Bitcoin....who's gotten into it?

[shera]

Yeah, agree. It's just ironic how Gensler is so incredibly misdirected. Well I guess he's not misdirected at all to the puppeteers.

[JimmyCarter]

Yeah, agree. It's just ironic how Gensler is so incredibly misdirected. Well I guess he's not misdirected at all to the puppeteers.

There are no puppeteers though and there is nothing nefarious about what they’re doing.

They owe nothing to whatever BTC wants to be or claims to be, they are just running a business and finding more efficient ways to do it.

If anyone on the BTC side had any idea how markets worked, they would have known this was inevitable.

[MultiVerse]

Yeah, the vast majority of narratives promoting crypto and bitcoin especially are ridiculous. Pure hucksterism. What crypto might accomplish:

1. Facilitate a lower-cost switch to a better money in certain parts of the world
2. Lower transaction fees for consumers
3. Expedite a more efficient financial system

Just about everything else whether it's taking down Wall Street, saving the planet, preventing wars and so on is shameless promotion

[shera]

Why don't you mention the "store of value" narrative?

[JimmyCarter]

Do you know how to have a conversation without insults, or I guess you just came here to insult people, get your jollies?

It’s directed at the entire BTC universe, not folks in here. It’s not an insult, though it highlights a number of things people have been saying in here for years that were generally ignored because it wasn’t what folks wanted to hear.

[MultiVerse]

Why don't you mention the "store of value" narrative?

Because in Western countries crypto is a risk-on asset that rises with liquidity. It's not so much a store of value as it is a speculative asset correlated with tech stocks.

[bennymac]

It’s directed at the entire BTC universe, not folks in here. It’s not an insult, though it highlights a number of things people have been saying in here for years that were generally ignored because it wasn’t what folks wanted to hear.

The reply was typically “oh yeah? but line goes up so checkmate”.

[stalefish3169]

stalefish I hope you see this:
https://x.com/vinibarbosabr/status/1792654224628568083

You read it right: BlackRock has been settling its BTC transactions with Coinbase without using Bitcoin's settlement network.

We are not talking about "buying a coffee," but institutional settlements of a $18.5 billion fund.

The reason: Transaction speed and fees.

Lots of comments, clearly missing the point of this post.
Adding up to the OP, I see three main problems here:

1. Possibility of using fractional reserves and market manipulation when transacting "paper Bitcoin" in a centralized database (outside the blockchain) and also outside the books.

2. Two services making millions of dollars in profits selling BTC, but choosing not to use (or use little) the underlying system that underpins the product being traded.

3. Enthusiasts looking the other way as traditional finance captures most of Bitcoin's volume, replicating bad practices that Bitcoin was created to address.

This all could have been prevented if people really cared about these things instead of LARPing around the narratives but not really caring about them, only NgU.

Bitcoin (and cryptocurrencies) exists for a reason, which is being ignored as TradFi takes over.

That said, more efficient settlement networks would facilitate the adoption and their use, discouraging these bad practices instead of encouraging them, as happening in daylight.

I saw that post earlier. His BTC FUD reads like a shill for the nano shitcoin in his bio. Is it 2017 again? OG source is an anon Tyler Durden account. Not worried about it.

[MultiVerse]

The word of the day is FUD and thus the sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new.

[byates1]

Bro that's perceived

[shera]

I saw that post earlier. His BTC FUD reads like a shill for the nano shitcoin in his bio. Is it 2017 again? OG source is an anon Tyler Durden account. Not worried about it.

Yeah, I know nothing can stop the bitcoin network. I REALLY know that.

But I also know that the market cap is small and liquidity small, so it looks ripe for the picking by the hedge fund types. By not worrying about it, you think that Blackrock has no incentive to make money by manipulating bitcoin price or you think that they are not able to manipulate bitcoin price?

[shera]

Because in Western countries crypto is a risk-on asset that rises with liquidity. It's not so much a store of value as it is a speculative asset correlated with tech stocks.

This is true, well depending on your time horizon anyway. I think nobody that's held for 4 years has lost value, something like that.

[JimmyCarter]

I saw that post earlier. His BTC FUD reads like a shill for the nano shitcoin in his bio. Is it 2017 again? OG source is an anon Tyler Durden account. Not worried about it.

LOL, of course you aren’t. How could you be worried about something you don’t understand.

