BTC Caprice
What is the essence of Bitcoin? Here, it is assumed that readers have a preliminary understanding of Bitcoin, so I will not go into details about the past and present of Bitcoin.
Many people on the Internet believe that Bitcoin is a pyramid scheme, a scam, and a bubble. They compare Bitcoin with the famous tulip bubble in the 17th century and believe that Bitcoin is a financial bubble that will eventually burst. Is this really the case? What exactly is the essence of Bitcoin? What is the use? Where is the value?
Mr. Xu Bo, chairman of TOEIC Network, a staunch Bitcoin holder and bullish, and a wealthy man, made a very vivid metaphor for Bitcoin:
In online games, the legal currency is game currency, and all transactions by game players in the game must be completed through game currency. The role of game companies is equivalent to the government, or more exaggeratedly, to God. Game companies can control the in-game economy by regulating the generation of game currency (treasure drop rate). So, are game companies really omnipotent? The answer is no. What are game companies most afraid of? It is the offline transaction of players. After the players meet, they trade in RMB. I will give you money, and you will give me the best equipment. In this way, you can directly skip the monitoring of the game company, thus affecting the economic balance of the entire game. This is why many online games ban players from offline transactions, and even game props cannot be given away at all. This is because they are afraid that RMB transactions will destroy the economic system in the game.
When playing games, all players understand that money, gold coins, diamonds, gems, etc. in the game are essentially fake currencies. What is real currency? It's RMB. You can only use RMB to exchange for in-game currency. In-game currency can never be exchanged for RMB.
As long as you understand this logic, replace the game company with the government. You can simply understand the essence of Bitcoin. Whether it is US dollars, pounds or renminbi, they are issued by governments of various countries, and governments are equivalent to game companies. As long as you survive in this country, all your transactions must be completed through legal currency. However, the emergence of Bitcoin is equivalent to "player offline transactions". You can bypass the government and freely switch your property among various countries. In the logic of Bitcoin, the U.S. dollar, pound, and renminbi have become fake currencies, while Bitcoin has become real currency.
The reason why Bitcoin can become a real currency is that it is non-renewable. There are only 21 million coins. Once they are mined, they are gone. Bitcoin, like gold, is non-renewable. Whether you believe it or not, at least it The logic is self-consistent. But the currencies of various countries are different. As long as the government feels that it is short of money, it can turn on the money printing machine and print it at full capacity. This also leads to inflation.
I don’t need to go into details about inflation. Comparing prices 20 years ago, 10 years ago, and today, I believe everyone has their own understanding of inflation. It is self-evident how much housing prices have soared in China in the past two decades. Many people buy houses not because they don’t have a house to live in, but to protect against inflation. Buying financial products for 10,000 yuan will become 20,000 yuan in 10 years; buying a house of 1 square meter with 10,000 yuan will become 100,000 yuan after 10 years. Before the emergence of Bitcoin, "houses" were essentially "real currency" and "hard currency".
Rich people buy a lot of real estate to resist inflation, but houses also have their own shortcomings: First, if you really commit a crime, you can't just take the house in your pocket and leave. The government should check and seal it, and there are still many risks. Secondly, it is often difficult to sell a large number of houses, and the transaction takes a long time. Thirdly, even if the house is sold, a large amount of cash still cannot be transferred overseas.
The emergence of Bitcoin perfectly solves these problems.
Bitcoin is stored in a hard drive. As long as you remember the password, no one will check it or block it wherever you take it (they can’t even block it unless they rob your hard drive).
For any fixed asset, it takes time to cash out, but Bitcoin does not. Place an order in one second, and the cash will arrive in your account the next second.
Transfer assets overseas. Needless to say? The original purpose of Bitcoin's design was to bypass the surveillance of national governments and transfer assets perfectly and efficiently.
Why do most ordinary people think Bitcoin is useless, or even think of what use it has? Quite simply, poverty limits our imagination. As a white-collar worker who has worked diligently to make money all his life, what assets need to be transferred? Inheritance tax? It is even more nonsense. Ordinary people just kick off their legs when they die and never consider the need to avoid taxes on inheritance, but it is different for the rich. Assume that the inheritance tax in a certain country is 50%. When the rich man dies, his son can only get half of the assets. However, if the rich man converts all his assets into Bitcoin and gives the password hard drive to his son, he will inherit 100% of it, and the government will pay a dime of tax. None of them can be conquered. (Of course, this is just an ideal situation. In fact, it may not be a perfect tax avoidance, but it is still very instructive)
In addition, for law-abiding citizens, there is no risk of bankruptcy and home confiscation. But for some top wealthy people, they may not care about the size of their assets, but they are very concerned about the safety of their assets. For a rich man with a net worth of 1 billion, it is acceptable to lose 500 million in business, but what if his home is confiscated for some inconvenient reason? Direct bankruptcy was something he could never accept. At this time, if he holds Bitcoin, he will never go bankrupt and no one can steal his Bitcoin. At least some capital can be left for a comeback, or a way out for future generations. "Asset security" is what the top wealthy people care about most. It is not about having more money or less, but about safety.
