Bitcoin is the Segway of Currency(theatlantic.com)

23 pointsby jmduke13 yıl önce8 comments

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/11/bitcoin-is-the-segway-of-currency/281625/

8 comments

Bitcoin allows capital flight out of sovereign states that would otherwise not allow it; if it is never used for any other purpose, it is more historically impacting and meaningful then the Segway.

This article is like a Segway: It is quite smug, and it falls a bit short of useful.

jboggan13 yıl önce

I'm saving this to repost in 5 years. Ha.

There is a lot of uncertainty in establishing a value relative to the dollar because the positive Senate hearings on Monday injected ebullient chaos into the market. Wherever the value temporarily settles it will definitely be "more than last Friday."

Not to mention that most price stability mechanisms for other currencies and commodities don't yet exist for Bitcoin. There are arbitrage opportunities galore but few ways to technically implement them due to the nascent and fragmented market. That will change.

colinbartlett13 yıl önce

The author seems to think "governments can't tax" gold and that Bitcoin users aim to avoid taxes as well, which couldn't be farther from the truth.

rkirkendall13 yıl önce

"Because, as Y Combinator's Paul Graham puts it, you can't ride a Segway without looking like a "smug dork." And people generally try to avoid looking like that. "

Thinking about Google Glass, I feel like the author may have picked the wrong new tech to compare to a Segway. I still wouldn't agree with it, but he would have a better argument.

Zigurd13 yıl önce

Segway wishes it was the bitcoin of transportation.

rainmaking13 yıl önce

Segway failed. Segway was new. Bitcoin is new. Therefore, bitcoin will fail. Because PG.

jondtaylor13 yıl önce

People can use escrow for some customer protection. It worked out well for me the last time I ordered from bitmit.

mrb13 yıl önce

Wow, what a misinformed article.

- the author doesn't realize irreversible transactions is actually a benefit for merchants

- the author incorrectly uses the term "ponzi scheme" (he applies it to gold as well)

- the author is unaware of rapid adoption of Bitcoin by merchants (BitPay's 10,000 merchants...)

- the author is unaware of many practical benefits of bitcoin (people escaping their country's inflationary currencies, sending money abroad with lower fees, etc)