[JimmyCarter]

Yeah, I know nothing can stop the bitcoin network. I REALLY know that.

But I also know that the market cap is small and liquidity small, so it looks ripe for the picking by the hedge fund types. By not worrying about it, you think that Blackrock has no incentive to make money by manipulating bitcoin price or you think that they are not able to manipulate bitcoin price?

Nothing can stop the Bitcoin network? A power outage. A government entity shutting down the internet. A tightening in the money supply. Miners jacking fees up exorbitantly. Etc etc.

Why would Blackrock waste time manipulating the price? They run an ETF. They get paid off of what the actual ETF holdings are worth. They want the price to go up, so they can make more in fees. Why would they be suppressing it down?

And stop calling everyone who runs money a “hedgie”. Hedge funds have minimal rules or oversight and can trade however they want. They make 2% on assets and 20% on upside. BLK is a traditional asset manager, which by comparison is like being a stodgy old boring bank. They make 0.25% on the BTC ETF. They make even less on other ETFs. Their game is running large volumes of investor money, they don’t really give a fuck about the daily price of Bitcoin.

[stalefish3169]

LOL, of course you aren’t. How could you be worried about something you don’t understand.

Says the one-term president who lost to The Gipper over his poor handling of the economy and inflation.

[shera]

Nothing can stop the Bitcoin network? A power outage. A government entity shutting down the internet. A tightening in the money supply. Miners jacking fees up exorbitantly. Etc etc.

HAHAHHA, nope.

[JimmyCarter]

HAHAHHA, nope.

You’re missing the fact that what you’re talking about is just the P2P aspect of it. That can always exist, even if it’s just to transact worthless BTC. I think Limewire still exists.

A government ban. An internet outage that splits the chain for too long. Hell, a government or other entity willing to spend a few billion dollars to 51% it. All would destroy faith and lead to it becoming a worthless asset (but on a resilient network!). And that’s not even considering what will happen when the block subsidy disappears.

[shera]

nope

[JimmyCarter]

nope

Solid response. Good luck with that.

[stalefish3169]

You’re missing the fact that what you’re talking about is just the P2P aspect of it. That can always exist, even if it’s just to transact worthless BTC. I think Limewire still exists.

A government ban. An internet outage that splits the chain for too long. Hell, a government or other entity willing to spend a few billion dollars to 51% it. All would destroy faith and lead to it becoming a worthless asset (but on a resilient network!). And that’s not even considering what will happen when the block subsidy disappears.

How it started:
2009, China bans BTC
2013, China bans BTC
2014, China bans BTC
2017, China bans BTC
2021, China bans BTC

How it's going:
2024, BTC and ETH ETFs launch in Hong Kong

[JimmyCarter]

How it started:
2009, China bans BTC
2013, China bans BTC
2014, China bans BTC
2017, China bans BTC
2021, China bans BTC

How it's going:
2024, BTC and ETH ETFs launch in Hong Kong

Now what happens if the US bans crypto too and coinbase closes up shop?

[stalefish3169]

Now what happens if the US bans crypto too and coinbase closes up shop?

A sOLAR FLaRe IS gOiNG To BRinG dOwN BiTCoIN!!!

https://science.nasa.gov/science-res...rm-in-decades/

May 2024 has already proven to be a particularly stormy month for our Sun. During the first full week of May, a barrage of large solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) launched clouds of charged particles and magnetic fields toward Earth, creating the strongest solar storm to reach Earth in two decades — and possibly one of the strongest displays of auroras on record in the past 500 years.

[JimmyCarter]

A sOLAR FLaRe IS gOiNG To BRinG dOwN BiTCoIN!!!

https://science.nasa.gov/science-res...rm-in-decades/

May 2024 has already proven to be a particularly stormy month for our Sun. During the first full week of May, a barrage of large solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) launched clouds of charged particles and magnetic fields toward Earth, creating the strongest solar storm to reach Earth in two decades — and possibly one of the strongest displays of auroras on record in the past 500 years.

Cool story!

[stalefish3169]

Cool story!

If I'm not mistaken, the solar flare FUD has popped up in here a few times from those who "understand Bitcoin."

[J. Barron DeJong]

If I'm not mistaken, the solar flare FUD has popped up in here a few times from those who "understand Bitcoin."

Narrator: He was mistaken.