Yep, agree with almost everything you say. The only question is the definition of "the end" in the "who wins in the end"
. No bubbles are sustainable in the long-run, but they can last very long and I can see this one surviving for a few decades. But it will be just that - a casino-style financial instrument to play with, not a substitute for the money. However, for it to survive for so long, there should be people who honestly believe that decentralised currency with limited supply can become a reality in the foreseeable future. However, I strongly believe that whether you are right or not cannot be determined based on the ex-post outcome of your decision, but only on your decision based on the information available at the time of decision-making. So, even if Butler will become multi-millionaire (and, i assume, he will still count his millions in dollars), he will still be wrong. Rich, lucky, but wrong
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At best, I can compare crypto trading with playing poker in the presence of the house rake. The only time you win if when someone else loses and the total win by all players is negative because of the rake going to casino (i.e., time and electricity costs spent on supporting this crypto game). So, when you look at the economy as a whole (i.e., all poker players), there is definitely an aggregate loss.
I am not sure how I can explain it, but the fact that crypto increases in value (measured in nominal dollars) does not increase the amount of goods and services the country produces. In fact, some of these goods (electricity) is spent on supporting crypto and some more is not produced because people were too busy playing crypto game. So, total available GDP for investment and consumption becomes lower, which means people, on average, become more poor (in real terms). This is basic math and something obvious for people who can add and look at aggregates.
Yep, agree with almost everything you say. The only question is the definition of "the end" in the "who wins in the end"
. No bubbles are sustainable in the long-run, but they can last very long and I can see this one surviving for a few decades. But it will be just that - a casino-style financial instrument to play with, not a substitute for the money. However, for it to survive for so long, there should be people who honestly believe that decentralised currency with limited supply can become a reality in the foreseeable future. However, I strongly believe that whether you are right or not cannot be determined based on the ex-post outcome of your decision, but only on your decision based on the information available at the time of decision-making. So, even if Butler will become multi-millionaire (and, i assume, he will still count his millions in dollars), he will still be wrong. Rich, lucky, but wrong
.
At best, I can compare crypto trading with playing poker in the presence of the house rake. The only time you win if when someone else loses and the total win by all players is negative because of the rake going to casino (i.e., time and electricity costs spent on supporting this crypto game). So, when you look at the economy as a whole (i.e., all poker players), there is definitely an aggregate loss.
I am not sure how I can explain it, but the fact that crypto increases in value (measured in nominal dollars) does not increase the amount of goods and services the country produces. In fact, some of these goods (electricity) is spent on supporting crypto and some more is not produced because people were too busy playing crypto game. So, total available GDP for investment and consumption becomes lower, which means people, on average, become more poor (in real terms). This is basic math and something obvious for people who can add and look at aggregates.