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The New Coffee Room

  1. TNCR
  2. General Discussion
  3. Can someone explain this to me?

Can someone explain this to me?

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  • HoraceH Offline
    HoraceH Offline
    Horace
    wrote on last edited by
    #2

    It's a different sort of currency because its value isn't ultimately backed by the threat of violence. Only an agreement amongst enough people that it's valuable. Because they don't trust the currencies that are backed by threats of violence.

    Education is extremely important.

    1 Reply Last reply
    • 89th8 Offline
      89th8 Offline
      89th
      wrote on last edited by 89th
      #3

      For some, it’s about the anonymity. For others, it’s about a decentralized currency. And for others, it’s about investing.

      As I understand it, Bitcoin is just the leading cryptocurrency…which is just a “blockchain” currency where every creation and usage is tracked on a universally accessible ledger. In theory, it’s decentralized (not controlled by anyone) and it’s transparent (can’t be faked by anyone).

      Some crypto coins have a fixed supply, others don’t.

      At the end of the day, the value (price per coin) seems to be old school supply and demand.

      IMO, crypto is absolutely here to stay. I have a small investment in a few coins.

      Also IMO the real long term value will be in NFT (non fungible tokens) which Ethereum (the 2nd most popular crypto coin) is based. NFTs essentially the same idea of cryptocurrency except instead of coins, you are selling a unique ID tracker that can be attached to anything, such as a work of art. I think it will be a long-term solution for creating unique IDs to attach to digital content that would otherwise be copied and forged easily.

      1 Reply Last reply
      • X Offline
        X Offline
        xenon
        wrote on last edited by xenon
        #4

        There's lots of technical reasons why people think it's a good store of value.

        It's mostly a speculative asset at this point.

        Aside from facilitating international payments and (and illegal transactions) - I see no advantages over the current payment networks (e.g., credit cards).

        If every US retailer started accepting a specific cryptocurrency tomorrow, it wouldn't make my life any better.

        Plus it takes as much electricity as all of Argentina uses just to run Bitcoin. I dunno how climate change people reconcile that with themselves.

        1 Reply Last reply
        • George KG George K

          OK, I'm a retired old fart.

          I use credit cards, a checking account, etc.

          (please type really slowly so I can get this)

          Can someone please explain Bitcoin to me? Other than anonymity, what's the point?

          "Bitcoin mining?" WTF is that.

          Should I be concerned, or just ignore?

          KlausK Online
          KlausK Online
          Klaus
          wrote on last edited by
          #5

          @george-k said in Can someone explain this to me?:

          "Bitcoin mining?" WTF is that.

          It's the Bitcoin way of how to deal with the initial distribution of currency and the growth of the money supply. The idea is that you can create new Bitcoin by solving computationally expensive problems.

          Doctor PhibesD 1 Reply Last reply
          • George KG George K

            OK, I'm a retired old fart.

            I use credit cards, a checking account, etc.

            (please type really slowly so I can get this)

            Can someone please explain Bitcoin to me? Other than anonymity, what's the point?

            "Bitcoin mining?" WTF is that.

            Should I be concerned, or just ignore?

            JoeBJ Offline
            JoeBJ Offline
            JoeB
            wrote on last edited by
            #6

            85478.jpg
            16th Century Tulips
            bitcoin-token-displayed.jpg
            21st Century Tulips

            "There are many ingredients in the stew of annoyance." - Bucky Katt

            1 Reply Last reply
            • Doctor PhibesD Offline
              Doctor PhibesD Offline
              Doctor Phibes
              wrote on last edited by Doctor Phibes
              #7

              I'm none the wiser after reading all that.

              I do know that I can't buy a decent video card for love nor money.

              I was only joking

              Catseye3C 89th8 2 Replies Last reply
              • Doctor PhibesD Doctor Phibes

                I'm none the wiser after reading all that.

                I do know that I can't buy a decent video card for love nor money.

                Catseye3C Offline
                Catseye3C Offline
                Catseye3
                wrote on last edited by
                #8

                @doctor-phibes said in Can someone explain this to me?:

                I'm none the wiser after reading all that.

                You took the words right out of my keyboard, Phibes.

                I felt like a 4-year-old listening to Uncle Einstein explain relativity.

                Success is measured by your discipline and inner peace. – Mike Ditka

                Doctor PhibesD 1 Reply Last reply
                • Catseye3C Catseye3

                  @doctor-phibes said in Can someone explain this to me?:

                  I'm none the wiser after reading all that.

                  You took the words right out of my keyboard, Phibes.

                  I felt like a 4-year-old listening to Uncle Einstein explain relativity.

                  Doctor PhibesD Offline
                  Doctor PhibesD Offline
                  Doctor Phibes
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #9

                  @catseye3 said in Can someone explain this to me?:

                  I felt like a 4-year-old listening to Uncle Einstein explain relativity.

