Reading the responses to the recent topic titled, "I would sell all my bitcoins if…." has left me concerned.
The kinds of responses on that thread reveal a deep misunderstanding of bitcoin and the current monetary system in many of those who are speculating. Let's consider the scenario in which bitcoin reaches $1000 or let's say $10,000 per bitcoin. Many have said they will cash out if bitcoin reaches this point. Why??
If bitcoin reaches $10,000 it will have to be because the fiat currencies of the world are tumbling to worthlessness via a hyperinflation type scenario and bitcoin is the safe haven, which if you know anything about the current monetary systems of the world, you know this is inevitable. (there have been 3800 fiat currencies throughout history and EVERY SINGLE LAST ONE has crashed to worthlessness; a value of zero) Why would you then sell all of your sound money (Bitcoin) for a bunch of fiat money that is inevitably becoming worthless? I don't understand the logic in doing that.
If bitcoin ever reaches $10,000 per bitcoin, you will NEVER see me selling for fiat paper money. You may however see me having a shopping spree at Overstock.com or TigerDirect.com or NewEgg.com! I will be buying things I want with my bitcoin profits DIRECTLY WITH BITCOIN, not selling my bitcoin for paper fiat. Hopefully by then there will be many more options, perhaps even Amazon.com will be accepting bitcoin for goods and I can have my shopping spree there.
Point being, selling bitcoin for dollars seems counterproductive. Why convert your paper fiat currency into sound value storing superior bitcoin, only to sell all of your superior bitcoin back for worthless antiquated fiat currency again? Why not just spend the bitcoin itself to buy what you want instead of taking a loss by converting back into dollars which will inflate away eventually anyway?
I think you’ve got a point here but in my view there are a couple of situations where I would sell BTC. You only mention selling them for FIAT but I will be always paying attention to how cryptocurrencies markets go just in case another crypto overcomes btc. I quite believe in btc but if in the future I see, let’s say, litecoin, growing in capitalization and becoming the number 1 crypto I will be trading at least some of my BTC for litecoins to diversify.
Then, you mention buying goods directly with btc. More than two years have passed since you wrote your post and there are still only few shops where you can buy directly with btc. You can use your bitcoins to buy almost everything if you use webs like all4btc, for example, but in this case, although you are not converting your btc into FIAT to buy goods, they do.
And finally, I don’t see the problem of converting btc into FIAT if you spend you money right away. Your point is that FIAT is becoming worthless so you won’t trade something with value, like btc, for it. But the thing is, FIAT has still value nowadays so what’s de difference between spending X amount of BTC to but a good and convert those BTC into the equivalent of FIAT money and spend it right away to buy that good? Especially if you don’t have a way to buy it directly with btc.