Mark…Thank you for the response and the link to the article. I have read it now.

I share your sentiment in that it's not an either/or or "versus" argument. I agree that there are positives and negatives for both gold and Bitcoin. I follow your suggestion of having a full toolbox. Where we currently see things differently, then, is on the subject of relative value. One can feel fairly confident in the valuation of precious metals based on a long history and other variables. Personally, I have yet to find a measure for the valuation of Bitcoin with which I feel comfortable. Honestly, I'm sincerely trying to find such a yard stick. The only justification (that resonates with me anyway) is that Bitcoin has inherent scarcity. As you know from my previous post I understand that Bitcoin has inherent scarcity, but cryptocurrencies in general do not have any inherent scarcity…and, with all due respect, your argument that (paraphrasing, in no way belittling) "it's not as easy as you think to create a crypto" is diluted by the real world reality of the explosive growth in cryptocurrency availability in a short period of time…with an escalation possible.

Again, respectfully, I also have issues with your analogy of Bitcoin having value like an Amazon vs other online retailers. I could similarly argue that Studio54 is the hottest club ever even though New York has thousands of nightclubs. We have the benefit of hind sight with my analogy that makes it seem like a ridiculous comparison on the surface, but it would have been identical to your argument if this was 1979. At least with Amazon, I can find a valuation yardstick (sales, profits, whatever) that I still can't find for Bitcoin (other than popularity and momentum which is more akin to the Studio54 example).

Believe me, I'm not a "gold bug", I really am trying to determine if Bitcoin should be a part of my overall toolbox. Unfortunately, to date, most arguments for Bitcoin seem to derive strictly from "Bit bugs". Who out there knows if Bitcoin is fairly valued or not and why? And if you think you know, why isn't Ethereum or any of the 100's of other current cryptocurrencies valued in the same fashion?

Whenever I hear people trot out the “anybody can create a crypto currency, thus BTC is not scarce” argument I find myself wondering if they think there are any valuable assets in existence. By following that same logic, are there any valuable companies? Are Apple or Amazon not really uncommonly successful because anybody can start up a company any time they want, so companies are basically a dime-a-dozen. Is there any valuable art in the world? I mean there’s a Picasso hanging on that wall over there, but really, anybody can pick up a marker and scribble on a canvas.

Whenever I hear the “but anybody can create a crypto-currency” I would tell them, “ok, so go do it”. You’ll quickly find that scarcity or lack of it isn’t the key driver of success. There are all kinds of one-off inventions out there that are the only one of their kind in existence and exactly zero people in the world care.

The success of things like Bitcoin and Ethereum are that a new form of non-State crypto-asset has been invented, and these are the protocols that at present have won the mindshare. That’s it. From here on in they have to retain their position through relevancy against all comers.

On the subject of gold, I wrote about this quite recently in Gold Vs Bitcoin is Fucking Stupid. You might want to read it.

Yes, Bitcoin may have a finite supply, but crypto currencies in general are effectively unlimited in supply. Bitcoin is the current crowd favorite, but what actually differentiates Bitcoin from the thousands of other crypto currencies that currently exist and will be created in the future? Nothing but popularity as far as I can tell. If anything, all other cryptos are currently undervalued versus Bitcoin. If you feel that Bitcoin has some sustainable and inherent element of differentiation that justifies its current valuation then I'm all ears, because "scarcity" isn't it in my analysis.

On a related note, I must respectfully disagree with your aside to the quote above in which you comment "(the only thing I would add to this is that the other exits lead to other burning buildings – markjr)". One of the exits most definitely leads to physical gold. Physical gold is certainly NOT just another burning building. Physical gold is not debt-based, has no counter-party risk, and has true inherent scarcity…and has been a proven store of wealth and preserver of purchasing power for many hundreds of years. I'd argue strongly that physical gold remains a better "exit" than the "hole in the wall" that is Bitcoin.

That being said, the FOMO is real.

I am the publisher of a book that attempts to contribute to the solution of that problem. Thieves Emporium is a technically-accurate analysis of these questions delivered in the form of fast-paced fiction to keep the reader interested. I recommend everyone reading this post pass it on to anyone who has started to question the debt-monetary-matrix that we are trapped in.

The work has received over 170 5-star reviews on sites such as Amazon, Goodreads, an Smashwords. Bitcoins & Gravy thought it was so good that he had the author on his show twice. One of the directors of the Bitcoin Foundation said of it: “I recommend you read this book.”

And you can start it for free because the editors of The Daily Bell thought it was so good that they ran it as a serial starting at http://www.thedailybell.com/editorials/max-hernandez-introducing-thieves-emporium-part-1-a-new-wilderness/

Or you could just buy a copy at Amazon, where it is rated 4.6 in 130 reviews (https://www.amazon.com/Thieves-Emporium-Max-Hernandez-ebook/dp/B00CWWWRK0) where I have kept the price low to encourage more readers.

The problem of how to explain to a non-Austrian about the problems we face is one that we all struggle with and, given the collapse that is coming soon, one that we must win if we are to prevent the banksters from just giving us a clone of what we now have when the dust clears.

Thieves Emporium is the best way I know of starting that process. Get a copy and start passing it around.

Read part 1.

The question then becomes what do we do to change things? I’m not sure I have the answer to that big question, but there are a couple of thought leaders with some progressive ideas for change that I think people would be interested in:

The first is Bernard Lietaer – author of Rethinking Money – How New Currencies Turn Scarcity into Prosperity and other books. I’ve seen him speak and his solutions make a lot of sense to me and offer much more support for society in general. His website is http://www.lietaer.com.

The second person is Otto Scharmer. He is an MIT professor who has written extensively about how to reform current systems (business, self and society) from ego-centric ones to eco-centric. His latest undertaking is an initiative in concert with the Huffington post to spotlight how the global economy needs to be restructured around social and environmental justice. Details at https://www.presencing.org/#/news/news/press_release_pi_and_huffpost_to_focus_on_transforming_capitalism and https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/5a06ef9ce4b0f1dc729a6b39

Thanks again Mark for speaking out and sharing your thoughts. I appreciate what you are doing very much and hope that somehow we will find solutions to change things for the better.

No, because the nature of a pyramid scheme demands (eventually) an infinite number of new participants to pay off the old.