Also the current fiat system is debt based, which means that the vast majority of money is printed by banks and the money printing power is at the highest ranking sales person, and hidden.
Similarly, you shouldn't necessarily trust a central bank when they want to print money. (I'm not inherently opposed to it and think the pros probably outweigh the cons for some situations and intents; just saying accountability in cases like these isn't as simple as "it's the people's will".)
Who has the highest amount of power in Bitcoin, and why haven't they done anything, for example increase the issuance?
But let's face it: most of the hype is in well-functioning democracies. Here, I cannot fathom why anyone would wanna replace fiat currencies with this crap.
In the "well functioning democracy" U.S. You have:
- Mistrust in institutions
- An insane asset inflation bubble fueled by the biggest fiat printing spree ever
Sure, the state hasn't failed. But are you really surprised people want to expose themselves to a new paradigm with different fundamentals for money and finance, this year?
Hence the impetus to try something different and more befitting the future of our species.
So, do you think that the dollar - and specifically the inflation schedule and distribution mechanisms of the dollar - can be reasonably said to be under democratic, rather than plutocratic, control?
However as a speculative instrument eth and Bitcoin are not my cup of tea.
How does that work? Is it a vanilla Eth transfer, or is a contract generated each time and you review the Solidity code before proceeding?
If a person thinks that fiat payments work well, he hasn't really travelled yet to different cultures.
This is the genesis of a new crypto universe. It's hugely hyped, and a lot of it is clearly BS. But underlying the hype and hysteria there's a kernel of a new paradigm emerging.
Crypto applications promise to provide disintermediation on a scale not seen before. Direct peer to peer transactions, conducted transparently, without a need to verify trust and happening simultaneously anywhere in the world.
Not only that but smart contracts bring with them the potential to do stuff that simply is not possible right now. For example, providing instant conditional transactions (if my fave rental car is available book it, otherwise search for another solution, but only from these sources at this price) etc etc etc. We don't know what this means, but it could be a revolution. Or not. :)
Yes, this can be a real problem when traveling.
> Bitcoin always works …
This is obviously a completely bullshit statement. Bitcoin almost never works in places where credit cards or ‘fiat’ are accepted.
> If a person thinks that fiat payments work well, he hasn't really travelled yet to different cultures.
‘Fiat payments’ covers everything from the ATM network to cash to western union to Hawala. All aspects of fiat payments indeed have problems.
However the idea that today, Bitcoin solves these problems outside of a tiny fraction of contrived cases is a delusional fantasy.
Almost nobody in the world trades in Bitcoin. Almost everybody in the world trades in ‘fiat’.
Count me among the people who have travelled and never encountered problems. I always bring two cards in case something weird happens, but I’ve never had to use the backup.
If established banking cards aren’t working in a country, it seems unlikely that relatively recent cryptocurrency would be working any better at their banking institutions. If their banks can’t take your bank card in exchange for cash, I doubt they’re going to be set up to take your Bitcoin.
In practice it has never been more that a nuisance, as I've just gone to a different bank's ATM and it's been fine.
Fiat works, and works well. You're advised to keep some cash on hand, but it works multiple orders of ↑↑↑ [1] better than bitcoin
