After reading this thread and a few of the links provided by Anonymint it really struck me how important not only anonymity is but also the fact that the next generation crypto should be cpu only plus zero transaction fees. The point of mining being slightly -EV but still a highly valuable feature since it allows everyone to convert fiat to crypto without any third party involved was a heureka moment for me. It's just an amazingly simple but yet extremely important feature. Not only would it solve the exchange/trust problem of bitcoin but it would also greatly facilitate the adoption of the masses.
Note I think the EV will actually be higher with perpetual debasement, because mining has to be paid for even if you pay for it with transaction fees instead. But then not only does that design create the
Tragedy of the Commons I asserted upthead (see my reply to vokain), but also it charges the security to the commerce sector which you need the most to expand in order to increase the value of the coin.
Tinfoil hat investors shoot themselves in the foot with their myopic selfish greed. It starts with goldbugs not understanding what money is and not understanding basic facts about macroeconomics. Gold has never been the only money in the economy. It was always fractional reserve or coin shaving/impurities debased. Even the 1800s and the East Roman Byzantine empire were not exceptions. I was a silverbug before, so I understand very well the psychology.
I am hoping some people can figure this out rationally now that I have explained it.
P.S. I still think precious metals have a role to play, e.g. they are a hedge against chaotic outcomes, and I will own some. But they can't be the daily currency. Impossible. The high tech knowledge economy would implode and we would go into a Dark Age if these gold and silverbug hoarders (stackers) had their way. The velocity of money would fall into the abyss. Gold goes very high when there is chaos in the government and society. This coincides with a collapse in the velocity of money because investors are fearful and hoard capital (or a runaway hyperinflation in the case of a totally debased government that can't even sell its own bonds, which never happens with the reserve currency).
And even gold's global above ground supply is debased by increasing physical supply from mining a couple of percent per year.
P.S.S. I hope enough people own gold in some sort of standardized form that we can do decentralized exchange with physical meetups to trade between crypto-currency and gold. I wish the community could decide on some standard form of gold that is easy to trade without assay. And some easy test for tungsten fakes. Gold is a very compact, durable, autonomous way to physically store value without external risk. Crypto-currency has external risk because it depends on a global ledger, potentially technology with lurking bugs, and on internet communication.
Don't ask me what silver's role is now. I have no idea now, as my view has changed so much now that I see silver can't be a daily currency any more. I suppose silver is still undervalued relative to gold. I certainly thought so in the past. Silver is a high technology metal due to it being best electrical, thermal conductor, most reflective, acoustical properties, second most extrudable, etc.. But typically used only in very small amounts in such applications. Perhaps silver is headed to be very valuable in the high knowledge economy.
