Re:When Bitcoin miners take over a town (2018)
by Qwertious on Sunday February 21, 2021 @06:49PM
(#26218571)
Gold is used to make electronics cheaper, and it's used in medicine.
Re:When Bitcoin miners take over a town (2018)
by AdrianB1 on Sunday February 21, 2021 @08:03PM
(#26219298)
Shiny gold prevents oxidation on electrical contacts and makes your computer work. In most chips there is a bit of gold, not a lot, so there is value in that.
Re:When Bitcoin miners take over a town (2018)
by scotty79 on Sunday February 21, 2021 @09:32PM
(#26220112)
Isn't platinum better for that?
Re:When Bitcoin miners take over a town (2018)
by kralos on Sunday February 21, 2021 @10:11PM
(#26220416)
platinum is more electrically resistive (less conductive) and more expensive than gold
Re:When Bitcoin miners take over a town (2018)
by fakedang on Sunday February 21, 2021 @05:14PM
(#26217802)
Gold can be used to make jewelry which is a big cultural thing in most of the Old World. It's still "ooh shiny" but it has value in being a tangible "shiny" good used to keep up appearances and show status.
I don't know how you can show status with Bitcoin though. Maybe show your server farm or something.
How does it compare against Bitcoin? What intrinsic value (besides "ooh, shiny") does gold actually have?
I agree that BTC and cryptocurrencies generally are utterly wasteful, but what too many look at is the headline figure of energy consumed, and not what energy is being consumed.
Disclaimer: I think BTC is a total waste of time, and I am long BTC because I think it'll buy me a house one day too.
(EDIT: I also have gold too)