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Topic: Greece to adopt Bitcoin as currency (Read 3832 times)

legendary
Activity: 1246
Merit: 1010
April 30, 2015, 01:38:40 PM
#53
Well, what alternatives does Varoufakis have at this point? What seemed a joke to me, doesn't seem that much of a joke anymore. It's clear they are stuck in a permanent loop of negotiations that never go nowhere, so they'll either end up disappointing all the country by getting fucked by Troika, go back to drachma, or start a crypto based economy.

Either/or?  Try all 3.  Although you could argue that Greece started the fucking (by taking low interest loans they could never repay) and knew it:

http://imgur.com/rViiGrI.png (for the mythology-challenged the coin pictures the rape of Europa by Zeus... you've gotta admit, the Greeks have panache  Cheesy)
legendary
Activity: 1372
Merit: 1252
April 30, 2015, 12:08:00 PM
#52
To the question: How will a goverment aquire the bitcoins to use in a country? Well this is the whole point of bitcoin, they can't just by magic start with an amount of coins. Every coin has to be taxed to get in the hands of the government. When they tax, the public will want to know what the tax is for, thus limit the government.

This is also the answer to: Will a government adopt bitcoin as the currency of a country?


But then - in this hypothetical scenario - the whole country of Greece would be left with no money at all for the people to use. If the left the Euro, the people would have no money whatsoever. Sure, they could keep their Euros, but the government would have to introduce a "better" currency in order to get them to use that instead. I don't know if this would work with Bitcoin.

Bitcoin will not solve the problem for the greek government, no money type will - they are insolvent! They will have to default and start anew, with a smaller government. For individuals in Greece, bitcoin is useful.
Greece is on a serious dead end right now, the political movements that once were supporting Syriza are now seeing what they have on store if they follow their steps. Only if they do something incredibly risky and revolutionary they will have my respect, because the alternative is continue getting buttfucked by Merkel's Troika.
hero member
Activity: 518
Merit: 500
Trust me!
April 30, 2015, 08:16:18 AM
#51
To the question: How will a goverment aquire the bitcoins to use in a country? Well this is the whole point of bitcoin, they can't just by magic start with an amount of coins. Every coin has to be taxed to get in the hands of the government. When they tax, the public will want to know what the tax is for, thus limit the government.

This is also the answer to: Will a government adopt bitcoin as the currency of a country?


But then - in this hypothetical scenario - the whole country of Greece would be left with no money at all for the people to use. If the left the Euro, the people would have no money whatsoever. Sure, they could keep their Euros, but the government would have to introduce a "better" currency in order to get them to use that instead. I don't know if this would work with Bitcoin.

Bitcoin will not solve the problem for the greek government, no money type will - they are insolvent! They will have to default and start anew, with a smaller government. For individuals in Greece, bitcoin is useful.

I agree, I also believe that Bitcoin wouldn't solve their problems. And I was merely raising concern as to how Greece could actually adopt Bitcoin if they wanted to. And I continue to believe that they couldn't adopt it. Individuals could very well try to hedge their holdings and savings by using Bitcoin!
legendary
Activity: 1512
Merit: 1005
April 29, 2015, 09:02:38 PM
#50
To the question: How will a goverment aquire the bitcoins to use in a country? Well this is the whole point of bitcoin, they can't just by magic start with an amount of coins. Every coin has to be taxed to get in the hands of the government. When they tax, the public will want to know what the tax is for, thus limit the government.

This is also the answer to: Will a government adopt bitcoin as the currency of a country?


But then - in this hypothetical scenario - the whole country of Greece would be left with no money at all for the people to use. If the left the Euro, the people would have no money whatsoever. Sure, they could keep their Euros, but the government would have to introduce a "better" currency in order to get them to use that instead. I don't know if this would work with Bitcoin.

Bitcoin will not solve the problem for the greek government, no money type will - they are insolvent! They will have to default and start anew, with a smaller government. For individuals in Greece, bitcoin is useful.
hero member
Activity: 518
Merit: 500
Trust me!
April 29, 2015, 08:03:55 AM
#49
To the question: How will a goverment aquire the bitcoins to use in a country? Well this is the whole point of bitcoin, they can't just by magic start with an amount of coins. Every coin has to be taxed to get in the hands of the government. When they tax, the public will want to know what the tax is for, thus limit the government.

This is also the answer to: Will a government adopt bitcoin as the currency of a country?


But then - in this hypothetical scenario - the whole country of Greece would be left with no money at all for the people to use. If the left the Euro, the people would have no money whatsoever. Sure, they could keep their Euros, but the government would have to introduce a "better" currency in order to get them to use that instead. I don't know if this would work with Bitcoin.
legendary
Activity: 1512
Merit: 1005
April 29, 2015, 07:17:41 AM
#48
To the question: How will a goverment aquire the bitcoins to use in a country? Well this is the whole point of bitcoin, they can't just by magic start with an amount of coins. Every coin has to be taxed to get in the hands of the government. When they tax, the public will want to know what the tax is for, thus limit the government.

