Posted on 07/15/2018 1:24:17 PM PDT by OddLane
You didn’t answer my question.
How much is one bitcoin worth?
Bitcoin prices are not fixed.
“There is no one to put your trust in where Bitcoin is concerned, accountable or otherwise. “
With bitcoin you have to trust that there is a fool out there that will take that mathematical relationship off your hands for more than you paid for it.
Aggregate supply and demand are what determine the value of Bitcoin.
No intrinsic value, nor a history of universal value like silver or gold.
Nothing has intrinsic value when "value" is used in the economic sense of the word. Value lives only in peoples subjective opinions. This applies to the value of gold, silver, dollars, Bitcoins, and every other thing of value.
History is only relevant in that it can influence people's opinions. But people can form positive opinions for other reasons as well - such as resistance to government inflation, immunity to court orders, unrestricted portability, privacy, etc. And there have been many historical examples of currencies with long prior histories collapsing after people lost confidence in them.
And at least dollars have the backing of a government and are legal tender. Bitcoin isn’t.
This is a myth that needs to go away. The government does not "back" the dollar. If the value of the dollar goes down you lose. Period. The only thing the government can and does back are bank accounts against bank failure. That isn't even close to the same thing. The only way to back a currency is to offer to exchange it for something of value on demand. The US government hasn't done that for individuals since the Roosevelt era and hasn't done it for other governments since the Nixon era. The dollar is backed by nothing.
Expect, not trust. And is this not also true for the dollar, for gold, or for any medium of exchange?
The point is that more beyond 21 million can not be created. Whereas dollars can be created in whatever amount the government wants. Then we all pay by having the purchasing power of our paychecks and savings diluted.
“Did you have trouble with math back in High School? “
I had no problem with math till my third year of post-grad work. Then it started to get real hairy!
0.5 bitcoin was worth more last year than 1.0 bitcoin is worth now!
Sure I did.
How much is one bitcoin worth?
At the moment? About $6300.
Bitcoin prices are not fixed.
True. But the mathematical relationship between 1 and 0.002 most certainly is fixed. Dividing a bitcoin and selling the pieces does not change the value of a whole Bitcoin any more than changing a dollar bill into ten dimes changes the value of ten dimes relative to a dollar bill.
“But the mathematical relationship between 1 and 0.002 most certainly is fixed. “
The how come 0.5 bitcoin was worth more than 1.0 bitcoin now?
Which proves what? A half a bitcoin last year is still a half a bitcoin this year. The price of half a Bitcoin has changed, but in exact proportion to the price of a whole Bitcoin. You cannot dilute the value of a bitcoin by diving them into smaller units. If you could create more Bitcoin you could dilute the value, but that is not possible beyond 21 million coins.
“At the moment? About $6300.”
Last year was selling for $20,000. How is worth determined?
The how come 0.5 bitcoin was worth more than 1.0 bitcoin now?
Because the price changed. Tell me wasn't a serious question.
The price of Bitcoin is determined the same way the price of any other commodity is determined, by supply and demand. A lot of the sell off this year was due to a change in the IRS rules. This was the first year exchanges had to start reporting cash-in/cash-out transactions.
“The price of Bitcoin is determined the same way the price of any other commodity is determined,”
Or manipulated as with tulip bulbs.
“Because the price changed. “
Exactly. A bitcoin is just a number.
Possibly. I don't know where you're getting that, but sure, the price of any commodity can be manipulated, including dollars, gold, etc. Bitcoin is no exception.
BTW, the Tulip Mania was not the result of any deliberate tulip price manipulation. It was just the most famous of several price bubbles that occurred at that time. The cause was the massive increase in the gold supply due to the Spanish shipments from the new world. All that cash made it's way to the most free economy in Europe, which was the Netherlands.
And a price.
But as you keep saying, the supply of bitcoin is very limited making it easier to manipulate.
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