Topic: (2014-01-09) Why Charles Stross Doesn’t Know a Thing about Bitcoin (Read 613 times)
I'm not surprised about Stross's stance. His book Accelerando was an attack on hyper capitalism and over reliance on markets. The only fault I see with Stross's critique is the Botnet thing. And this may not actually be a fault in the future (imagine seedy manufacturers hiding ASICs in toasters that search for open WIFI). In fact, I see a fault in the Bitcoin Magazine article about efficiency. Yes, miners are getting more efficient, but it doesn't matter, because they'll just be using more units. As long as mining produces a net return greater than the cost of electricity, more miners will be enter the system, and more electricity will be used. The deflationary argument made by the magazine is pretty weak as well. The problem with deflationary currencies isn't divisibility. And yes, there are some people that believe deflationary currencies are better than inflationary currencies, but there are people that don't believe in evolution as well. Since Bitcoin is, and will probably always remain, a highly liquid secondary currency, I'm not sure the inflationary aspects of the currency matters much though.
January 09, 2014, 12:16:59 PM
An articulate and lucid take-down of why Stross has lost his edge. Regrettably, he was one of my favorite authors as well, but it seems the time for that has passed. That's okay, there are plenty willing to take his place.
January 09, 2014, 09:44:28 AM
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