Wow, great piece! I've never thought of Bitcoin as anywhere near viable - only a vehicle for speculation among Libertarian types. And the centralization of the network seemed inevitable, but this is a really valuable commentary.
My beef with bitcoin promoters includes the faults you outline, but also the following: they are absolutely willing to continue (by leaving it unchanged) governments' *suppression of gold as money*.
Gold was originally suppressed through the efforts of many dubious "banksters" and, of course, politicians, followed by hordes of pro-intervention Keynesian types invading Washington, DC, during and subsequent to WW2. But the suppression of precious metals as money has always been a result of disregarding the rights of individuals to both their property and their pursuit of happiness. If these rights were recognized fully today, in my opinion, the world would "return" to gold as money rapidly. Leaving bitcoin to the dustbin of history.
I am firmly convinced that sound money - money that is widely accepted in commerce and retains its value over time - must get its fundamental legitimacy from the market. I don't believe the market will use Bitcoin as money. As Rosenthal put it, it's a Rube Goldberg machine that pretends to work.
it all became clear when the Bitcoin community was desperate for the SEC to approve a BTC ETF. if BTC was all it was cracked up to be, they would have discouraged that, but that gave away the game in my view.
my view is they see the overall excitement and want to ally their administration with that excitement. it is hard for me to believe Scott Bessent is becoming a hodler
Bitcoin has never sat right with me either, and I've never owned any. I wish I had, of course, but just because of its gains. What bums me out about your article is to hear we overlapped in NYC and didn't know it. I would have loved to buy you a nice dinner, and perhaps let you leave an extra tip with a Goldback.
Wow, great piece! I've never thought of Bitcoin as anywhere near viable - only a vehicle for speculation among Libertarian types. And the centralization of the network seemed inevitable, but this is a really valuable commentary.
Thanks. If you can find the time, read Rosenthal's transcript!
Will do.
Bitcoin - a limited supply of nothing. Thank you for the link to the transcript Jim - an excellent, informative read along with your commentary.
Thanks, John, I appreciate it!
My beef with bitcoin promoters includes the faults you outline, but also the following: they are absolutely willing to continue (by leaving it unchanged) governments' *suppression of gold as money*.
Gold was originally suppressed through the efforts of many dubious "banksters" and, of course, politicians, followed by hordes of pro-intervention Keynesian types invading Washington, DC, during and subsequent to WW2. But the suppression of precious metals as money has always been a result of disregarding the rights of individuals to both their property and their pursuit of happiness. If these rights were recognized fully today, in my opinion, the world would "return" to gold as money rapidly. Leaving bitcoin to the dustbin of history.
I am firmly convinced that sound money - money that is widely accepted in commerce and retains its value over time - must get its fundamental legitimacy from the market. I don't believe the market will use Bitcoin as money. As Rosenthal put it, it's a Rube Goldberg machine that pretends to work.
it all became clear when the Bitcoin community was desperate for the SEC to approve a BTC ETF. if BTC was all it was cracked up to be, they would have discouraged that, but that gave away the game in my view.
That's an interesting thought. Makes you wonder why the Trump administration embraces bitcoin so strongly... except for the obvious explanation.
my view is they see the overall excitement and want to ally their administration with that excitement. it is hard for me to believe Scott Bessent is becoming a hodler
Yeah, he's a gold guy and a student of financial history.
Bitcoin has never sat right with me either, and I've never owned any. I wish I had, of course, but just because of its gains. What bums me out about your article is to hear we overlapped in NYC and didn't know it. I would have loved to buy you a nice dinner, and perhaps let you leave an extra tip with a Goldback.