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A comment on Flaws in Bitcoin make a lasting revival unlikely. Parent comment

Re:Flaws in Bitcoin make a lasting revival unlikely by AnthonyMouse on Thursday March 28, 2019 @01:58AM (#19509654)
Suppose you hold a large amount of gold. Someone invents a new method of prospecting that allows them to discover new gold deposits, deploys it successfully at scale and increases the volume of gold on the market such that gold prices decline by 2% annually relative to other commodities.

Is this person a thief? Have they stolen from you?

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Re:Flaws in Bitcoin make a lasting revival unlikely by siwatanejo on Thursday March 28, 2019 @04:11AM (#19510273)
That's one of the (many) reasons why bitcoin is a better gold.
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Re:Flaws in Bitcoin make a lasting revival unlikely by paulgb on Thursday March 28, 2019 @04:34AM (#19510361)
Replace "new method of prospecting" with "new blockchain" and you have the same problem. It's hard to argue that none of the money that went into ICOs and other coins during the run-up would not have gone into Bitcoin if it were the only possible blockchain.
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Re:Flaws in Bitcoin make a lasting revival unlikely by siwatanejo on Thursday March 28, 2019 @10:38PM (#19518680)
> Replace "new method of prospecting" with "new blockchain"

Note I said bitcoin, not cryptocurrencies. I completely agree with you here, shitcoins will always be shitcoins.

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Re:Flaws in Bitcoin make a lasting revival unlikely by AnthonyMouse on Friday March 29, 2019 @02:15AM (#19519539)
But Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency. Every new shitcoin competes for investment and usage and devalues all other cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, to the extent that it succeeds.

And nothing has dethroned Bitcoin yet, but that isn't a law of nature. One of the others could become dominant. Even if Bitcoin then continued to exist and be used, that would devalue it substantially.

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Re:Flaws in Bitcoin make a lasting revival unlikely by chii on Thursday March 28, 2019 @09:32AM (#19511993)
> Is this person a thief? Have they stolen from you?

not directly, but they sure have redistributed that wealth you originally had. Whether it's legal or not depends on the law, and how much power you can wield.

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Re:Flaws in Bitcoin make a lasting revival unlikely by AnthonyMouse on Thursday March 28, 2019 @10:44AM (#19512653)
> Whether it's legal or not depends on the law, and how much power you can wield.

In economics promoting such a law against competition falls into a category known as rent seeking and is considered villainous.

To see a clear example of why, replace "gold" with "housing" and "prospecting method" with "method of constructing taller buildings."

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