[nodoll]

The idea described in the post makes sense to me. Bitcoin is idealized gold.

Today gold have some advantage over bitcoin in that it has some intrinsic value. But if someone finds a way to covert iron into gold, your reserve will disappear overnight.

But no such risk for bitcoin. The maximum supply is capped at some number.

[throw0101c]

> Today gold have some advantage over bitcoin in that it has some intrinsic value.

For humans, the only things that have 'intrinsic' value are air/oxygen, shelter, water, food. (Notwithstanding things like joy/happiness and being loved by others.)

Anything else is an arbitrary / psychological trick, or sociological agreement, that we do amongst ourselves. Rocks are just part of this latter mechanism, regardless of whether they are shiny or not:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rai_stones

> The maximum supply is capped at some number.

A fixed money supply is a bug, not a feature. The historical record shows this:

* https://archive.is/https://www.theatlantic.com/business/arch...

* https://www.moneyandbanking.com/commentary/2016/12/14/why-a-...

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Depression

[nodoll]

That article has a chart which shows some price fluctuations and follows that gold standard did not prevent it. But that would require the price fluctuations are only caused by changes in money supply. Which I have a hard time agreeing with.

I get the drawbacks of gold backed money. But I think it dwarfs when compared to a debt based money. Basically I think debt based economies tend to foster rampant exploitation. Yea, I think inflation is really exploitation and thievery. There is no other way to see it. Debt based economies cannot work in a fair way without a way for the community to extract values from the entities that are indebted. It might be a government, or it might be a person. When a bank gives out a loan, it can ask for some collateral. But what collateral does a government provide when it issues a bond?

So in short, a gold backed economy might hinder progress or slow it down, but it won't actually enable thievery and exploitation. But the modern economies does that, and so they are a much bigger evil than a gold backed one.

[tromp]

If someone finds a way to efficiently compute discrete logs over elliptic curves, bitcoin will disappear overnight.

[nodoll]

I think the community will replace it with a better algorithm and existing coins will be swapped for the new coin. Transactions might be required to be frozen for a while though..

[Gud]

If someone figures out a way to convert iron into gold, we are truly living in a marvellous world because this scarcity economics is finally over. In that case, who gives a shit about bitcoin.

[suraci]

that, is the illusion

[nodoll]

That is not an illusion. Bitcoin supply is capped.

If you actually share what you mean by illusion, I can try to address it.