Saying that Bitcoin can combat inflation caused by the government's random printing of currency is just a beautiful cover at this stage. Only those with real needs know the true value of Bitcoin and can think clearly about its essence. (The ancients said: The spring river water is warm and the duck is a prophet)
This is also the most perfect function of Bitcoin, which is recognized by a group of wealthy and anxious tycoons around the world. These people are no longer willing to be controlled by the government, or they have all kinds of stains on themselves. They used Bitcoin to reach a consensus and achieved the purpose of maintaining the security of their own assets by holding Bitcoin together. Therefore, Bitcoin was not originally designed for the poor. When everyone can figure out the use of Bitcoin, the price will not be affordable for the poor.
Some common misunderstandings about Bitcoin:
Question: Is Bitcoin really not a Ponzi scheme?
Answer: Bitcoin is not a Ponzi scheme. A Ponzi scheme needs to use the money of later investors to compensate previous investors, and it is in the shape of a pyramid. Bitcoin can be bought and sold freely, rising and falling. If you don’t buy or sell, it will maintain its original price, similar to stocks. A stock can fall by 90%, or even be delisted. Can you simply say that the stock is a scam?
Q: Does it make sense that Bitcoin consumes a lot of electricity?
Answer: Digging for gold also requires a lot of manpower and material resources. What is the significance of digging for gold? The power consumption of Bitcoin is essentially the same as that of gold mining. It expresses recognition of its currency attributes and its value.
Q: Bitcoin is not recognized by the government, so it has no value. There is also no monetary attribute.
Answer: The original intention of Bitcoin's design is to fight against the government. It does not care whether it is recognized by the government. In addition, if the government loses its trust, the currency will also be a piece of waste paper. Not to mention Zimbabwe’s 100 billion banknotes and Venezuela’s currency depreciation. The bad inflation of legal currency before the liberation of our country only happened more than 60 years ago. Son.
Q: What is the difference between Bitcoin and tulip bubbles?
Answer: Tulips are not non-renewable. Once they are planted, they will definitely grow. If they are planted too much, they will lose value. There is no way to store them for a long time and realize them in time. Similar foams include Wenwan walnuts, various high-end woods, strange stones, Tibetan mastiffs... These are all the same way, they are foams. There are only 21 million Bitcoins, and they will only get fewer.
Q: The principle of Bitcoin is very simple and can be easily copied. Will it still have value?
Answer: The principles of religion are very simple from a modern perspective. But apart from the few religions in Jerusalem, which everyone regards as orthodox and formal, are there any other religions that have had world-class influence? In fact, there are not many. You can only count 3-5. If modern people create a religion, will anyone approve it? Orthodoxy is important. Cultivating a market (evangelistic missionary work) takes a long time and effort. Bitcoin is orthodox, authentic, and has the loudest and brightest brand, while the others are niche. Everyone will only recognize no.1
Q: Do you say Bitcoin is absolutely safe? Will one day hackers hack all the Bitcoins in the world?
Answer: This is a question of raising leverage. At least at this stage, Bitcoin is logically self-consistent. If you insist on saying that someone has destroyed the Bitcoin system, it is like asking "What if aliens invade the earth tomorrow?" This possibility also exists and no one can deny it, but this assumption is meaningless. of.
Question: Will there be a man behind Bitcoin, a big banker, who will dump it when it reaches a certain height and screw everyone?
Answer: It is possible, but I think the probability is about the same as that of Freemasonry controlling the world.
This article is not a soft article about Bitcoin, and I have not bought Bitcoin. It is just a brief talk about my understanding of Bitcoin.
I didn’t buy Bitcoin, and I wouldn’t recommend anyone to.
Bitcoin has great risks. The hard drive may be physically damaged, lost, or the password may be forgotten. This risk is really high.
Bitcoin is jumping up and down, and most people may not be able to stand this fluctuation. If you want to buy, it is recommended to look at it on a one-year, three-year, five-year, or even ten-year cycle. You must have the attitude and attitude of "not afraid of the clouds covering your eyes", otherwise don't touch
