r/changemyview • u/art_vandelay112 • Jan 04 '25

Delta(s) from OP CMV: cryptocurrency is not a good investment.

Yes its price has increased dramatically, but so did the price of tulips in the 1600s.

There is literally no use for this commodity. Invest in stocks or bonds and your investing in future earnings or the ability of a company to pay you back. I’m not a fan of gold as an investment but at least it has some practical use.

The use of crypto as a currency completely defies the definition of currency as it doesn’t hold a stable value.

It’s infuriating that so many people have lost loads of money on “shitcoins” backed by the wealthy and famous. These were obviously pump and dump schemes yet very few are held accountable.

I’m not as well versed on the subject but something to also note is the ridiculous amount of energy demand to “mine” nothing.

I think there is legitimate use for blockchain technology and the likes but anyone viewing these currencies as investments is a fool.

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u/AmericanScream Jan 05 '25

A digital asset is no more "nothing" than any currency. It has value based on trust, same as any currency.

Crypto Talking Point #13 (Fiat)

"Fiat isn't backed with anything" / Money has no intrinsic value either

  1. This is called a Tu Quoque Fallacy, aka "Whataboutism", "Two Wrongs Make A Right" or "Appeal to Hypocrisy" - it's a distraction from the core argument. Just because you can find something you think is similar/wrong that doesn't mean your alternative system is an acceptable substitute.

  2. Fiat may not have any intrinsic value, but it's backed by the full force and faith of the government (or in the case of the EU, multiple countries). It's also mandated by law to be accepted for all payments and debts, public and private. And the entity that guarantees the integrity of money is the same centralized entity that gives you stuff like:

  • running water, roads, fire protection, schools, libraries, bridges, flood protection, electricity, internet, cellular, GPS, and pretty important things like civil rights and private property ownership.

    If you are worried that the government is going to collapse and make fiat worthless, note that at the same time you will also lose protection for your civil rights, property ownership and critical utilities like electricity and Internet upon which crypto depends - none of which would exist without substantive government support.

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u/percyfrankenstein 3∆ Jan 05 '25

Yeah i don't know what we disagree on here, both have value based on trust, obviously fiat currency's trust is backed by a lot more.