(01-21-2021, 05:13 PM)jagibelieve Wrote:

(01-21-2021, 04:37 PM)The Real Marty Wrote: Its value is driven by the fact that it has limited supply, sort of like gold, and fiat currencies are too easy for governments to inflate.  A lot of demand comes from places like Venezuela where inflation is raging, so some people have put their money in bitcoin to preserve its value.  Also, a lot of demand comes from people who want to keep their transactions out of sight of the government by avoiding the banking system.  

Personally, I don't trust it.  If one wants an inflation hedge, then the place to be is real estate, the stock market, and maybe precious metals.

This is one of the times where you and I agree (for the most part).  Bitcoin has a limited supply because it is a "made up" currency.  There really is no tangible value to it (can't see it, touch it, etc.).  For the most part it's an "underground currency".  There are a few places that accept bitcoin, but nobody really mainstream.

It's big in the ransomware industry.  They demand payment in bitcoin, because it's untraceable.   

Also, I recall a few years back there was a nationwide drug dealing business where you could order drugs and they would ship them anywhere in the United States.  They also required payment in bitcoin.  Here it is: 

Silk Road Black Market

It's just like any other currency; if people think it's worth something, then it's worth something.

By the way, when you say, "There really is no tangible value to it (can't see it, touch it, etc.). " I would point out that probably 99.9% of dollar based transactions are electronic.  Credit card transactions, for example, so you can't see or touch those dollars either.  Of course, the big difference is, there is a government behind the dollar, and a banking system.  Some people don't like that, but I prefer to have a government and a banking system backing up my money.

---