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A glimpse into the cognitive dissonance of nocoiners, and the ridiculous double standard they have for Bitcoin. Here are the common complaints that I’ll quickly dismantle:
Bitcoin is manipulated
Over the last decade, banks globally have been fined with more than $321 billion in penalties, following investigations into manipulation of various markets/instruments: FX, metals, LIBOR, etc. Those cumulative fines = near current total crypto market cap.
Bitcoin has no intrinsic value
Complaining it has no intrinsic value when their primary currency has absolutely no intrinsic value. As the Federal Reserve puts it “Bitcoin units have no intrinsic value… the U.S. dollar, the euro, and the Swiss franc, have no intrinsic value either.”
Bitcoin is used for money laundering
Approximately $2T a year globally is laundered, Americans spend $100B on drugs annually, Crypto market cap is $440B as of this email. “Cryptocurrency [represent a] “low risk” for money laundering and terrorist financing activities... according to FATF.
Bitcoin is too complex
Consumers don’t understand how their existing financial system works, nor their cell phone, microwave, etc. There is minimal new training needed for them to be literate/enjoy basic interactions, just like any new technology in their life.
Bitcoin is too volatile
The only constant in markets is volatility. No one says “Gold isn’t a good SoV because the price fluctuates” but we hear that all the time with Bitcoin. What did you expect with a new emerging sound money? It certainly wasn’t going to be a linear price path.
The only way that an asset/currency/etc could maintain semi stable purchasing power is if it was centrally controlled. The US Dollar consistently decreases in a “stable” manner.
Bitcoin is bad for the environment
No one questions the morality of your electricity consumption. You’re free to do whatever you’d like after you pay for it. For example, I’m not going to shame you for your porn watching habits, or watching the Kardashians.
Finally, complaining about energy consumption, without first comparing it to the energy consumption of gold mining, the financial system, government, courts, military, selfies, or watching the Kardashians.
Deflationary Spirals
Economists think that if the purchasing power of money increases, that consumers will delay spending indefinitely. If that is true, then no one would ever buy a TV or cellphone. The reason they do is that they have limited lifespans. They must consume at some point (ex: you must consume food or you die).
No one controls it
Worries that it was created by an anonymous “hacker” vs highly flawed founding individuals of their government/financial system. Worries that no one “controls” the monetary policy vs a group of old people they can’t even name.
What all of this FUD represents is the magnitude change Bitcoin brings. Any new technology evokes FUD, which is proportional to the impact it will have on the world. Humans don’t like change, and FUD is a representation of the change that a new technology rings.
History rhymes. When the bicycle debuted in 1800s, it was blamed for all sorts of problems—from turning people insane to destroying women’s morals In the future, we’ll look at these double standards as we do now with bicycle objections: with laughter.