                  I felt like a 4 year old listening to a bunch of people who don't really understand relativity trying to explain relativity.

                  I was only joking

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  • KlausK Klaus

                    @george-k said in Can someone explain this to me?:

                    "Bitcoin mining?" WTF is that.

                    It's the Bitcoin way of how to deal with the initial distribution of currency and the growth of the money supply. The idea is that you can create new Bitcoin by solving computationally expensive problems.

                    Doctor PhibesD Offline
                    Doctor PhibesD Offline
                    Doctor Phibes
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #10

                    @klaus said in Can someone explain this to me?:

                    @george-k said in Can someone explain this to me?:

                    "Bitcoin mining?" WTF is that.

                    It's the Bitcoin way of how to deal with the initial distribution of currency and the growth of the money supply. The idea is that you can create new Bitcoin by solving computationally expensive problems.

                    It seems to me that there's a fundamental flaw with a currency that requires you to do something completely pointless and damaging to the environment in order to create wealth.

                    Then again, I guess you could say the same thing about gold mining.

                    I was only joking

                    KlausK 1 Reply Last reply
                    • Doctor PhibesD Doctor Phibes

                      @klaus said in Can someone explain this to me?:

                      @george-k said in Can someone explain this to me?:

                      "Bitcoin mining?" WTF is that.

                      It's the Bitcoin way of how to deal with the initial distribution of currency and the growth of the money supply. The idea is that you can create new Bitcoin by solving computationally expensive problems.

                      It seems to me that there's a fundamental flaw with a currency that requires you to do something completely pointless and damaging to the environment in order to create wealth.

                      Then again, I guess you could say the same thing about gold mining.

                      KlausK Online
                      KlausK Online
                      Klaus
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #11

                      @doctor-phibes said in Can someone explain this to me?:

                      @klaus said in Can someone explain this to me?:

                      @george-k said in Can someone explain this to me?:

                      "Bitcoin mining?" WTF is that.

                      It's the Bitcoin way of how to deal with the initial distribution of currency and the growth of the money supply. The idea is that you can create new Bitcoin by solving computationally expensive problems.

                      It seems to me that there's a fundamental flaw with a currency that requires you to do something completely pointless and damaging to the environment in order to create wealth.

                      Then again, I guess you could say the same thing about gold mining.

                      I doubt that the inventor of mining had the current situation in mind when he came up with the idea.

                      If you leave off the unfortunate ecological consequences, the idea of mining is pretty interesting. I wouldn't know a better way to control initial distribution and growth of the money supply in a different way that is both decentralized and "fair" in a certain sense.

                      Doctor PhibesD 1 Reply Last reply
                      • KlausK Klaus

                        @doctor-phibes said in Can someone explain this to me?:

                        @klaus said in Can someone explain this to me?:

                        @george-k said in Can someone explain this to me?:

                        "Bitcoin mining?" WTF is that.

                        It's the Bitcoin way of how to deal with the initial distribution of currency and the growth of the money supply. The idea is that you can create new Bitcoin by solving computationally expensive problems.

                        It seems to me that there's a fundamental flaw with a currency that requires you to do something completely pointless and damaging to the environment in order to create wealth.

                        Then again, I guess you could say the same thing about gold mining.

                        I doubt that the inventor of mining had the current situation in mind when he came up with the idea.

                        If you leave off the unfortunate ecological consequences, the idea of mining is pretty interesting. I wouldn't know a better way to control initial distribution and growth of the money supply in a different way that is both decentralized and "fair" in a certain sense.

                        Doctor PhibesD Offline
                        Doctor PhibesD Offline
                        Doctor Phibes
                        wrote on last edited by Doctor Phibes
                        #12

                        @klaus said in Can someone explain this to me?:

                        I doubt that the inventor of mining had the current situation in mind when he came up with the idea.

                        Software engineers aren't engineers.

                        I was only joking

                        George KG 1 Reply Last reply
                        • AxtremusA Offline
                          AxtremusA Offline
                          Axtremus
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #13

                          Is/was the inventor of Bitcoin an engineer?

                          Doctor PhibesD 1 Reply Last reply
                          • AxtremusA Axtremus

                            Is/was the inventor of Bitcoin an engineer?

                            Doctor PhibesD Offline
                            Doctor PhibesD Offline
                            Doctor Phibes
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #14

                            @axtremus said in Can someone explain this to me?:

                            Is/was the inventor of Bitcoin an engineer?

                            Nobody knows....
                            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satoshi_Nakamoto

                            I was only joking

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            • Doctor PhibesD Doctor Phibes

                              @klaus said in Can someone explain this to me?:

                              I doubt that the inventor of mining had the current situation in mind when he came up with the idea.

                              Software engineers aren't engineers.