This is also the answer to: Will a government adopt bitcoin as the currency of a country?
hero member
Activity: 686
Merit: 500
A pumpkin mines 27 hours a night
April 28, 2015, 07:51:43 PM
#47
Yep, you guys are right... A state can't really go and adopt Bitcoin, they need to distribute the money somehow, and they can't do this with Bitcoin. Just think of it this way: A state may want to use Gold as money, but it doesn't have any reserves and is already bankrupt. How are they supposed to get their hands on the gold in the first place???

Well, they could invest in a serious mining operation and use that money to distribute it.
Also jobs would get paid with BTC.

they have a high debit, and you are proposing for a big investment like that? it does not sound so smart

the only for them now is to ask for more fiat at the BCE, and maybe then they convert a portion of this in bitcoin, by buying it directly, without all the hassle of the mining

they can use those bitcoin to move their economy(trade) with extra eurozone countries, in this way they could at least avoid the typical convertion rate with two fiat system

I agree, they can't invest in any mining operation. Following that logic, you would always make money by investing in mining operations or mining bitcoins yourself. The mining gear "arms race" of last year and end 2013 has showed us that buying coins is cheaper. And if they aren't able to just buy the coins, they also won't be able to invest in any mining operation.
hero member
Activity: 700
Merit: 501
April 28, 2015, 01:01:49 PM
#46
Yep, you guys are right... A state can't really go and adopt Bitcoin, they need to distribute the money somehow, and they can't do this with Bitcoin. Just think of it this way: A state may want to use Gold as money, but it doesn't have any reserves and is already bankrupt. How are they supposed to get their hands on the gold in the first place???

Well, they could invest in a serious mining operation and use that money to distribute it.
Also jobs would get paid with BTC.

they have a high debit, and you are proposing for a big investment like that? it does not sound so smart

the only for them now is to ask for more fiat at the BCE, and maybe then they convert a portion of this in bitcoin, by buying it directly, without all the hassle of the mining

they can use those bitcoin to move their economy(trade) with extra eurozone countries, in this way they could at least avoid the typical convertion rate with two fiat system

The negotiations are already over, we are just watching a complete circus to keep things more or less stable until july, then things will have to come to the surface, and it's either more austerity measures for Greece or leaving for the drachma/god knows what else.
legendary
Activity: 3248
Merit: 1070
April 28, 2015, 10:32:40 AM
#45
Yep, you guys are right... A state can't really go and adopt Bitcoin, they need to distribute the money somehow, and they can't do this with Bitcoin. Just think of it this way: A state may want to use Gold as money, but it doesn't have any reserves and is already bankrupt. How are they supposed to get their hands on the gold in the first place???

Well, they could invest in a serious mining operation and use that money to distribute it.
Also jobs would get paid with BTC.

they have a high debit, and you are proposing for a big investment like that? it does not sound so smart

the only way for them now is to ask for more fiat at the BCE, and maybe then they convert a portion of this in bitcoin, by buying it directly, without all the hassle of the mining

they can use those bitcoin to move their economy(trade) with extra eurozone countries, in this way they could at least avoid the typical convertion rate with two fiat system
legendary
Activity: 1204
Merit: 1028
April 28, 2015, 09:38:41 AM
#44
Well, what alternatives does Varoufakis have at this point? What seemed a joke to me, doesn't seem that much of a joke anymore. It's clear they are stuck in a permanent loop of negotiations that never go nowhere, so they'll either end up disappointing all the country by getting fucked by Troika, go back to drachma, or start a crypto based economy.
legendary
Activity: 1512
Merit: 1005
April 28, 2015, 06:38:11 AM
#43
On what day are pensions and government salaries due?
newbie
Activity: 33
Merit: 0
April 28, 2015, 04:10:18 AM
#42
How could that possible? They can easily publish they will adopt Bitcoin as currency. Does it give them any help to ease the burden of large amount of debt and the collapse of their institutions?
legendary
Activity: 1512
Merit: 1005
April 28, 2015, 03:59:05 AM
#41
Yep, you guys are right... A state can't really go and adopt Bitcoin, they need to distribute the money somehow, and they can't do this with Bitcoin. Just think of it this way: A state may want to use Gold as money, but it doesn't have any reserves and is already bankrupt. How are they supposed to get their hands on the gold in the first place???

With the same logic, it is clear that the state does not want gold as money, either. Historically, when gold was used by kings, it was because gold already was money. But they might want gold backed money, where they control the backing. It has two advantages for the state 1: All gold will flow to the government and 2: The gold backed money can be devalued at will. Only private money, denominated in some weight, gold or gold backed, but in that case with no central bank guarantee, will work (as sound money).

sr. member
Activity: 406
Merit: 250
April 28, 2015, 03:10:57 AM
#40
Yep, you guys are right... A state can't really go and adopt Bitcoin, they need to distribute the money somehow, and they can't do this with Bitcoin. Just think of it this way: A state may want to use Gold as money, but it doesn't have any reserves and is already bankrupt. How are they supposed to get their hands on the gold in the first place???

