[LINK] Two articles on Bitcoin

David_Gerard

Tangential, but a subject of some local interest:

Why Bitcoin will fail by Avery Pennarun. "The sky isn't red." Thesis:

The gold standard was a bad idea.
Even if it [Bitcoin] was a good idea, governments will squash it.
The whole technological basis (cryptosystem) is flawed.
It doesn't work offline.

I'm not sure I buy these and am not competent to evaluate his claims on 3., but would like others' critique.

L019: Bitcoin P2P Currency: The Most Dangerous Project We've Ever Seen by Jason Calacanis. A rather more enthusiastic viewpoint of the project:

Bitcoin is a technologically sound project.
Bitcoin is unstoppable without end-user prosecution.
Bitcoin is the most dangerous open-source project ever created.
Bitcoin may be the most dangerous technological project since the internet itself.
Bitcoin is a political statement by technological libertarians.
Bitcoins will change the world unless governments ban them with harsh penalties.

The actual text contains many more caveats than the eye-catching selection of points above.

Tangential, but a subject of some local interest:

Why Bitcoin will fail by Avery Pennarun. "The sky isn't red." Thesis:

The gold standard was a bad idea.
Even if it [Bitcoin] was a good idea, governments will squash it.
The whole technological basis (cryptosystem) is flawed.
It doesn't work offline.

I'm not sure I buy these and am not competent to evaluate his claims on 3., but would like others' critique.

L019: Bitcoin P2P Currency: The Most Dangerous Project We've Ever Seen by Jason Calacanis. A rather more enthusiastic viewpoint of the project:

Bitcoin is a technologically sound project.
Bitcoin is unstoppable without end-user prosecution.
Bitcoin is the most dangerous open-source project ever created.
Bitcoin may be the most dangerous technological project since the internet itself.
Bitcoin is a political statement by technological libertarians.
Bitcoins will change the world unless governments ban them with harsh penalties.

The actual text contains many more caveats than the eye-catching selection of points above.

And if you do assume "fiat money is doomed, doomed!" then why wouldn't something like bitcoin become the world's reserve currency?

Okay, I'm willing to grant that if the dollar/fiat money in general is doomed then something along the lines of bitcoin would probably take over. But I don't assume this. I guess it is rational to put lots of money into bitcoin if you do take this premise though.

I agree that the dollar becoming effectively worthless would be pretty bad to put it mildly!

I agree that the dollar becoming effectively worthless would be pretty bad to put it mildly!

Even if the USD goes down really badly in value, there's still three hundred million people, a large proportion of whom are workers, to give it some utility as currency.

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[LINK] Two articles on Bitcoin

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[LINK] Two articles on Bitcoin

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