Bitcoin. No Clothes. No Emperor.

[bainbrig]

Just listening to a R4 programme on Bitcoin.

So rather than overthrow capitalism and its cash manifestation (the US Dollar, largely), what you have to do is invent a brand new currency, similarly based on nothing, not even the dubious value of gold, and then persuade people to switch their money (pounds, dollars, whatever) into Bitcoin, and use that for exchange instead.

The Emperor is stark b0ll0ck naked this time. Not a stitch, front or back.

I don't suppose anyone on here has 'invested' in Bitcoins, have they?

Bill B

[Old_Geezer]

It sounds like a bubble, but whilst folk trust and have faith, there is wealth to attract to you, from those who may lose out. Even normal currency doesn't have the gold any more, and banks create cash every time they lend the same money to multiple borrowers. It's all based on faith. Worked so far, in a fashion.

[mikey4444]

Bainbrig....I agree 100%. Bitcoin was invented so that money could change hands, in illegal businesses.

[bainbrig]

Yes, true. I suppose the Emperor's New Clothes were 'based on faith'. Didn't stop him being a bit chilly round the nether regions, though...

BB

[atalanta]

Not just Bitcoin. Now there are 10 digital currencies, including Ethereum, which is regarded as superior to Bitcoin. What I want to know is, how do governments tax the profits made when dealing in these currencies ? Or don't they ?

[bainbrig]

I think that'll be the crunch, atalanta - i.e. when government sees people trading in a 'thing' that they can't tax, they'll recognise Bitcoins as a currency, and tax them. It might last a year or two yet, but is Big Capital really going to stand for people moving out of 'their' sort of money en masse? Hardly.

[bainbrig]

Yes alicenathan, generally agree - once you burst the bubble of Money, the whole house of cards starts tumbling down. I think the panic is more general, i.e. the whole bubble of capitalism!

[ToraToraTora]

OG: "and banks create cash every time they lend the same money to multiple borrowers" - Banks do not create cash, governments do that occasionally as in QE, via a central bank.

[harryson3545]

To delve deeper into this question and find the answer, I suggest reading an article about cryptocurrency: https://btcnews.biz/blockchain/crypto-firms-seek-overseas-growth-amid-regulatory-pressure-in-the-us/