I'm not being smart, but do you have a source for that? My understanding is that this scaling problem has been caused by the huge demand in Bitcoins for capital appreciation purposes rather than for buying stuff.
I don't think we are arguing here at all. I fully acknowledge that there was very little day to day 'buying stuff' going on. However, it's a process and it was grinding out a slow progression. That got destroyed when transaction times and costs became an issue - so the tiny bit of momentum it had made resulted in it going back the way (many that were offering the opportunity to pay via bitcoin have reversed that decision). Had there not been a scaling issue, I'd imagine BTC would have made greater inroads since then in that respect. That's all I'm saying.
I totally agree and I am not against Bitcoin per se. I do see some potential for Bitcoin and its uptake will likely increase over time.
We're on the same page then....although it may be another crypto. I - and others - here have been going on about Lightning Network. If that doesn't come through in a timely fashion or if it is flawed, that could spell the end for bitcoin. There's a lot riding on it - and it's a concern as nobody really knows if it will make the grade. That said, if that occurs, then another crypto will come in and fill the void.
The difficulty I have is in reconciling this potential against the current price, which I don't believe anyone has been able to justify. Why has the value of Bitcoin gone up over 10 times in a year? Where's this sudden potential? It should be really obvious to justify this growth in value.
Nobody knows how to price it (except Brendan
) but I guess it's a combination of what people perceive it's value to be and the fact that it's finite. What gives gold the value it has?...and yes, I know that you can say that it can be used for a handful of things but at the end of the day it's public sentiment and perception. Tulip bulbs is what someone usually shouts at this point. However, I disagree that it has no intrinsic value - it has a set of characteristics that gives it some intrinsic value.
Of course, the value of gold has been established since the year dot but everything starts somewhere. I guess as a store of value, I still see that it can work over time - and yes, it's understating it to say that its imperfect in this regard due to the crazy volatility. However, there is a rationale that suggests that over the fullness of time, this will dissipate.
I suppose there is a concern in the way it surged before Christmas. I was away on holiday for 3 weeks. Before I left, most people hadn't heard of Bitcoin. When I came back, everyone had heard of it (even if they didn't understand it). I wasn't tuned in to what was at play during that time that lead to that surge - but I suppose I have reconsidered my position a little and believe that these were people with little genuine understanding and therefore belief in BTC ...so that made those newcomers fickle.
For those who looked at it as a currency, it's being traded on a possibility of it being able to function - as it currently can't scale in a functional way in that respect. I'm not sure if the fickle set have the patience to wait around for a solution - and on the flip side, there may be technical difficulties in delivering that solution in any event.
I guess that's why I moved from being a 'Hodl-er' to closing out my position (at least for the moment)....that and concern I have about the whole Tether situation.
