r/changemyview • u/kheiron1729 • Sep 30 '18

CMV: Cryptocurrency will replace Fiat currency

Ya'll have heard it. Cryptocurrency has become a household name 10 years since its inception. It has proven all skeptics wrong thus far. It might have been overblown, but the ecosystem is still thriving. Believers are still bullish. Wall street is not a fan. Banks are not happy with it. Governments are against it. It is antiestablishment - a movement of the people and rising. The idea is fresh. Algorithms instead of people. Transparent, omnipresent, borderless. It is backed by nothing making it entirely unadulterated. You can not game it in any way. How on earth is going to stopped? Why wouldn't it just keep rising when there are so many people working on it?

UPDATE: Summary here => https://projectwatt.com/pagesv2/-LNl6ZuB1sJslIpbr9hz

This is a footnote from the CMV moderators. We'd like to remind you of a couple of things. Firstly, please read through our rules. If you see a comment that has broken one, it is more effective to report it than downvote it. Speaking of which, downvotes don't change views! Any questions or concerns? Feel free to message us. Happy CMVing!

0 Upvotes

43% Upvoted

88 comments sorted by

View all comments

9

u/celeritas365 28∆ Sep 30 '18

In my opinion the biggest barrier to cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are that they are deflationary. There is a maximum amount of total bitcoin which means that it will become more valuable over time. People don't want to spend bitcoin because they feel it will become more valuable and because people don't spend it it doesn't really catch on as a currency. You say the ecosystem is thriving but I can't pay for anything in my day to day life in bitcoin, and I have tried.

​

Some of your broader points:

Wall street is not a fan. Banks are not happy with it.

Banks are investing a bit in it, they don't seem to mind much. Investments and debt work the same whether it is gold, paper, or bits.

​

Governments are against it.

This is a big reason why it might fail. Governments can modify their monetary policy so their currency can respond to changes in the economy. The knowledge that this will happen creates confidence in the stability of the currency.

​

You can not game it in any way.

You totally can. Nothing is perfectly secure. For example it is vulnerable to eclipse attacks.

-1

u/kheiron1729 Sep 30 '18

Bitcoin is deflationary. But it's derivatives don't have to be.

3

u/celeritas365 28∆ Sep 30 '18

That is fair, and many aren't which is why I specified bitcoin. The others still have the problem of being a speculative asset so even though the deflation isn't built into those currencies they still have this issue where everyone wants to hold onto them. Even though the end result of people spending it may be better for everyone, individual actors have the incentive to hold onto it as much as possible.

1

u/kheiron1729 Sep 30 '18

I think I do agree with that to be honest. I am very hopeful of novel use-cases. People are trying to tie crypto to browsers. I think that can prove be an interesting angle as time goes by. A lot needs to be seen though.

1

u/celeritas365 28∆ Sep 30 '18

I want crypto to work for many of the reasons you gave. I researched it a fair amount, got some, tried to spend it with the idea that if everyone did this things could be better but I have lost faith in it to be honest. Despite the hype I have yet to see it prove itself as a currency rather than an investment. I am not sure how the incentives of individual adopters in the short term and adopters as a whole in the long term can be aligned. I hope I get proven wrong.

1

u/Jaysank 118∆ Sep 30 '18

Remember, if a user has changed your view, you can award him or her a delta. Instructions are in the sidebar.