This is a good read on why BTC and others still have value.

https://taylorpearson.me/why-is-bitcoin-valuable/

@kemonine
omg i did not except this article to be good, and it was

An important and valid counterpoint is that cryptocurrency wealth is just as centralized and we are merely trading the old selectorate of money for a new, but no more inclusive selectorate.

There is good evidence for this. Estimates suggest that as few as one thousand people own 40% of Bitcoin. That’s not a wildly different number then what the current system looks like.

In this view, the “bitcoin revolution” is like most of the revolutions preceding it where we simply traded our old overlords for new overlords.

The open-source, forkable nature of cryptocurrency give me hope that this will not be the outcome.

Historically, it was possible to use different currencies for different purposes. While you may have been required to use a certain national currency to pay taxes, you might use a locally issued bank note for the purpose of trading in your village and you might use specie (gold and silver) to store value in a way that could not be debased if the King got into too much debt. In other words, there was a competitive market for currency for most of its history.

It was only in the late 18th century that this competitive market collapsed these into a single currency backed by national governments which outlawed other currencies to make it easier to levy taxes.

Because of their open-source, forable nature, cryptocurrencies bring back the possibility of different currencies being used for different use cases and force currencies to compete for users. The monetary selectorate can make its opinion known by buying, selling, hoarding or dumping various coins as they see fit.

While bitcoin has been the dominant cryptocurrency to date, constant competition from other cryptocurrencies will force bitcoin to compete.

In this way, the open-source and forkable nature of cryptocurrency allows individuals to choose between competing currencies themselves, truly moving power to the users and not just the high-net worth holders, core developers or mines of any particular cryptocurrency.

@amphetamine the invisible hand

@gracie
yea no even this article lol

but

there's some good stuff in there

@amphetamine a free market to the rescue lol

@gracie yea luckily you can replace that dirty passive voice "free market" with "shit we're going to do" and get something out of it ;)

@amphetamine sorry, it's just pure neolib, we know how perfect competition plays out in the real world

@gracie i agree, but i'm still going to twist my reading of the article because i can ;p

@amphetamine hahaha oh pls nvr change you!