On: Bitcoin: The Cyberpunk Cryptocurrency

[kiba]

Bitcoin seems to be in another bubble, so I'm going to wade back into this insane discussion.

I agree that we're in a potential bubble, but bitcoin was never ever a pyramid scheme. Bitcoin is a fully transparent cryptocurrency system and investors were never promised anything.

[wmf → kiba]

The fixed number of BTC is effectively a "promise" that the value of your holdings will increase if you recruit new people into the Bitcoin ecosystem.

[mattm → wmf]

So you would say company stock is a pyramid scheme as well? There is usually a set amount and it benefits you to recruit others to buy the stock.

[wmf → mattm]

Companies ought to have fundamental value (although one may be skeptical if a company has no plans to give investors access to that value via dividends or acquisition) but Bitcoin doesn't. Also, I think of Bitcoin as more of a bubble machine than a pyramid scheme.

[daniel-cussen → wmf]

The number of BTC is not fixed.

[pyre → daniel-cussen]

The maximum number of BTC is fixed.