Posted on 01/13/2018 10:53:21 AM PST by SeekAndFind
There is a rumor swirling on Wall Street that China may be reversing its decades-old policy of buying U.S. Treasury Bills (T-Bills), which is giving bond-traders a case of nerves. If China does not buy T-Bills, then the Federal Reserve will have to raise the yield on the bonds to make them more attractive to other buyers. This rumor combined with the possibility that the Chinese economy will eclipse the U.S. economy in twenty years seemingly makes a thirty-year T- Bill less attractive than in the past.
What a strange time in which we live, when cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum may be a better and safer investment opportunity than U.S. T-bills. The reason why may challenge traditional thinking concerning currency.
Since 1971, at the same time the Nixon administration took the dollar off the gold standard, there was an international sleight of hand that ostensibly backed the dollar with a different commodity by getting Saudi Arabia to make the U.S. dollar the petrodollar. So the conversion of the dollar to a fiat currency was not entirely pure. Instead of the dollar being backed by "the full faith and credit of the U.S. government," the currency was unofficially backed by the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is this fact that may have prevented the dollar from collapse even though we have an aggregate of local, state, and national debt and unfunded legacy liabilities totaling over $100 trillion by some estimates. This puts the dollar in a precarious position if it ever comes to pass that the kingdom of Saudi Arabia decides to switch to Chinese wàn as new petro-currency.
In the twenty-first century, cryptocurrencies have entered upon the world stage. The biggest criticism of cryptocurrencies is that they have no backing – but neither does the dollar, if you get right down to it.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
and these idiots that mine them are driving the price of Video Cards sky high
cryptocurrencies Mr. Madoff smiles.
A weakness in the financial system . . . and Mrs. Lincoln found the theatre experience somewhat less than optimal.
Why do you consider someone who mines cyrpto currencies to be idiots? As long as they produce a legal product that others are willing to pay for at a profit, they are doing something .... well, smart.
Teenagers with graphics cards mining the CC of the week. Technology, so far, doesn’t get much more interesting than that. There will always be newer things, maybe AI bots fighting each other. But CC is a nice combination of creativity, productivity, and aesthetics.
Up the F____? is Bitcoin backed up with? America has Trillion in natural resources, and Bitcoin has ? , a Computer program? Biggest Scheme in history.
And, let's not forget, Bitcoin is the cause of Global Warming.
Madoff was a delusional crook. CC, which is just getting off the ground, is a technological advance with proven security which equals value. Now, to be complete, it must be pointed out that the sky high value is because they are being bought by Chinese who are not price sensitive. It wouldn’t matter to them if they cost a million dollars.
Bitcoin is the biggest scheme so far. CC’s are just getting started. The scheme is this: perfection of algorithms for stored value which can’t be stolen (unless you screw up).
Raising the yield would be a good thing, right?
Why do you consider someone who mines cyrpto currencies to be idiots? As long as they produce a legal product that others are willing to pay for at a profit, they are doing something .... well, smart.
A friend of mine ran 2 computers for 2 months to check it out he made $2 ,that doesn’t include the electricity he used
In the twenty-first century, cryptocurrencies have entered upon the world stage. The biggest criticism of cryptocurrencies is that they have no backing – but neither does the dollar, if you get right down to it.
Isn’t it true, that the entire banking system, both in this country and around the world, is based on all of our faith in that system?
When the business guru types talk of the “money supply”, the vast majority of that, well over 90% of the money supply, consists of deposits in bank accounts, debits and credits on accounting ledgers, not currency or coins.
How many of you get paid in cash from your job? Your employer makes a deposit into your bank account. Your bank agrees that you have received “x” amount of money, which you can go and spend. Then you go and use a debit card to buy groceries or other goods and services, which transfers those electronic funds to another bank account.
Even apart from the issue of whether a nation’s currency is backed by any tangible asset, is the issue that most of the “money” we all use, is received and spent electronically.
And in this regard, bitcoin is mimicking that.
Again .... “for a profit”.
Not everyone takes the time to research their environment and configuration. It can be done profitably but ... not by everyone. Most do not take the time to build a business case BEFORE they get started.
I would agree those that do not take the time to consider costs, return on investment and other basic financials are idiots.
So you think the banksters can’t inflate fiat currencies into oblivion when they decide to?
Oh that’s funny right there
CC’s are here to stay, unless large governments get involved. Even then if the US stays the hell out of it, they will be ok.
You already have cash machines to anonomously buy bitcoins. But bitcoin isn’t any longer a wise purchase, imho. Takes waaaay too long for transactions to get verified. It’s a basic flaw in the design. People want to bail but are hoping for another major spike first. In 2012 I tried to buy a few hundred bucks worth, waited forever for that japanese company (forgot the name) to verify me. They crashed and burned majorly right after I applied lol. Like 10 months later they accepted me...huh? Oh well. I’d be worth north of a million today if I had applied 2 weeks earlier.
Ripple (XRP) and Eherium are both on the way to burying bitcoin. Lots of companies are accepting them, with many, many more comitted. Both worth buying a few hundred bucks and holding. I recently did just that.
It’s still the wild west, so you have to be patient getting verified and willing to lose all of what you put in. I look at it as fun and worth the learning curve to keep up with modern technologies.
Imho.
>>... the issue that most of the “money” we all use, is received and spent electronically.
And in this regard, bitcoin is mimicking that.<<
The only think Bitcoin is mimicking is electronic transmission from party to party. It’s certainly not mimicking a currency.
A functioning currency requires stability of value over the short and intermediate term (minutes, hours, days, weeks, and, hopefully, months). Bitcoin isn’t even stable over minutes, much less weeks or months.
The purpose of a currency is to displace barter which is highly inefficient, but which people will use if an acceptable currency isn’t available. But people won’t accept something as a currency if it varies in value too quickly for it to be trusted.
As a result of Bitcoin’s price volatility, you’re seeing very little usage of it as a currency. Yes, some accept it, but on terms that the purchaser is being foolish to accept.
And if Bitcoin isn’t functioning as a viable currency, the only reason for owning it is rank speculation on its price going higher. This will end badly and the longer it goes on the more badly it will end.
>>and these idiots that mine them are driving the price of Video Cards sky high<<
Yes, but when it ends, you’ll be able to buy them at bargain basement prices. Bide your time.
I had a friend call me this week, he wants my help building an 11,000 sq. ft. Bitcoin mining operation his “really rich friend” wants to build. Good grief, these guys don’t have a clue about putting something like this together but they are determined to move ahead. Crazy.
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