Bitcoin
- Hello Bitcoin Frens!
I'm sorry the other Hexbear users have been brigading this comm with their nonsense. The issue is that many people don't understand Bitcoin and just hate it to be trendy. I've bought a couple of Bitcoins and all I've seen is profit. It's like I'm Harry Potter stumbling into Gringotts bank and discovering there's this huge pile of wealth waiting for him. Although I've donated most of my earnings to Ukraine so they can defend themselves against the RuZZians (led by the dictator Putler), some of it has also gone into my Funko Pop collection, which I'm pretty proud of; I almost have the whole Deadpool line, and those are like an investment in themselves.
I think if people gave Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies a chance they'd see that the "scam" stereotype is over-exaggerated. I've lost money once or twice, but I've learned from my mistakes and now I have my entire retirement fund in this new coin going around. Hope to meet fellow enthusiasts here!
- Summary of the latest IMF paper on Bitcoin
A surprisingly neutral take from IMF researchers on Bitcoin in a recent paper. A 43-page paper, A Primer on Bitcoin Cross-Border Flows: Measurement and Drivers
Twitter user @Matt_Hougan gives the following summary:
Takeaway #1: Countries that have limited access to the broader global economy are big users of bitcoin on a relative basis.
The paper notes: “The magnitudes of the estimated Bitcoin cross-border flows are sizeable with respect to several countries’ GDP, especially in those which experience relatively small capital flows.”
This finding is repeated throughout the paper. It makes sense: People in countries facing either capital controls or limited access to the global economy are using bitcoin as a release valve.
People have called bitcoin a tool for economic freedom. The data in this paper provides a proof point that it's being used exactly for that.
Takeaway #2: The US is an extreme outlier in its low adoption of bitcoin vs. traditional capital flows. Our perspective, therefore, does not reflect everyone’s reality.
As proof, the paper includes a great chart comparing cross-border bitcoin flows vs. flows into traditional investment products by GDP. (Note: The chart labels traditional flows “EPFR” because it gathers the data from EPFR Global.) You can see that the US has the most extreme reading in its dominance by traditional funds. On the other end of the spectrum are countries like Venezuela and Ukraine.
Takeaway #3: The IMF is paying attention to bitcoin.
This is a serious paper. It's written by three IMF researchers, includes a survey of relevant academic literature, and takes a sophisticated approach to using using on- and off-chain techniques to determine bitcoin capital flows.
The IMF is doing this research because bitcoin "has grown rapidly over the past decade" and policymakers increasingly need to understand its impact on the global economy.
Consider this piece from the conclusion:
“These findings are in line with a recent body of work suggesting that Bitcoin facilitates the circumvention of capital flow restrictions (Graf von Luckner et al., 2024, 2023; Hu et al., 2021). As highlighted by IMF (2023a), policymakers aiming to manage capital flows should ensure that capital flow management regulations cover crypto assets.”
They also note that rising bitcoin use is a "symptom" of imbalances in the traditional economy.
The world is waking up to bitcoin.
- Interesting story about gold smugglers - should have bought bitcoinwww.popsci.com Smugglers melted and spray painted $10 million in gold to look like machine parts
The suspicious plane cargo was flagged by the Hong Kong authorities.
Smugglers melted and spray painted $10 million in gold to look like machine parts - but they got caught.
- Redditor’s hacked Bitcoin is a lesson on the hidden dangers of paper walletscointelegraph.com Redditor’s hacked Bitcoin is a lesson on the hidden dangers of paper wallets
Blockchain security firm CertiK warns crypto holders to think twice about paper wallets that use an online wallet generator to issue private keys after a Redditor’s wallet was cleaned out.
- From a small business: would you pay in BTC if there was a discount over fiat?
Since BTC appreciates yoy on average, I find people less willing to spend it. What would be a good enough discount compared to fiat for a service/good? 10%? 20%? 50%?
- When was the last time you used Bitcoin? (Payment, Friends, etc.)
When did you really made a Bitcoin transaction the last time? Did you encounter any problems? Technically? High-Fees?
- Other Bitcoin communities in the threadiverse
If you haven't already, consider subscribing to each of these communities:
- https://kbin.social/m/Bitcoin
- https://infosec.pub/c/bitcoin
- https://sh.itjust.works/c/bitcoin
- https://lemmy.world/c/bitcoin
- https://discuss.tchncs.de/c/bitcoin
(I'm intentionally leaving off the one on the tankie instance)
I recommend that we try to consolidate our activity to just one of the above. When posting, pick whichever community seems the most lively. Hopefully this way a clear winner will emerge and continue to grow.
