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Crypto asset: Difference between revisions
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But if if the unshackled masses suddenly can’t be sure of the bona fides of the central institutions they have until now relied on, what sort of consensus will they reach on the value of intangible tokens on a dematerialised ledger which are not backed by anyone? This is like a cosmic joke, folks. | But if if the unshackled masses suddenly can’t be sure of the bona fides of the central institutions they have until now relied on, what sort of consensus will they reach on the value of intangible tokens on a dematerialised ledger which are not backed by anyone? This is like a cosmic joke, folks. | ||
In our present times of self-isolated peace and relative tranquility, the now “mature” [[bitcoin]] — designed to prevent the capricious ministrations of central banks, creating volatility mayhem through self-serving fiscal policy — swings 700% in value over a year, where the mercurial dollar moves a couple of percent.<ref>And no, that doesn’t mean cryptos are the stable one: if they were dollar prices would be subject to hyperinflation, then hyperdeflation, yearly. Haven’t noticed that. Cryptos are not currencies, and since you can’t eat them or make things out of them, they are a lousy commodity too. | In our present times of self-isolated peace and relative tranquility, the now “mature” [[bitcoin]] — designed to prevent the capricious ministrations of central banks, creating volatility mayhem through self-serving fiscal policy — swings 700% in value over a year, where the mercurial dollar moves a couple of percent. <ref>And no, that doesn’t mean cryptos are the stable one: if they were dollar prices would be subject to hyperinflation, then hyperdeflation, yearly. Haven’t noticed that. Cryptos are not currencies, and since you can’t eat them or make things out of them, they are a lousy commodity too.</ref> | ||
===Crypto as a settlement system=== | ===Crypto as a settlement system=== | ||
This is [[distributed ledger technology]], which is a handsome idea; sound; and certainly helps ameliorate a problem — namely how to transact safely when you don’t trust the motives or solvency of [[intermediaries]] — but this is rather like solving the problem of weeds in your garden by concreting it over. | This is [[distributed ledger technology]], which is a handsome idea; sound; and certainly helps ameliorate a problem — namely how to transact safely when you don’t trust the motives or solvency of [[intermediaries]] — but this is rather like solving the problem of weeds in your garden by concreting it over. | ||