Re:Bitcoin is a ‘boon for surveillance’, says former CIA dir...
by jrek on Wednesday April 14, 2021 @03:05AM
(#26803895)
"Dollars used to be backed by gold and it was still fiat money." - This is just plain wrong.
Re:Bitcoin is a ‘boon for surveillance’, says former CIA dir...
by ghostwriter on Wednesday April 14, 2021 @01:43AM
(#26803339)
Fiat money means exactly a government-issued currency not backed by a commodity such as gold.
Re:Bitcoin is a ‘boon for surveillance’, says former CIA dir...
by dredmorbius on Wednesday April 14, 2021 @04:53AM
(#26804574)
I'm questioning Investopedia here.
Fiat is typically contrasted with commodity or representational currencies. The key element is that fiat has no intrinsic value. It's usually issued by a government, but need not be. The value comes from faith.
Bitcoin meets all the qualifications save government issuance. The bits themselves have no value. The currency's value is based on faith in both the underlying computations and in the existence of a market for trading bitcoin.
Wikipedia gives the definition "often by government regulation" (implying not necessarily) citing Goldberg, Dror (2005). "Famous Myths of "Fiat Money"". Journal of Money, Credit and Banking. 37 (5): 957–967. doi:10.1353/mcb.2005.0052. JSTOR 3839155. S2CID 54713138.
Re:Bitcoin is a ‘boon for surveillance’, says former CIA dir...
by cblconfederate on Wednesday April 14, 2021 @03:25AM
(#26804033)
That definition is wrong. "by fiat" does not imply a commodity, it was just one of the many alternatives
Dollars used to be backed by gold and it was still fiat money.
Bitcoin is backed by its own scarcity.