> But if you're going to stand here and imply that Bitcoin is a superior store of value to the US dollar, well I cannot abide that sort of nonsense, sir. Not one bit.
The cool thing about bitcoin is that it doesn't matter if you abide by it or not. It doesn't matter what some politicians decide. It doesn't matter who wins the arguments. It doesn't matter who has the guns.
All that matters is the bits. As long as information can be exchanged, then bitcoin will stand, and people will use it as both money and a store of value.
It is actually happening, and there is nothing your arguments can do to stop it.
What, exactly, is "happening"? I'm all for bitcoin, and I think it would be kind of a cool form of currency. Bitcoin is more elegant than standard currency, but many of the interactions that happen with standard currency are not possible with bitcoin.
Right now, the value of bitcoin is in the increase of price in bitcoin. I assume that's what you mean by "happening". That doesn't mean anything. Store owners, starting with online store owners, have to at least start accepting the currency, which they have shown no signs of doing. So again what, exactly, is "happening"?
I realize some are, but there lack of pickup by pretty much everyone else is concerning. It makes bitcoin basically useless at this point. Maybe it will pick up, but it hasn't been happening.
Bitcoin is still a baby. I think many people who say stuff like this are missing the point and not seeing long term. This is like saying the internet will never be useful because it's just text and 14.4 kbps is the fastest modem.
Actually I believe the main driver of the recent price increase is several high-profile (in the tech world at least) organisations starting to accept it.
"The cool thing about bitcoin is that it doesn't matter if you abide by it or not. It doesn't matter what some politicians decide. It doesn't matter who wins the arguments. It doesn't matter who has the guns."
Try telling the IRS that. Then see what happens if the Bitcoin exchanges go away. Bitcoin's survival is completely dependent on your ability to trade Bitcoin units for fiat currencies.
"All that matters is the bits"
No, what matters is the security properties. Usually, digital cash systems try to meet a security property of the form, "No attacker working in polynomial time in the parameters of the system can double-spend the currency." Bitcoin does not meet that property; all an attacker needs to do is work as hard as all the honest parties in the system combined to have a guaranteed success in double spending. Usually we call cryptosystems where the attacker's work scale linearly with the parameters of the system "worthless" or "snake oil."
"It is actually happening, and there is nothing your arguments can do to stop it."
Unless someone bothers to attack the system. I can think of a few organizations that have the necessary resources and expertise, and who would probably be motivated if Bitcoin came anywhere near "mainstream:"
The cool thing about bitcoin is that it doesn't matter if you abide by it or not. It doesn't matter what some politicians decide. It doesn't matter who wins the arguments. It doesn't matter who has the guns.
All that matters is the bits. As long as information can be exchanged, then bitcoin will stand, and people will use it as both money and a store of value.
It is actually happening, and there is nothing your arguments can do to stop it.