever
When the grocery store or the local massage girls accept it with the power out and the internet down...then it's REALLY worth 200.
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If the power is out and the Internet is down, we have more significant problems than groceries or happy endings.
BTC was the catalyst for innovation. There are now more suitable coins for commerce. BTC introduced the blockchain. Every BTC transaction, from the very beginning, is stored anonymously in the BTC blockchain. BTC introduced decentralization, meaning no entity can control it. If you leave the US with over $10K, you must declare it. With BTC, I can go anywhere with as much BTC as I want, and no one knows, and all transactions are anonymous.
The next thing you are going to see is the USA will want to set up digital currency and get rid of bills and coins. This would be a centralized digital currency controlled by the government. Centralized means the government can follow every transaction anyone makes, and they would know exactly who made it. No more "under the table" money, no cheating on taxes, no hookers, and they will know where you are at all times. Believe me, we don't want that.
If you have your money in a bank, you realize it's not yours, right? I've had banks lock my accounts when I have sold BTC and sent the money to my bank. Alarm bells go off because they want to know where all that money came from. For Christ's sake, you might be a drug dealer or a terrorist. And if you deposit more than $10K, the bank notifies the government.
Bitcoin introduced technology that has changed things not even connected to Bitcoin. One example is AI, digital contracts, record keeping, and the blockchain, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Now, countries and even states are setting up Bitcoin reserves. Unlike gold, no more Bitcoin will be produced.
Total BTC in Existence 19,916,556.25
Bitcoins Left to Be Mined 1,083,443.8
% of Bitcoins Issued 94.841%
New Bitcoins per Day 900
Mined Bitcoin Blocks 876,649
Who knows how many have been lost with people dying, losing their passwords or whatever.
So, these are just some things Bitcoin is responsible for
We'll be having a quiz on this one of these days, so fucking study.