Comment by okanat
4 months ago
Then how would you exchange it with real money? There are few things that accept cryptographic coins as currency.
4 months ago
Then how would you exchange it with real money? There are few things that accept cryptographic coins as currency.
Depending on how you use it, you mightn't need to exchange it often, or at all.
Companies that use it as hedge, or diversification, just need to "hold" it. Investors (not traders, there's a big difference) also commonly just "hodl" it. Also no need to exchange it. And several more such use-cases.
Sure, after a while, they might want to exchange it for something they "need". Like housing, healthcare, food, materials, etc. But often that's a one-time after years of not exchanging. And we still don't know how the future may look. Some believe Bitcoin is what we'll be paying with in a few decades (I don't, not really). I'm pretty sure I can buy almost any house for a few bitcoin, especially if that's "overpriced" in dollar-terms, today already.
> Companies that use it as hedge, or diversification, just need to "hold" it. Investors (not traders, there's a big difference) also commonly just "hodl" it. Also no need to exchange it.
In both of these cases the only value to "holding" it comes from the possibility of being able to exchange it if needed. While you might go a very long time without interacting with a centralized exchange, the Bitcoin is worthless for these use cases if there's no acceptable path to trading it for something else.
> of being able to exchange it if needed
yes. But my point is that "being able to exchange it" is what gives all assets value. From gold, via bonds to dollars.
So 1) this isn't unique to crypto and 2) we should avoid narrowing this definition to "exchange crypto for dollars" because that's not true today and possibly even less in future - if only because there are other currencies already. Exchanging it for goods (i.e. buying stuff) is a killer feature of crypto only in very small niches. And exchanging it for other valuable assets isn't common either (yet? I doubt it, but don't see clear reasons why not)