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Topic: What to say against the claim "backed by the state/bank" - page 2. (Read 2128 times)

WiW
sr. member
Activity: 277
Merit: 250
"The public is stupid, hence the public will pay"
Regardless, my point is that neither is backed.
Bitcoin is backed by its unique properties as a medium of exchange and as a monetary system.

"Backing" is a term reserved for a guarantee by another party that something is of value, such as being exchangeable for another asset by that third party, or being insured in some other way (hence being guaranteed).

Such claims as "bitcoin is backed by [insert property/feature unique to bitcoin]" are erroneous. You are providing a property of bitcoin, which may indicate value. Its unique properties don't back it. Its unique properties are it.

This claim is like saying "gold is backed by its unique color". No, it's not. Its unique color is a property of gold, which is why some people attribute value to it. Its color does not "back" it, no matter how you define "backing".

Please stop with these claims of bitcoin being "backed" by anything. Nobody is guaranteeing that bitcoin is worth anything. Nobody is promising your something in exchange for bitcoins. Bitcoin is NOT backed by anything apart from your own personal trust and belief.
full member
Activity: 238
Merit: 100
The Bitcoin Catalog ---> Get Started!
Regardless, my point is that neither is backed.
Bitcoin is backed by its unique properties as a medium of exchange and as a monetary system.
newbie
Activity: 16
Merit: 0
Depends on what you mean by backed. Is it redeemable for a fixed amount of gold or silver irrespective of exchange rate to fiat money....probably not. Do some governments want it to succeed....who knows?
WiW
sr. member
Activity: 277
Merit: 250
"The public is stupid, hence the public will pay"
I would say that not being backed (i.e. controlled) by any government or central bank is one of the essential advantages of bitcoins. The idea is to get away from state and institutional control not towards it.

Regardless, my point is that neither is backed.
newbie
Activity: 16
Merit: 0
The more I think about bitcoin the more I think that governments (or the people that control them) are behind it (that's not to say that they control it, just that I'm starting to think that they want it to succeed). Best to be in it either way IMHO.
hero member
Activity: 518
Merit: 500
I would say that not being backed (i.e. controlled) by any government or central bank is one of the essential advantages of bitcoins. The idea is to get away from state and institutional control not towards it.
WiW
sr. member
Activity: 277
Merit: 250
"The public is stupid, hence the public will pay"
When people say that Bitcoin is not backed by any government or central bank, you can now officially tell them that the Dollar and the Euro aren't either.

I've opened the wikipedia article on the Euro, and it doesn't mention the word "backing" not once.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro

If anyone ever tells you that the Euro and Dollar are more guaranteed than bitcoin, yell at the top of your lungs "LIAR! THIS PERSON IS A LIAR!"
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