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Celerity

(48,186 posts)

22. This is a fatally flawed analogy that has been repeated here on DU for well over a decade.

Tue Dec 10, 2024, 11:56 AM

Dec 10

1. Bitcoin is a fungible asset, tulips are not. (fungibility is the property of a good or a commodity whose individual units are essentially interchangeable)

2. Bitcoin is durable, tulips are not. Tulips are a plant with a limited lifespan, especially for the flowers once they bloom. Bitcoin, once mined, goes onto the permanent de-centralised blockchain public ledger. To transfer bitcoin, the blockchain verifies the sender's public and private keys, and the recipient is given a new private key. The transaction is recorded on the blockchain in a file and becomes part of an automatic verification process.

3. Tulips require a complex physical supply chain/delivery process, one that can take a long time and can be impacted by physical conditions. Bitcoin can be transferred to someone anywhere on the planet within seconds or minutes, via any device that can access the stored bitcoin and the blockchain on the internet.

4. Divisibility: One Bitcoin can be divided into multiple smaller units. A tulip cannot be divided in such manner.

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Highlight:

It seems to me that crypto currency is the new tulip bulbs. [View all] Sogo Dec 10 OP

Vaporware...nt Wounded Bear Dec 10 #1

They're gonna steal everything they possibly can. That's the only way they know how to be in the world. Clouds Passing Dec 10 #2

Except that there were some actual tulip bulbs. MineralMan Dec 10 #3

burning vast amounts of fossil fjuel to solve some imaginary equation may be a cute trick rampartd Dec 10 #7

Yup! MineralMan Dec 10 #16

Yep! Would love to see Musk invest 100% of his Billions in it! bluestarone Dec 10 #24

the feverish desire for Tulips... GiqueCee Dec 10 #25

Crypto currency and Tulips do have something in common. MineralMan Dec 10 #29

I've got a banana taped to a wall, which I'd be happy to sell you Seinan Sensei Dec 10 #32

Gold is valuable. Tulip bulbs are pretty much junk after one season. LeftInTX Dec 10 #34

Gold's value is arbitrary, as well. MineralMan Dec 10 #45

Gold is more or less permanent. Tulips rot! LeftInTX Dec 10 #50

Gold is static. Tulips grow and increase in numbers. MineralMan Dec 10 #54

If you have the right growing conditions! LeftInTX Dec 10 #56

They generate new bulbs in the ground here in Minnesota. MineralMan Dec 10 #59

I think perhaps intrinsic value... GiqueCee Dec 10 #48

Yes. Gold has uses, of course, but mostly it has been used for decorative MineralMan Dec 10 #49

My wife loves gold and diamonds, too... GiqueCee Dec 10 #52

They can also be very rewarding. Treating wives well is a good idea. MineralMan Dec 10 #55

Muskrat and ReallySlimy . . . CousinIT Dec 10 #4

The whole thing seems to be a figment of gamer's imaginations peregrinus Dec 10 #5

Crypto, NFT's, and gold are similar bucolic_frolic Dec 10 #6

There's a reason gold prices are fairly stable, while crypto and NFT fluctuate wildly William Seger Dec 10 #20

Gold has actual physical uses, though, unlike crypto and nft's The Madcap Dec 10 #21

Silver, even more so. DinahMoeHum Dec 10 #39

New cryptos pop up all the time... lame54 Dec 10 #47

except people actually use Crypto -its not just a flower to look at Blues Heron Dec 10 #8

Yep, it's just the thing for untraceable transactions William Seger Dec 10 #18

Trump is bringing in One World Government and Emile Dec 10 #9

Magic Beans FalloutShelter Dec 10 #10

Beanie Babies! N/t TexasBushwhacker Dec 10 #33

Yes wryter2000 Dec 10 #11

Yep! Rebl2 Dec 10 #12

Crypto is 'god' currency...it really doesn't exist unless you believe in it... MiHale Dec 10 #13

Winter's coming...and in Texas, we froze in the dark before Crypto started using mass quantities of our electricity. surfered Dec 10 #14

POOF............... Historic NY Dec 10 #15

Yes...this PortTack Dec 10 #17

The difference is that one can understand tulips. Crypto is Bullshit NewHendoLib Dec 10 #19

This is a fatally flawed analogy that has been repeated here on DU for well over a decade. Celerity Dec 10 #22

It has no value until it is converted into actual Klarkashton Dec 10 #26

Non responsive to my critique of the OP's flawed analogy, plus this: Celerity Dec 10 #35

"You can purchase things outright with bitcoin without converting the bitcoin to any other currency." Sogo Dec 10 #37

The person that accepts bitcoin in exchange for goods or services doesn't have to redeem it in order for the transaction Celerity Dec 10 #43

Eventually.... ProfessorGAC Dec 10 #40

The number of bitcoins is finite. 21 million, of which around 20 million have already been mined. Of that 20 million, Celerity Dec 10 #46

Yes, I Saw That... ProfessorGAC Dec 10 #57

It's a trade, it assumes that the Bitcoin has a dollar Klarkashton Dec 10 #58

More non-responsiveness to my original reply that you replied to (my refutation of the OP's flawed analogy). Celerity Dec 10 #60

It gets tiring having to explain it again and again...oh well. masmdu Dec 10 #27

" It gets tiring having to explain it again and again...oh well." Sogo Dec 10 #38

Plant one homegirl Dec 10 #30

You are now introducing both labour cost and effort, plus tulips still have inherent non-fungibility. Celerity Dec 10 #41

Tulips are not well adapted long term to NW Europe or the Eastern US. LeftInTX Dec 10 #51

Think Enron Basso8vb Dec 10 #23

it's also the biggest waste of energy on the planet Mr. Sparkle Dec 10 #28

Anyone remember the Beanie Baby craze? Maeve Dec 10 #31

Wait until they start pushing TrumpCoin Diraven Dec 10 #36

Right now, Crypto is speculative only. Its NOT a currency unless you're a fool Callie1979 Dec 10 #42

There is a big issue of TRUST, or lack thereof. . . DinahMoeHum Dec 10 #44

Tulip? Its more like a Corpse Flower. C_U_L8R Dec 10 #53

As I said before, it's hopeium nitpicked Dec 10 #61