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Are bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies used outside of crime and investment?
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nctnico:

--- Quote from: james_s on April 05, 2020, 01:07:56 am ---Gold is very useful stuff in itself, it has inherent value. Cryptocurrency isn't even a tangible object that exists, you can't actually do anything with it.

--- End quote ---
But what makes gold different from money or cryptocurrency? After all you can't eat it so when the world goes to sh*t it is of no use. Whether it is gold, money (physical or in a bank account) or crypto currency; it is only 'worth' what someone wants to give to you in exchange.
james_s:

--- Quote from: nctnico on April 05, 2020, 01:35:28 am ---But what makes gold different from money or cryptocurrency? After all you can't eat it so when the world goes to sh*t it is of no use. Whether it is gold, money (physical or in a bank account) or crypto currency; it is only 'worth' what someone wants to give to you in exchange.

--- End quote ---

People who can produce excess food will trade it for gold because gold is desirable, it doesn't oxidize, it's a reasonable conductor of electricity, it's a superb reflector of heat, it's easily plated on or alloyed with other metals, not to mention the physical appearance has made it popular for decorative purposes since the dawn of human society. It's a tangible substance that exists on earth in limited quantities. The value of gold may fluctuate but it's always going to have value and in prosperous times it will increase in value.

Money has value only because we assign value to it, various currencies have come and gone, some are now dead and not worth the paper they're printed on. The US Dollar is much safer than crypto because it's backed by the US government but even it could become worthless if the government collapsed. Throughout everything gold has never been worthless and it never will be, unless we get to where we can synthesize it cheaply. There seems to be an innate desire in people to posses the stuff, countless have been killed over it.
magic:

--- Quote from: MadTux on April 04, 2020, 10:21:18 pm ---Or just buy 60pounds of lead, 40pounds of tin on ebay, mix in a couple of copper scraps and cook it for a while on your favorite stove. ;D

--- End quote ---
Selling any alloy with more than 0.3% of lead (or thereabouts) is illegal in the Glorious Democratic People's Union of Europe ;D The eBay sources may soon disappear and then you will have to buy it for crypto on the darknet or from Russian smugglers on the local bazaar.

Myself, I recommend paying cash to Russian smugglers because crypto leaves a permanent record of the payment and if the GDP-EU finds out who owned those wallets then your vendor will disappear too ;D I must confess to being a big fanboy of cash, crypto really is for incels who don't dare to leave their mother's basement :P

Not sure if possession of lead is illegal yet, but if it ever will, no way I'm going to buy that stuff for crypto :scared:
james_s:
Is leaded solder not exempt for avionics and such over there? I believe that sort of thing is exempt here.
magic:
Yes, it is. I have a spool of 60/40 at home labeled "for professional use only" :-DD
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