{"id":1005,"date":"2014-02-25T19:20:54","date_gmt":"2014-02-26T01:20:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nathanhunstad.com\/blog\/?p=1005"},"modified":"2014-02-25T19:22:10","modified_gmt":"2014-02-26T01:22:10","slug":"bitcoin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nathanhunstad.com\/blog\/2014\/02\/bitcoin\/","title":{"rendered":"Bitcoin"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m fascinated by Bitcoin, but not as a currency. I enjoy it\u2019s mathematical underpinnings, its algorithms, its self-enforcing decentralization (I like torrents for the same reason). It is pretty ingenious with its block chain<\/a> record of transactions and its use of cryptography, which I love.<\/p>\n

As a currency, though? It\u2019s absurd. Ignoring the fact that every major exchange eventually seems to go under<\/a>, as a currency it has a lot of limitations. It\u2019s incredibly volatile: any merchant that accepts Bitcoin for payment for something like a TV has to contend with the fact that in a week that Bitcoin may be two TVs, and a week later just half of one. Foreign currency exchange risk is a huge factor for even the most languorous of currencies, such as the USD\/EUR exchange rate; I can\u2019t imagine keeping the books on something as insane as Bitcoin.<\/p>\n

Also, I find it hilarious that it seems the most avid haters of fiat currency such as the U.S. Dollar are most in love with Bitcoin, which is the ultimate in fiat currency. Maybe it\u2019s the anarchic rejection of any centralization, or maybe because Bitcoin\u2019s inherent deflation<\/a> is in line with what contemporary goldbugs want. In any case, seeing people cling to Bitcoin and reject the major reserve currency that can be used in nearly every country on Earth is pretty funny.<\/p>\n

I have no idea what the future of Bitcoin will be, but I think it\u2019s much more likely to be a fundamental case study in a math or crypto class than a fundamental part of our economy in the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m fascinated by Bitcoin, but not as a currency. I enjoy it\u2019s mathematical underpinnings, its algorithms, its self-enforcing decentralization (I like torrents for the same reason). It is pretty ingenious with its block chain record of transactions and its use of cryptography, which I love. As a currency, though? It\u2019s absurd. Ignoring the fact that… Continue reading Bitcoin<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[188],"tags":[243],"class_list":["post-1005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-money","tag-bitcoin","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t