Scott on Nostr: I see a recent uptick in commentary, including from a number of #Bitcoin holders, ...
I see a recent uptick in commentary, including from a number of #Bitcoin holders, that BTC is not money. To me, the question of whether Bitcoin is money is settled. The answer is yes, which doesn’t negate the fact that it is also a tool for savings.
In the light of abundant evidence showing #BTC being used as money, around the world, debate about what threshold would appease critics as signifying “widely used” is kind of like debating whether sunbathing at midday for an hour in the Namibian desert” is “not advisable” or “extremely not advisable”.
I propose that the much more salient, interesting, and pressing matter for discussion is as follows…
What are the psychological and social dimensions of particular monies in terms of their variable uses as a “medium of exchange” and/or a “store of value” and what is the interplay between these uses in the context of people’s real, material circumstances?
For instance, people who have access to only rapidly debasing currencies are heavily incentivized to spend quickly and to convert their holdings of this money into other monies or assets that will retain value, or at least not debase as quickly. The most extreme case of this that I’ve heard to date in terms of ramifications is from Ian Frost and Bitcoin Boma, describing the situation in Malawi.
On the other hand, I wonder to what extent having access to a money (ie, BTC) which is demonstrated to accrue value over time incentivizes saving some of that money, even in instances where someone has little to no capacity to “save” (ie, all money is required for spending on daily/weekly needs). Does access to a money which accrues value over time foster transformative conditions for pushing past this threshold of spending only toward actual capital accumulation (ie, savings)?
I would find it much more valuable if critics of the relative “moneyness” of BTC could look deeper and investigate the conditions under which BTC is actually being used as money. Suspend your disbelief, if you must, in order to observe. I don’t want to speak on behalf of any of the groups that I work with around the world where BTC is being used as money and a tool for individuals and community development, but they would tell you that “something” magical is happening. There are psycho-social transformations afoot and I can’t help but believe that the qualities of BTC itself, a non-debasing money, have something to do with it.
In the light of abundant evidence showing #BTC being used as money, around the world, debate about what threshold would appease critics as signifying “widely used” is kind of like debating whether sunbathing at midday for an hour in the Namibian desert” is “not advisable” or “extremely not advisable”.
I propose that the much more salient, interesting, and pressing matter for discussion is as follows…
What are the psychological and social dimensions of particular monies in terms of their variable uses as a “medium of exchange” and/or a “store of value” and what is the interplay between these uses in the context of people’s real, material circumstances?
For instance, people who have access to only rapidly debasing currencies are heavily incentivized to spend quickly and to convert their holdings of this money into other monies or assets that will retain value, or at least not debase as quickly. The most extreme case of this that I’ve heard to date in terms of ramifications is from Ian Frost and Bitcoin Boma, describing the situation in Malawi.
On the other hand, I wonder to what extent having access to a money (ie, BTC) which is demonstrated to accrue value over time incentivizes saving some of that money, even in instances where someone has little to no capacity to “save” (ie, all money is required for spending on daily/weekly needs). Does access to a money which accrues value over time foster transformative conditions for pushing past this threshold of spending only toward actual capital accumulation (ie, savings)?
I would find it much more valuable if critics of the relative “moneyness” of BTC could look deeper and investigate the conditions under which BTC is actually being used as money. Suspend your disbelief, if you must, in order to observe. I don’t want to speak on behalf of any of the groups that I work with around the world where BTC is being used as money and a tool for individuals and community development, but they would tell you that “something” magical is happening. There are psycho-social transformations afoot and I can’t help but believe that the qualities of BTC itself, a non-debasing money, have something to do with it.