I see your point; all stocks are to certain (or large:) degree ephemeral.
But at the same time, I like the quote: “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.”
Apple's stock may crash; but there'll still be 10's of thousands of people selling 100's of millions of iPhones. They'll keep doing it, as I don't see interest in iPhones being cut off in a day (slow or fast decline, maybe). Heck, even Blackberry as a company is still around somewhere.
Bitcoin is ALL market sentiment / vaporware / belief.
(A comparison to Fiat money may be more apt, though would take me out of discussion - I simply haven't the foggiest deep understanding of "what if currency X crashes / how likely is it / what is it backed by REALLY if anything" )
> Bitcoin is ALL market sentiment / vaporware / belief.
Sure, but if you take minute to think about it, so are iPhones.
They sell because people want them.
Supply and demand.
You are then going to tell me about utility.
I claim that:
a) utility is just another way to describe demand
b) cryptos do have utility:
- shielding wealth from govt
- shielding wealth from inflation
- shielding wealth from disgruntled spouses
- moving large quantities of wealth quickly across borders
You might or might now agree with the "morality" of these attributes, but that's neither here nor there: when it comes to economic utility, that's not really a part of the conversation.
Personally I am pulling back on the inflation claim. Im not sure that the claim that bitcoin is an inflation hedge is accurate. Or at least I haven't investigated it enough to continue advocating that claim.
I'm also not sure that bitcoin does shield wealth from government, at least in the US it doesn't. It certainly does a better job if your government is not the US. The other two claims I agree with.
To me the utility of btc is simple. It's the ability to opt into a different and codified monetary policy. That policy is collectively securitized. If I don't agree with the monetary policy of a or any government I can opt I to a system outside of that. Imo this serves as competition to centralized banking.
But at the same time, I like the quote: “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.”
Apple's stock may crash; but there'll still be 10's of thousands of people selling 100's of millions of iPhones. They'll keep doing it, as I don't see interest in iPhones being cut off in a day (slow or fast decline, maybe). Heck, even Blackberry as a company is still around somewhere.
Bitcoin is ALL market sentiment / vaporware / belief.
(A comparison to Fiat money may be more apt, though would take me out of discussion - I simply haven't the foggiest deep understanding of "what if currency X crashes / how likely is it / what is it backed by REALLY if anything" )