USA has natural resources, advanced technologies, and a standing armed forces that are stationed all over the world. These extract value and serve as utility.
Bitcoin is better at laundering money than many fiat currencies but otherwise it’s only wide scale utility is a speculative investment asset that only increases in value if more people create demand for its limited supply.
I don't think it really qualifies as a Ponzi scheme, functionally it's not all that different from any other speculative asset. You're not giving your money to the 'blockchain' expecting it to give back X amount of dollars, you're trading your money for bitcoins and that's the end of it. Whether you want to keep your bitcoins forever, or attempt to find someone else to sell them to is up to you.
As an occasional bitcoin holder, I don't think it's a Ponzi scheme. Who's the Ponzi schemer? How come every time it collapses it comes back bigger in a year or two?
It's not a Ponzi scheme. It's a multi-level marketing or pyramid scheme. A percentage of every sale (transaction fees) of crypto goes to the other coin owners of the crypto. For every crypto coin it works slightly different.
For Bitcoin, the original design was that everybody could be a miner and (potentially) receive transaction fees. Now it's in the hands of a few with the computing power.
70% of Bitcoin holders bought in last year. A continuous stream of greater fools is necessary for its price to even remain at the current level
Also, every ponzi scheme gives amazing returns, before it inevitably collapses. For example Madoff was able to give decent returns to his investors for 17 years! 'Number go up' is not a refutation of a ponzi scheme.
Please explain to me how Bitcoin is a Ponzi scheme while USD after 1971 (going away from the gold standard) is not.
More so explain to me how the USD is less of a Ponzi scheme when it is the super wealthy banks/institutions that are getting zero interest loans allowing them to make even more money while at the same time devaluating the currency.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have ~zero inherent value, due to their non-speculation use-cases like payment being very limited or still early development (smart contracts). Unless you count BTC in black market I guess.
USD has inherent value, it's the only currency where you can pay taxes in, and if you want to do business with government or government employees - who are ever only paid in USD - you must accept USD.
johnebgd|4 years ago
Bitcoin is better at laundering money than many fiat currencies but otherwise it’s only wide scale utility is a speculative investment asset that only increases in value if more people create demand for its limited supply.
cm2012|4 years ago
DSMan195276|4 years ago
tim333|4 years ago
manfredz|4 years ago
cuteboy19|4 years ago
Also, every ponzi scheme gives amazing returns, before it inevitably collapses. For example Madoff was able to give decent returns to his investors for 17 years! 'Number go up' is not a refutation of a ponzi scheme.
podgaj|4 years ago
lupire|4 years ago
sschueller|4 years ago
More so explain to me how the USD is less of a Ponzi scheme when it is the super wealthy banks/institutions that are getting zero interest loans allowing them to make even more money while at the same time devaluating the currency.
dtech|4 years ago
USD has inherent value, it's the only currency where you can pay taxes in, and if you want to do business with government or government employees - who are ever only paid in USD - you must accept USD.
khuey|4 years ago