<story><title>Don&apos;t get caught up in blockchain hype</title><url>https://blog.apnic.net/2017/12/14/dont-get-caught-blockchain-hype/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>thkim</author><text>it&amp;#x27;s already posing a significant threat in smaller economies like South Korea. a lot of people (even here on hacker news) don&amp;#x27;t seem to understand the consequences of bitcoin &amp;amp; cryptocurrency. i am very concerned.&lt;p&gt;a lot of bitcoin followers seem to think that decentralization saves us from arbitrary value adjustments. decentralization completely exposes currency to volatility and does not self-stabilize nicely regardless how many people use it, because supply is broken. this false idea that decentralization is good for currency shows lack of understanding in how currency works. a central authority is &lt;i&gt;required&lt;/i&gt; to protect the value of currency. that is why central bank prints money and does QE. it is not a conspiracy to enrich some cronies. without central authority, it cannot function as currency.</text></item><item><author>Fezzik</author><text>It may be too late for a lot of people. My mom called me today, she&amp;#x27;s a retired teacher in her early 70s, and the guy installing her new gutters in Mount Vernon, WA (USA)* just put a few grand towards Bitcoin and now my mom is thinking of making a significant financial investment in the same. She has not-a-single-clue what Bitcoin is, does, or could do. She only knows that it is all over the news and everyone, including the handyman installing her gutters, is throwing money at cryptocurrencies (though few call any by that name). Everyone is hoping to get rich quick.&lt;p&gt;* Not quite the middle of nowhere, but certainly not a tech hub</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>blueprint</author><text>Are you specifically including Bitcoin&amp;#x27;s fixed coin emission cap in your reasoning? It is known to be problematic. One of the things it apparently prevents is a flexible blocksize because that apparently requires a tail emission instead of fixed cap. Tail emission yields an inflationary coin (see Monero&amp;#x27;s economics) whereas the fixed cap of Bitcoin causes it to be continuously and strongly deflationary. I&amp;#x27;m not an expert in QE but you&amp;#x27;re comparing a centrally governed fiat system to a system which places governance in the hands of strong social&amp;#x2F;financial incentives. Such incentives eventually lead to asking the most qualified person for guidance (which becomes governance). I&amp;#x27;ll be very interested to read your reply in case this modifies your thinking at all. Thanks</text></comment>
<story><title>Don&apos;t get caught up in blockchain hype</title><url>https://blog.apnic.net/2017/12/14/dont-get-caught-blockchain-hype/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>thkim</author><text>it&amp;#x27;s already posing a significant threat in smaller economies like South Korea. a lot of people (even here on hacker news) don&amp;#x27;t seem to understand the consequences of bitcoin &amp;amp; cryptocurrency. i am very concerned.&lt;p&gt;a lot of bitcoin followers seem to think that decentralization saves us from arbitrary value adjustments. decentralization completely exposes currency to volatility and does not self-stabilize nicely regardless how many people use it, because supply is broken. this false idea that decentralization is good for currency shows lack of understanding in how currency works. a central authority is &lt;i&gt;required&lt;/i&gt; to protect the value of currency. that is why central bank prints money and does QE. it is not a conspiracy to enrich some cronies. without central authority, it cannot function as currency.</text></item><item><author>Fezzik</author><text>It may be too late for a lot of people. My mom called me today, she&amp;#x27;s a retired teacher in her early 70s, and the guy installing her new gutters in Mount Vernon, WA (USA)* just put a few grand towards Bitcoin and now my mom is thinking of making a significant financial investment in the same. She has not-a-single-clue what Bitcoin is, does, or could do. She only knows that it is all over the news and everyone, including the handyman installing her gutters, is throwing money at cryptocurrencies (though few call any by that name). Everyone is hoping to get rich quick.&lt;p&gt;* Not quite the middle of nowhere, but certainly not a tech hub</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>adammunich</author><text>What is the best book on our current central bank currency paradigm you would recommend?</text></comment>