goldbugs got a lot right.
but where gold fails and as a result goldbugs fail, is that it’s a reserve asset within the existing system. While they hope to pump their bags they only perpetuate the thing they say they’re trying to fix.
gold will never fix anything, because that is all gold will ever be. It can be used in small cases as MoE, but it does not have the capacity to do so sufficiently to displace the existing power structure and system of control.
bitcoin is different in this respect as it is both a reserve asset; and an entirely new system at the same time capable of being both a reserve asset and used easily globally and locally for exchange of goods. It will continue to increase as MoE and further cement itself as the new standard in an emergent and chaotic way.
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Gold’s premier use case is rehypothecation.
Bitcoin reserves are sort of doing the same thing though as good: turning them into reserves of the existing system.
The existing system will co-opt anything they can manage to. If “perfect bitcoin” that was 400x more secure and faster with all the other perks being the same emerged tomorrow, they would try to co-opt that too.
Id say SoV first, then paper issuance second.
Yeah I sold all of my gold when it clicked that Bitcoin is the reserve asset, vault, and monetary network in one. When I had gold, it got to the point that I had to use third party vaults. Given jurisdiction risk, I used several around the globe. If I wanted to spend it, I had to convert to fiat and use fiat rails or keep some with a service like Glint that does that automatically. They could also freeze my accounts, etc. I never really escaped that way. It was fiat with extra steps. Bitcoin is a lot easier to escape with, although still imperfect. But it is possible.
Exactly.
gold relies on 3rd parties.
bitcoin is and will use 3rd parties to in order to proliferate, but the ease at which it can be used without relying on these changes things.
My recent note pretty much highlights why we ended up with gold backed paper, and eventually worthless paper and empty digits. There's no way a modern economy can run on self-custodied gold. It couldn't even back then and things have only gotten faster and more complex.
