News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on The Bitcoin bubble – Greater fool theory. Parent comment

Re:The Bitcoin bubble – Greater fool theory by mbrock on Thursday November 09, 2017 @10:00AM (#15662906)
It definitely means people won't use it as a unit of account (for debts, budgets, etc), which is one primary use for a currency...

But I don't think it means people won't spend it or trade it for some other currency or asset. If you held a bunch of bitcoin while the price in USD doubled, and you happened to want a new smartphone, you're sure you wouldn't buy one?

If you were absolutely confident the price would quickly rise even more, maybe you would prefer holding, but if you really want the phone and you think BTC/USD has some risk?

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The Bitcoin bubble – Greater fool theory by Nursie on Thursday November 09, 2017 @10:06AM (#15662960)
I'd spend dollars on the phone, because the same BTC might buy 10 phones in a few weeks.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The Bitcoin bubble – Greater fool theory by mbrock on Thursday November 09, 2017 @10:17AM (#15663070)
It's the same opportunity cost whether you spend from your BTC account or your USD account! You're choosing between "should I buy a phone or 0.1 bitcoin with these dollars?"

I think the presence in the market of an asset that many people believe is continually underpriced would have a general effect on spending, not just on the utility of that asset as a medium of exchange...

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The Bitcoin bubble – Greater fool theory by Nursie on Monday November 13, 2017 @08:21AM (#15686329)
>> It's the same opportunity cost whether you spend from your BTC account or your USD account!

Only if obtaining BTC is frictionless and fee-free, something far from universal.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The Bitcoin bubble – Greater fool theory by rbanffy on Thursday November 09, 2017 @10:15AM (#15663054)
> the same BTC might buy 10 phones in a few weeks.

Which is kind of crazy and defies all logic - cryptocurrencies can be manufactured without any limit, even Bitcoin can be cloned and rebooted, creating a new currency space/ledger that's fresh.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The Bitcoin bubble – Greater fool theory by avyfain on Thursday November 09, 2017 @12:40PM (#15664254)
You can print out a piece of paper that says "TEN US DOLLARS" on it, but if the corner store or the bank won't take it it isn't really the same as $10.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The Bitcoin bubble – Greater fool theory by rbanffy on Thursday November 09, 2017 @01:35PM (#15664666)
Will you buy pizza with BTC right now?
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The Bitcoin bubble – Greater fool theory by conanbatt on Thursday November 09, 2017 @02:47PM (#15665300)
Yes? Being BTC doesn't change the value of it.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The Bitcoin bubble – Greater fool theory by mbrock on Thursday November 09, 2017 @07:10PM (#15666894)
When you buy a pizza with USD, do you think "hmm, maybe I should invest this into BTC instead?"
[ Parent | on HN ]