Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are useless
I’m no bitcoin maximalist, but boy was that a lazy write-off:<p>“Economists define a currency as something that can be at once a medium of exchange, a store of value and a unit of account. Lack of adoption and loads of volatility mean that cryptocurrencies satisfy none of those criteria... as things stand there is little reason to think that cryptocurrencies will remain more than an overcomplicated, untrustworthy casino.“<p>That bitcoin is a poor medium of exchange and unit of account is hard to argue against at this stage of adoption. But store of value? I’m more confident in the maintained value of Bitcoin than that of a Venezuelan Bolívar. That’s not a strong enough reason for me to hold bitcoin, but if I lived in Venezuela it sure as hell would be!<p>Moving from the realm of currency to usefulness, there’s no faster &amp; cheaper way to transfer money across national borders.<p>Viewed in this light it’s just a younger, more easily stored, more fungible,  more easily transferable gold.<p>Now I do hold more gold than bitcoin (in USD, combined about 6% of my portfolio atm) because certainly risks remain. But to say it has no utility is just crazy! I guess precious metals are useless too. What’s their market cap again?