• Cethin@lemmy.zip
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    vor 7 Tagen

    Value isn’t necessarily something tangible. It’s what other people think it’s worth. The USD doesn’t have any more value than the belief people put in it. Do you also think it has no value?

    I’m not defending crypto speculation, but it’s ignorant to say it doesn’t have value if you can buy things with it. Basically all modern money is based on faith, including crypto. Even when it’s based on gold or silver, that’s aren’t actually useful for most people so it’s still made up value worth however much people value that.

    • zalgotext@sh.itjust.works
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      vor 7 Tagen

      Basically all modern money is based on faith, including crypto.

      Ok, sure, however, fiat currencies are based on the faith that there’s at least one entire nation that you can use your currency in, and is motivated to ensure their currency is worth something, and has some semblance of stability. Crypto is based on the faith that there’s other dumbasses out there that will agree with you that these particular bits hold value for some reason.

      • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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        vor 7 Tagen

        Sure. I’m not disagreeing with that, just that it doesn’t have value. It does. Just because it’s made up doesn’t mean it doesn’t have value, as long as someone is willing to buy it from you.

        I don’t like these uses of crypto either. It’s just a really stupid argument to say it doesn’t have value. There are plenty of valid arguments that can be made against it without making something up like that.

      • explodicle@sh.itjust.works
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        vor 7 Tagen

        I’m sorry, but at this point I honestly have more faith in the latter than the former. I just don’t have any faith in America at all.

        • zalgotext@sh.itjust.works
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          vor 7 Tagen

          Ok I’m talking about fiat currency as a concept though, not the USD specifically.

          If your point is that fiat currencies are still vulnerable to some instability, then sure, I guess I agree, but fiat currencies are still orders of magnitude more stable than cryptocurrencies.

          • technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            vor 7 Tagen

            If a state converted from paper money to crypto, the only discernible differences would be like more computers, more transparency, less middlemen, etc. Crypto is literally just a new (distributed, open) form of accounting.

      • TheEighthDoctor@lemmy.zip
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        vor 7 Tagen

        Crypto is based on the faith that there’s other dumbasses out there that will agree with you

        And that’s the most beautiful thing about crypto that got lost in all the speculation, shitcoin, scams, and nft bullshit. A currency of the people for the people, but of course, when the pigs came into power they were the same as the old farmers.

        • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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          vor 7 Tagen

          It was always a scam. When people were saying these things, that was part of the scam.

          There are good uses for the blockchain, just not really with currency.

          • technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            vor 7 Tagen

            Keep telling yourself that crypto is a scam with no value, etc… While you loyally and unquestionably use your green paper money covered in pictures of slave masters.

        • zalgotext@sh.itjust.works
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          vor 7 Tagen

          Eh, it’s also the thing that makes it so vulnerable to speculation, shitcoin, scams, and nft bullshit

      • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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        vor 7 Tagen

        True, but that isn’t contradictory. The point is value of both of these forms of currency are made up and imaginary. They’re valuable as long as someone is willing to purchase it.

        The same is true for gold. People think it has intrinsic value, which is why it’s so easy to scam people with. The value is almost entirely based on people thinking it’s valuable though.

        I don’t like crypto-currencies. It “not having value” isn’t the correct argument to use against it though. It’s a pretty stupid one. There are plenty of good arguments that should be used instead.

      • explodicle@sh.itjust.works
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        vor 7 Tagen

        The USA government? With the tariffs? And the orange buffoon in charge? If we’re counting that, then we might as well count his “crypto reserve” as backing too.

        Or it could be backed by math and economics alone.

      • AtHeartEngineer@lemmy.world
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        vor 7 Tagen

        With the current administration, I’d argue we are definitely in “faith based” money right now.

        It was originally based on a gold reserve and then taken off to become a fiat currency. Trump is talking about potentially not paying back debts owned to other governments. Definitely sounds faith based to me, there’s nothing hard backing it.

    • Thorry84@feddit.nl
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      vor 7 Tagen

      I don’t think it’s worth the discussion, but comparing a fiat currency like the US dollar with crypto currency is a false equivalence argument. They aren’t even comparable.

      • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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        vor 7 Tagen

        I didn’t say they’re equivalent. I said both of them have value that is imaginary. Crypto currencies have value if you can purchase things with them. It just makes you sound dumb to say it doesn’t have value. That’s not the correct argument to make against it.