On: One Bitcoin miner is buying 20,000 16nm wafers fro...

[paulddraper]

Same is true of gold, diamonds, ivory, other items whose rarity makes them precious.

[objclxt → paulddraper]

Gold and diamonds both have industrial applications. They have intrinsic properties outside of their scarcity that also give them worth (for gold, their corrosion resistance, for diamonds their hardness). Even if they had no aesthetic value they would still be mined and sold, because they have practical uses. Is the same true of Bitcoin? Right now, I don't think so.

[oh-kumudo → paulddraper]

Unlike Gold, bitcoin's rarity is artificial, comparison of Bitcoin to high-end artworks might be a more proper one.

[paulddraper → oh-kumudo]

It's not artificial, it's based on natural laws of computation.

Choosing a particular starting block or blockchain algorithm is arbitrary. Just as choosing a particular metal is arbitrary.

Its scarcity is 100% natural.

[raverbashing → paulddraper]

Yes and I don't need to spend several kWh to transact with coin or diamonds