this post was submitted on 10 Aug 2024
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Technology
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Most people when starting out are, or at least should be, very uneasy about putting money into things with no underlying value or feasible purpose beyond being bought by a greater fool in the future.
What about cash?
I can use cash to pay my taxes. I cant pay my taxes with cryptocurrency.
Sure but you can liquidate cryptocurrency to pay your taxes using fiat.
I’ve rarely heard it suggested as an investment, but it can actually be realisticly used to goods and services outside of itself and as such does have an actual purpose, which is more than can be said for any crypto currency.
There are several cryptocurrencies which are regularly used for purchases. Just because BTC and meme-coins get the media coverage and speculation doesn't stop others being used for transactions.
Cash is inflationary, "by definition" as per current monetary theories, meaning it is designed to lose value over time. Not much of an investment.
Also, I can't use USD, GBP or AUD for "goods and services outside of itself"... unless I exchange them for EUR first, same as any Crypto.
That every currency is not accepted everywhere in the world, though every one you listed is pretty commonly accepted by business and as such you absolutely could by things with them in the Eurozone, is not an argument that they are the same as an casino token.
They're not legal tender, not at all commonly accepted, and anyone accepting them (mostly in tourist areas) will charge an exchange fee because nobody's going to take them as payment for their bills.
They're all the same as casino tokens though, because they don't have an intrinsic value, like for example an ounce of gold.
Since the end of the gold standard, economy has been running on trust (aka: credit). These are just different representations of that.