Accidental Tech Podcast615: A Mildly Brisk Walk
https://atp.fm/615
@caseyliss’s adventures in sports piracy, @siracusa’s loss of apes, and @marcoarment’s visions of pores.
Steve Wilkinson (cgWerks)@atpfm Hmm, I suppose this can be for audience benefit then, but I keep hoping you three will drop some biases enough to be prepared for the future.
Sorry about your loss, John, but NEVER put private key (a.k.a. seed phrase) into something online, including online devices (unless it is smaller amounts, and you need 'hot wallet' access).
This is why hardware wallets exist (which it sounds like John realizes, but many don't). Hot/cold wallet & seed phrase protection is core knowledge!
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@atpfm Note: I'm going to refer to Bitcoin from here on out... because as Michael Saylor says, 'There is no second best.' There are many reasons for this. If you don't understand why, you're essentially a day-trader. (You might get rich, or wrecked. Be warned!)
re: money - Money **is** a representative thing. That is the whole point.
It doesn't have intrinsic value. That paper in your pocket with a president face doesn't have intrinsic value either.
This is Money 101 ...
@atpfm You guys are embarrassing yourselves with quips about 'nothing' and 'worthless' etc.
Markets are what establish value. This is the whole cup of water by a spring vs in the desert thing. Bitcoin has value because it is valued for its properties and purchasing power. Period!
It could lose that, just like the piece of paper with president face in your pocket (cf. Weimar Germany or Lebanon). I suppose you could at least start a camp fire with cash... so maybe you win there.
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@atpfm Yes, there are many protections associated with fiat (gov't declared money) and the fiat ecosystem.
These are good, until you realize the cost (even in the best one, USD) has been losing 1/2 your purchasing power every 7 to 20 years. This is why you have to invest, to stay ahead of inflation. And, even then, you're not coming out unless you're subtracting the inflation from your gain.
Almost everyone, but the best investors, are losing ground.
Is that worth FDIC?
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@atpfm Then there are all the costs associated with the system, including millions of lives lost around the world protecting the fiat system.
All the wealth transfer going on (cf. Cantillion effect). All the corruption/empowerment controlling the money printer affords. (Imagine how hard endless wars would be if gov'ts had to tax in real money to keep warring, instead of just print it up?)
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@atpfm I went to my first Bitcoin conference a few months back. What might surprise most not familiar with the Bitcoin community, is that education (on basics like wallets), most of the talks were humanitarian in nature... changing the world for the better.
Of course we get excited when our buying power goes up (it's amazing how this turns people from spenders to savers).
Bitcoin is primarily a social movement. It isn't going anywhere. It is just a matter of when you decide to get on board.