Well, they could invest in a serious mining operation and use that money to distribute it.
Also jobs would get paid with BTC.

If the cost of mining is higher than buying, then they should buy. The Greece is too hot.
hero member
Activity: 770
Merit: 509
April 27, 2015, 05:13:24 AM
#39
Yep, you guys are right... A state can't really go and adopt Bitcoin, they need to distribute the money somehow, and they can't do this with Bitcoin. Just think of it this way: A state may want to use Gold as money, but it doesn't have any reserves and is already bankrupt. How are they supposed to get their hands on the gold in the first place???

Well, they could invest in a serious mining operation and use that money to distribute it.
Also jobs would get paid with BTC.
hero member
Activity: 518
Merit: 500
Trust me!
April 25, 2015, 05:11:13 PM
#38
Yep, you guys are right... A state can't really go and adopt Bitcoin, they need to distribute the money somehow, and they can't do this with Bitcoin. Just think of it this way: A state may want to use Gold as money, but it doesn't have any reserves and is already bankrupt. How are they supposed to get their hands on the gold in the first place???
hero member
Activity: 686
Merit: 500
A pumpkin mines 27 hours a night
April 25, 2015, 03:58:43 PM
#37
Greek will not adopt bitcoin. You have to work to earn bitcoin, it cannot be printed.

That is actually a very intelligent comment. The main problem would be how Greece would even adopt Bitcoin to begin with! I mean, they would have to get everyone to have a certain amount of BTC to get things going. I don't think this is feasible in any way, other than maybe the population deciding to only accept BTC.
This is actually a global problem. Whenever I talk to people about Bitcoin they tell me "how to get them"? They can't fathom is just another currency, that it would be as stupid as saying, "how to get japanese yens"? or something like that.
They aren't interested if its not free money.

I think their reluctance of paying money for BTC is due to the relatively high risk still associated with holding BTC. If you are traveling to Japan you are also effectively only exchanging your local money for Japanese Yen! Those Yens also don't just grow on trees or are being magically converted from USD or EUR...

People see BTC as an investment rather than a currency because of the promise of it's value skyrocketing in the future, which makes it more difficult to waste on frivolous stuff unlike fiats.

I think the biggest problem for BTC acting as a currency is its high volatility, which can't be denied! Right now people are hesitant to spend their BTC they bought a a higher price - which is understandable. But I think people unfamiliar with BTC don't invest in it because they are afraid of losing their money. They don't know enough about Bitcoin.
legendary
Activity: 1358
Merit: 1014
April 25, 2015, 01:36:09 PM
#36
Greek will not adopt bitcoin. You have to work to earn bitcoin, it cannot be printed.

That is actually a very intelligent comment. The main problem would be how Greece would even adopt Bitcoin to begin with! I mean, they would have to get everyone to have a certain amount of BTC to get things going. I don't think this is feasible in any way, other than maybe the population deciding to only accept BTC.
This is actually a global problem. Whenever I talk to people about Bitcoin they tell me "how to get them"? They can't fathom is just another currency, that it would be as stupid as saying, "how to get japanese yens"? or something like that.
They aren't interested if its not free money.

I think their reluctance of paying money for BTC is due to the relatively high risk still associated with holding BTC. If you are traveling to Japan you are also effectively only exchanging your local money for Japanese Yen! Those Yens also don't just grow on trees or are being magically converted from USD or EUR...

People see BTC as an investment rather than a currency because of the promise of it's value skyrocketing in the future, which makes it more difficult to waste on frivolous stuff unlike fiats.
full member
Activity: 280
Merit: 100
April 24, 2015, 01:58:13 PM
#35
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-04-01/greek-finmin-greece-will-adopt-bitcoin-if-eurogroup-doesnt-give-us-deal

I think it would be a dreadful idea, and it will never happen, but that is pretty interesting that people in positions of power are actually thinking about adopting Bitcoin!

thats pity that it's still so far away from true
hero member
Activity: 686
Merit: 500
A pumpkin mines 27 hours a night
April 24, 2015, 01:41:14 PM
#34
Greek will not adopt bitcoin. You have to work to earn bitcoin, it cannot be printed.

That is actually a very intelligent comment. The main problem would be how Greece would even adopt Bitcoin to begin with! I mean, they would have to get everyone to have a certain amount of BTC to get things going. I don't think this is feasible in any way, other than maybe the population deciding to only accept BTC.
This is actually a global problem. Whenever I talk to people about Bitcoin they tell me "how to get them"? They can't fathom is just another currency, that it would be as stupid as saying, "how to get japanese yens"? or something like that.
They aren't interested if its not free money.

I think their reluctance of paying money for BTC is due to the relatively high risk still associated with holding BTC. If you are traveling to Japan you are also effectively only exchanging your local money for Japanese Yen! Those Yens also don't just grow on trees or are being magically converted from USD or EUR...
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