Apart from trust, value is another crucial word in Bitcoin. We often say that Bitcoin has created an Internet of value. Why? Before discussion, let's look at a fable.
What is value?
Two exactly same bamboos, one made into a flute and the other, a clothes airing pole.
The latter is not satisfied and says, " Why I’m weather-beaten yet cheap, but you are in clover and expensive. It's unfair".
The flute answers, "Because you were stabbed for only once, I experienced thousands of times".
Any inspiration?
Value, a very simple word but vital in the evolutionary history of human civilization. It is closely linked to everyone, like air. We can't see it, but we feel it every moment. Take investment for example, the emergence of Bitcoin emphasized the significance of value in investment because the network built by Bitcoin is an Internet of value. Bitcoin is leading the migration of mankind from the Internet of information to the Internet of value. That is getting recognized by more and more Bitcoin believers.
So what is value? It has many definitions. I’m gonna put the philosophical principles aside, to think about value in economics.
In some economic knowledge, value is regarded as undifferentiated or abstract human labor condensed in commodities
That is, the amount of labor in the construction of this commodity, which is presented in the form of value. In that fable, the value in two same bamboos varies based on how much work is done.
Undifferentiated human labor or abstract human labor condensed in commodities is one of the basic elements in commodities. Commodities with different values can be exchanged with a certain ratio. For instance, a sheep can exchange 20 feet of cloth since between them, something common and comparable exists, namely, undifferentiated human labor in commodity production.
The undifferentiated and abstract human labor is condensed in the commodity, so value is formed. We can see that the value of the commodity has this characteristic: function in use endows a commodity with value. Use value is the bearer of the existence of value. Value is invisible and intangible, which can only be manifested in commodity exchange.
Value reminds us of price. The value of a commodity and its price are related but different. The difference is,
value is the basis of price, and price is the manifestation of value. The connection is,
value determines price, and price fluctuates around value. The price of a commodity is the currency expression of the commodity. Due to the law of value and other factors, from the perspective of a specific exchange, the price of a commodity and its value are often renegade. But in general, commodity price still conforms with its value.
Value can be seen sorely in the exchange of commodities. It embodies the social relationship in which commodity producers exchange labor with each other. Essentially, it's a kind of relation of production.
So what's the connection between value and Bitcoin? Bitcoin, in nature, is the product of value. When we trade Bitcoin on the Internet, we are actually trading and transferring value. As is mentioned before,
Bitcoin has material property, which is in fact a kind of manifestation of value. Bitcoin network built a value transmission network where value is exchanged and transferred in the form of Bitcoin.
To understand what is Internet of value, we must first know its definition. The Internet we are currently using is substantially the Internet of information where information flows. I send you a video and you receive a copy of this video, which is still on my computer. Information can be copied and transferred with no limitation if condition permits. We can transmit information through the network, but we cannot directly transfer money.
Only by a centralized intermediary agency, money can be transferred because our accounts are recorded by the bank.In the real world, we can deliver valuable items. If I give you an apple, then I'll lose it. This is governed by physical rules. Any object in the material world is unique and cannot be copied.
Bitcoin realized some of the characteristics of the physical world, it fulfilled the transfer of material, which is essentially value.In the global Internet ledger of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto created something similar to cash. In the physical world, I give you $100 in cash, then it's gone for me. In the Bitcoin network, if I transfer a Bitcoin to you, then it's gone for my account. At this moment, the value of this Bitcoin matters not. It might be 1/5000 pizza or $40,000.
Through the Bitcoin protocol and its network, we are in the digital world, transferring value like cash between people, without the need of any intermediary for endorsement.The existing Internet protocol can only transmit information which can be copied infinitely, while the Bitcoin network can transmit value, which is tamper-proof and cannot be copied.
Bitcoin has created a new value network. We are coining a new encrypted world in accordance with the ideas of Bitcoin, which is inherently capable of delivering trust and value, resetting the value system and rules and order. Bitcoin is leading the migration of mankind from the Internet of information to the Internet of value.
That’s my point. What do you think?