edilmedeiros on Nostr: Bitcoin is a debit card? That's how a dear colleague is trying to argue against my ...
Bitcoin is a debit card?
That's how a dear colleague is trying to argue against my position that Bitcoin can become money someday.
A debit card is just a messaging system, a kind of voucher that is redeemable for the underlying currency, which is Reais or Dollars, or any modern fiat.
There existed this kind of stuff during the gold standard (not electronic, but in actual paper and in balance sheets) and it is estimated that it was more prevalent than barter and gold itself, coins being reserved for transactions with strangers, and bank notes for distant fairs and for large transactions.
I highly disagree that Bitcoin is a debit card, but I'm curious about the rationale behind this position. Bitcoin is a messaging system in its core, just like a debit or credit card system, indeed. But it is not debit from someone else like in a debit (or credit) card system, it is the asset itself and the underlying "physical" phenomenon associated with this asset is being able to send new messages in this system.
Yes, it looks like fiat in the sense it's not redeemable for an underlying commodity, but it is intrinsically different from fiat for it is an entitlement for sending messages in a real system that (some) people decided (in the market) to value.
Lawrence White, in Better Money, argues that the difference in nature between fiat and Bitcoin is government coercion. I understand there's more to it.
You may argue that Bitcoin is not money since it is not widely accepted as a medium of exchange. I'll agree with that. But for something to become money, it has to not be money before (like gold, silver, and fiat). Also, there's no accepted theory for how something becomes money.
So, we may be witnessing the monetization of this thing (or not, who knows?). I'm betting in the monetization of this thing for more than economic reasons. I may be wrong, time will tell.
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You can see the discussion on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/edilmedeiros_new-paper-coming-out-soon-this-time-an-activity-7239438107782074368-4Noi
That's how a dear colleague is trying to argue against my position that Bitcoin can become money someday.
A debit card is just a messaging system, a kind of voucher that is redeemable for the underlying currency, which is Reais or Dollars, or any modern fiat.
There existed this kind of stuff during the gold standard (not electronic, but in actual paper and in balance sheets) and it is estimated that it was more prevalent than barter and gold itself, coins being reserved for transactions with strangers, and bank notes for distant fairs and for large transactions.
I highly disagree that Bitcoin is a debit card, but I'm curious about the rationale behind this position. Bitcoin is a messaging system in its core, just like a debit or credit card system, indeed. But it is not debit from someone else like in a debit (or credit) card system, it is the asset itself and the underlying "physical" phenomenon associated with this asset is being able to send new messages in this system.
Yes, it looks like fiat in the sense it's not redeemable for an underlying commodity, but it is intrinsically different from fiat for it is an entitlement for sending messages in a real system that (some) people decided (in the market) to value.
Lawrence White, in Better Money, argues that the difference in nature between fiat and Bitcoin is government coercion. I understand there's more to it.
You may argue that Bitcoin is not money since it is not widely accepted as a medium of exchange. I'll agree with that. But for something to become money, it has to not be money before (like gold, silver, and fiat). Also, there's no accepted theory for how something becomes money.
So, we may be witnessing the monetization of this thing (or not, who knows?). I'm betting in the monetization of this thing for more than economic reasons. I may be wrong, time will tell.
---
You can see the discussion on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/edilmedeiros_new-paper-coming-out-soon-this-time-an-activity-7239438107782074368-4Noi