News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Bitcoin Surges Past $7,000 to Extend Record Rally. Parent comment

Re:Bitcoin Surges Past $7,000 to Extend Record Rally by omgbananas on Thursday November 02, 2017 @08:26AM (#15609736)
I save more than I spend, so wouldn't I be mainly using it as a store of value rather than a medium of exchange?
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Bitcoin Surges Past $7,000 to Extend Record Rally by ihsw2 on Thursday November 02, 2017 @08:36AM (#15609797)
Technically yes, you are treating it as a property rather than currency. Such a property is subject to positive and negative externalities (notably, inflation/deflation), and (where applicable) it is subject to taxation on transference (eg: inheritance tax, gift tax, etc).

From a purely economic perspective, cash is just another liquid asset. The distance from currency to store of value is quite short.

Physical assets are generally regarded as stores of value, however, in modern times, currency stability has resulted in currency supplanting durable goods as the primary store of value.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Bitcoin Surges Past $7,000 to Extend Record Rally by pbhjpbhj on Thursday November 02, 2017 @08:53AM (#15609924)
They're treating it as fiat money (which has more than one characteristic). Property has intrinsic value.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Bitcoin Surges Past $7,000 to Extend Record Rally by grey-area on Thursday November 02, 2017 @09:35AM (#15610249)
I save more than I spend, so wouldn't I be mainly using it as a store of value rather than a medium of exchange?

Yes, you would. I'm not clear what you mean by it here:

If you mean Bitcoin, you're agreeing with my point, it's a good store of value first (modulo price volatility and external risks)

If you mean Fiat, don't do that long term, use assets.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Bitcoin Surges Past $7,000 to Extend Record Rally by seanmcdirmid on Thursday November 02, 2017 @08:34AM (#15609785)
Are you investing your savings? No. Are you just holding it in a bank with little or no interest, then yes.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Bitcoin Surges Past $7,000 to Extend Record Rally by kgwgk on Thursday November 02, 2017 @11:41AM (#15611386)
Even holding it in a bank for low interest is investing. Using it as a store of value would be keeping it in your wallet or in a safe (as you would do with gold, for example).
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Bitcoin Surges Past $7,000 to Extend Record Rally by seanmcdirmid on Thursday November 02, 2017 @12:32PM (#15611911)
Not really....not at these rates anyways. There isn’t much difference between putting your money in the bank or under your mattress, well, except for convenience and safety issues.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Bitcoin Surges Past $7,000 to Extend Record Rally by kgwgk on Thursday November 02, 2017 @12:45PM (#15612014)
Yes, it is. If you keep the money physically it yields exactly zero and nobody is using it. If you lend the money (to a bank or someone else) you get some interest (or not, in some countries interest rates are negative) AND there is someone else who can use that money. Bank deposits are fundamentally different from “hoarding” gold or bitcoins.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Bitcoin Surges Past $7,000 to Extend Record Rally by seanmcdirmid on Thursday November 02, 2017 @09:40PM (#15616079)
Sure, but the banks don’t thank us much for the pleasure. Money, gold, bitcoins aren’t themselves stores of value, merely IOUs. To really store value (I.e. production), you need things like grain silos.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Bitcoin Surges Past $7,000 to Extend Record Rally by kgwgk on Friday November 03, 2017 @03:39AM (#15617305)
How is a bitcoin sitting in your computer an IOU? Who owes what to whom precisely?
[ Parent | on HN ]