<story><title>Ending Bitcoin Support</title><url>https://stripe.com/blog/ending-bitcoin-support</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>nulagrithom</author><text>&amp;gt; What future does an asset have if people don&amp;#x27;t actually buy stuff with it?&lt;p&gt;I look at it (maybe naively) like a solid gold bar. You&amp;#x27;re not going to walk in to a convenience store and pay with a bar of solid gold; you might flee the country with one though.&lt;p&gt;Beyond that, I totally agree with your read on the post. Linking the pull request[0] was especially backhanded. It feels like there&amp;#x27;s some underlying frustration there that was expounded upon using good references and kind words.&lt;p&gt;[0]: &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;github.com&amp;#x2F;bitcoin-dot-org&amp;#x2F;bitcoin.org&amp;#x2F;pull&amp;#x2F;2010&amp;#x2F;files&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;github.com&amp;#x2F;bitcoin-dot-org&amp;#x2F;bitcoin.org&amp;#x2F;pull&amp;#x2F;2010&amp;#x2F;fil...&lt;/a&gt;</text></item><item><author>montrose</author><text>This reads a bit like the sort of things people say when breaking up so as not to upset the other person too much. You&amp;#x27;re a great person, but you&amp;#x27;re just more of an asset than a medium of exchange, and what I need in my life right now is a medium of exchange.&lt;p&gt;What future does an asset have if people don&amp;#x27;t actually buy stuff with it? That is not a purely rhetorical question; cryptocurrencies change things a lot. But this news is worrying.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>EnFinlay</author><text>Reading your comment finally made it click to me why cryptocurrencies (specifically Bitcoin) are distinct from a gold bar or other non-currency stores of value. A gold bar is going to remain a gold bar forever, people&amp;#x27;s perception of its value will change even though the supply will remain mostly steady, but it will stay a gold bar no matter what.&lt;p&gt;Bitcoin may change in value based on perception, it&amp;#x27;s supply will remain constant after it has all been mined, but it&amp;#x27;s existence and integrity relies on a large network continuing to exist.&lt;p&gt;To put it differently, in 50 years a gold bar is a gold bar, but in 50 years a Bitcoin may have no value because everyone stopped mining and the blockchain was destroyed by 51% attacks.</text></comment>
<story><title>Ending Bitcoin Support</title><url>https://stripe.com/blog/ending-bitcoin-support</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>nulagrithom</author><text>&amp;gt; What future does an asset have if people don&amp;#x27;t actually buy stuff with it?&lt;p&gt;I look at it (maybe naively) like a solid gold bar. You&amp;#x27;re not going to walk in to a convenience store and pay with a bar of solid gold; you might flee the country with one though.&lt;p&gt;Beyond that, I totally agree with your read on the post. Linking the pull request[0] was especially backhanded. It feels like there&amp;#x27;s some underlying frustration there that was expounded upon using good references and kind words.&lt;p&gt;[0]: &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;github.com&amp;#x2F;bitcoin-dot-org&amp;#x2F;bitcoin.org&amp;#x2F;pull&amp;#x2F;2010&amp;#x2F;files&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;github.com&amp;#x2F;bitcoin-dot-org&amp;#x2F;bitcoin.org&amp;#x2F;pull&amp;#x2F;2010&amp;#x2F;fil...&lt;/a&gt;</text></item><item><author>montrose</author><text>This reads a bit like the sort of things people say when breaking up so as not to upset the other person too much. You&amp;#x27;re a great person, but you&amp;#x27;re just more of an asset than a medium of exchange, and what I need in my life right now is a medium of exchange.&lt;p&gt;What future does an asset have if people don&amp;#x27;t actually buy stuff with it? That is not a purely rhetorical question; cryptocurrencies change things a lot. But this news is worrying.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>0xcafecafe</author><text>Gold as a metal has an inherent value though. If not only for jewelry, it also has important uses in electronics. The value associated with bitcoin seems purely sentimental.</text></comment>