                              George KG Offline
                              George KG Offline
                              George K
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #15

                              @doctor-phibes said in Can someone explain this to me?:

                              Software engineers aren't engineers.

                              Indeed, whenever I get tech support on a piece of software that's not behaving, the person says, "I'll relay this to the engineers."

                              It takes all of my self-restraint to not ask what kind of locomotive...

                              "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

                              The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              • HoraceH Offline
                                HoraceH Offline
                                Horace
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #16

                                I’ve seen a compelling set of evidence that it is a guy named Adam Back.

                                Education is extremely important.

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                • Doctor PhibesD Doctor Phibes

                                  I'm none the wiser after reading all that.

                                  I do know that I can't buy a decent video card for love nor money.

                                  89th8 Offline
                                  89th8 Offline
                                  89th
                                  wrote on last edited by 89th
                                  #17

                                  @doctor-phibes said in Can someone explain this to me?:

                                  I'm none the wiser after reading all that.

                                  And for @Catseye3 , how about this description:

                                  Bitcoin is a type of "crypto currency". Aka digital money you can't hold, and that isn't owned by anyone or any government.

                                  It's internet money. Enough people have decided it's real enough that they use it like real money to buy/sell things, and so the "equivalent dollar price" of what a bitcoin is worth has gone up based on the demand to have one.

                                  Every time a bitcoin is created or used, it updates this magical internet ledger so every transaction and every bitcoin ever is tracked using the internet.

                                  To create a bitcoin, which 99.999% of bitcoin users do not do because it's so expensive, you have to run lots of computer actions that conform to the bitcoin software rules.

                                  Right now the energy it takes to run all of those computer actions is approximately the same energy used by a US household for 53 days.

                                  Catseye3C 1 Reply Last reply
                                  • MikM Offline
                                    MikM Offline
                                    Mik
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #18

                                    I'm taking the Buffett approach - if I don't really understand it I don't invest in it.

                                    “I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” ~Winston S. Churchill

                                    89th8 1 Reply Last reply
                                    • George KG George K

                                      OK, I'm a retired old fart.

                                      I use credit cards, a checking account, etc.

                                      (please type really slowly so I can get this)

                                      Can someone please explain Bitcoin to me? Other than anonymity, what's the point?

                                      "Bitcoin mining?" WTF is that.

                                      Should I be concerned, or just ignore?

                                      CopperC Offline
                                      CopperC Offline
                                      Copper
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #19

                                      @george-k said in Can someone explain this to me?:

                                      Can someone explain this to me?

                                      No

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      • MikM Mik

                                        I'm taking the Buffett approach - if I don't really understand it I don't invest in it.

                                        89th8 Offline
                                        89th8 Offline
                                        89th
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #20

                                        @mik said in Can someone explain this to me?:

                                        I'm taking the Buffett approach - if I don't really understand it I don't invest in it.

                                        Ok how about this.

                                        Let's pretend every post by @George-K is a Cheddarcoin, tracked by the post ID. How much money would you spend to own a Cheddarcoin? Once enough people buy his Cheddarcoins, @Klaus announces that TNCR officially supports the use of Cheddarcoin in TNCR transactions. For example, it might cost 5 Cheddarcoins to see a picture of @Doctor-Phibes drink a non-alcoholic beer, or 10 Cheddarcoins to force @mark to buy a Dell off of a Best Buy shelf. Or maybe 50 Cheddarcoins to see a picture of @Aqua-Letifer 's sister, but 100 Cheddarcoins to remove it. How many Cheddarcoins would you pay to watch @Larry wear a BLM shirt or for @Jolly to hire someone to chop down a small maple tree?

                                        MikM 1 Reply Last reply
                                        • 89th8 89th

                                          @mik said in Can someone explain this to me?:

                                          I'm taking the Buffett approach - if I don't really understand it I don't invest in it.

                                          Ok how about this.

                                          Let's pretend every post by @George-K is a Cheddarcoin, tracked by the post ID. How much money would you spend to own a Cheddarcoin? Once enough people buy his Cheddarcoins, @Klaus announces that TNCR officially supports the use of Cheddarcoin in TNCR transactions. For example, it might cost 5 Cheddarcoins to see a picture of @Doctor-Phibes drink a non-alcoholic beer, or 10 Cheddarcoins to force @mark to buy a Dell off of a Best Buy shelf. Or maybe 50 Cheddarcoins to see a picture of @Aqua-Letifer 's sister, but 100 Cheddarcoins to remove it. How many Cheddarcoins would you pay to watch @Larry wear a BLM shirt or for @Jolly to hire someone to chop down a small maple tree?

                                          MikM Offline
                                          MikM Offline
                                          Mik
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #21

                                          @mik said in Can someone explain this to me?:

                                          I'm taking the Buffett approach - if I don't really understand it I don't invest in it.

                                          “I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” ~Winston S. Churchill

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