SvennoJ said:
Chrizum said:
I couldn't disagree more with your statement that inflation is a good thing. In my opinion, the fact that the value of your money and purchasing power only becomes less with time, and is controlled by a few higher ups of the central bank, is one of the worst properties of fiat money. Bitcoin turns this around: no one is able to print more, no one controls inflation or deflation, the rules are known from the get-go and are equal for everybody. There is no power play. There is no central authority. It's the people's money instead of the banker's. Bitcoin doesn't divide in smaller and smaller increments, it is divisible up to 0.00000001 from the get-go and will never change. The protocol is programmed this way. The only way to change it is to fork to a new blockchain, and then it becomes an entirely new coin. You compare the security of the Bitcoin network to cars doing nothing but driving around aimlessly. I don't think I need to explain why this comparison falls flat on its face. |
The comparison was to highlight the material costs. Using green energy doesn't make the process green.
With a fixed money supply you can't have increasing population. (Moderate) Inflation is healthy for the economy to grow and thrive. Anyway inflation doesn't come from printing more money. Interest rates, supply and demand are responsible for that.
I still don't see how switching to a fixed money supply would have been able to get us through a pandemic. Without governments borrowing tons of money to finance the necessary research and emergency equipment where would we have been now?
Global debt grew by almost 20 trillion dollars (extra money inserted) to get through the past couple years, but we're still here, vaccinated and all.
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2021-coronavirus-global-debt/
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To clarify, I'm not advocating for Bitcoin to completely replace traditional fiat money, I don't believe that is viable. But I do think Bitcoin is a very important counterweight to fiat money. Remember, the dollar used to be backed by gold. Nowadays, dollars aren't backed by anything, they just get printed out of thin air. Over 40% of Us dollars in existence now have been printed in the last 12 months. Yes, the pandemic played an important role in this, but the trend started way before the pandemic. And you are correct when you say interest rates are also responsible for inflation, but guess who controls interest rates as well? Yup, central bank again. It is extremely dangerous to put that kind of power into the hands of a select few who have no intention for proper wealth distribution.
Look at Bitcoin as an improved kind of gold: it is scarce, like gold, but much easier to transfer and safer to hold. Bitcoin is a store of value, although currently it is too volatile too properly function as a store of value in shorter terms. When the price stabilizes at a much higher price point, it'll be a superior means of store of value than gold.
