As the AI market continues to balloon, experts are warning that its VC-driven rise is eerily similar to that of the dot com bubble.
As the AI market continues to balloon, experts are warning that its VC-driven rise is eerily similar to that of the dot com bubble.
Gold Standard
Linking money to a material with intrinsic value for it’s value
Gold has intrinsic value
US Dollar moved to be a Fiat Currency
US Dollar is backed by a Government
Crypto has zero intrinsic value, not linked to anything with intrinsic value, and not backed by a Government
Crypto is an imaginary “item” some people want to have valve. Value is created because of this want.
US Dollar is legal tinder for all US debts, Crypto is not
Crypto is not a currency but a digital commodity
Money and gold have value because they can be exchanged easily for goods and services that are really wanted. As long as crypto currencies make it hard to trade for goods ands services, they will be, at best, a fad, at worst, a scam. There needs to be market for crypto to work. All I see is promises, no real commitments to it.
All I ever see around crypto is this vague notion that it could someday be acknowledged and used widely as real money is. But so could bottle caps. I don’t see the mechanism for how it realistically happens. It’s no less a moonshot than it was 3 years ago, IMO.
Just because a lot of people are buying into crypto doesn’t make the underlying inefficiencies in its design (depending on the coin) disappear and make way for common usage. As it stands now, cryptocurrencies are basically glorified ponzi schemes. The people nonstop defending them deserve to be treated with constant skepticism because they have skin in the game and know there’s nothing preventing them from losing it all. It’s in their best interest to believe in it and spread that belief.
Gold does not have intrinsic value. It is merely scarce (relatively speaking). The value of gold fluctuates all the time.
Intrinsic - belonging naturally; essential
Gold has physical applications that are needed
Even if people didn’t want it because of the looks, gold would still be needed to make things
Gold has intrinsic value because it is always going to be worth something
Gold is never going to be worthless. That’s it intrinsic value.
Much of gold’s value (certainly before the ending of the Gold Standard) was totally subjective. It looks pretty. Being rare and pretty gave it value.
I suppose you could tie some sort of value to technical application, but it isn’t intrinsic to gold itself. If society collapses tomorrow, gold isn’t suddenly going to be currency.
Yes much of gold’s value comes from the way it looks. Not disputing that.
It is
Gold has properties that are unique. You can’t just use iron as a replacement. Apple can’t be like, “You know gold is expensive, I think we will just use cheap iron in our phones instead”. Not going to work out. There is a demand for gold over it just looking pretty.
This technical application is what gives gold it’s intrinsic value
Even if that value is really low it’s always going to be something
Well not always because, like you said, if society collapsed, Apple wouldn’t need to make phones. But at that point, all economic stuff is out the window. It would have to go through a bartering system until some kind of currency system could get started again. Eventually gold will be needed again. So really it still has value just not at the time.