Pros and cons of digital currency?

[Blain]

So I have been thinking about this whole idea of a digital currency now I do ask that we not make this about the mark of the beast I just want us to discuss it as the idea itself.
So here are my thoughts, I think as far as pros go it does make things more simple and if we had a universal currency worth the same amount it would make things more simple. Did you know that back in the old days you could actually buy a bar of gold with just one u.s. dollar?

of course as far as cons go if people are good at hacking accounts then they take every amount you have down to the last digital cent, also it would be more difficult to keep track of purchase amounts because a unlike actual cash you can't just calculate the amount your giving you have to trust the system completely. Also if say all power went out so does your money.

Any thoughts?

 

[toinena]

Digital currency:
It is good, because you can then enter a cashless society.
It is good, because it could be easy for the government to control the money flow and avoid criminal activity.
It is good, because you can shop with one currency al over the world, especially for us that are not good in maths.

It is bad because it paves the way to a one world government and the system of the beast.
It is bad, because unless it is a super national body that controls it, it will be outside the government control.
It is bad, because you would have no control over your own money, it can be hacked or suddenly lose value or just cease to excist. And you are left with nothing.

 

[zeroturbulence]

Well, all of the problems you mentioned can be solved with reliable backup records which is what they do now with bank accounts. The real difference with digital currency is that it isn't backed up by a country's gold stores. Each country's money is dependent on its gold stores, demand for imports and exports, and inflation.... There's probably other things too that I don't know of... Those things give each country's currency its value on the world currency exchange...

Bitcoin (Digital currency) is just now getting assigned an official value because it is now an item on the stock market. The problem that is revealing itself now is that its value is fluctuating like crazy and nobody knows if the value is being manipulated by key investors or not. In other words there might be someone out there who holds like 20% of all bitcoins and he/she alone can drive the value up or down in the market by buying or selling his coins like one buys and sells stocks. With businesses, that does not happen because of insider trading rules.. If you own a large amount of a company's stock, you can't just trade it at will without notifying the public of what you're doing. Also, there are time limits so you can't just trade whenever you want. With bitcoin, there are no insider trading rules.

 

[Blain]

Well, all of the problems you mentioned can be solved with reliable backup records which is what they do now with bank accounts. The real difference with digital currency is that it isn't backed up by a country's gold stores. Each country's money is dependent on its gold stores, demand for imports and exports, and inflation.... There's probably other things too that I don't know of... Those things give each country's currency its value on the world currency exchange...

Bitcoin (Digital currency) is just now getting assigned an official value because it is now an item on the stock market. The problem that is revealing itself now is that its value is fluctuating like crazy and nobody knows if the value is being manipulated by key investors or not. In other words there might be someone out there who holds like 20% of all bitcoins and he/she alone can drive the value up or down in the market by buying or selling his coins like one buys and sells stocks. With businesses, that does not happen because of insider trading rules.. If you own a large amount of a company's stock, you can't just trade it at will without notifying the public of what you're doing. Also, there are time limits so you can't just trade whenever you want. With bitcoin, there are no insider trading rules.

Interesting I didn't even consider it that way

 

[Lynx]

About hacking digital currency: it can't really happen because there's nothing to hack. Or rather, the records are kept all over the world, on every computer that is running that currency's blockchain, so you would have to simultaneously hack every computer in the world to cheat the system. Whenever any transaction is made, every computer all over the world knows about it because that currency's blockchain system makes a record and updates all the other computers about it. And you can't just make new units out of thin air or make units disappear or transfer them from here to there without the owner knowing, because there are always a finite number of that currency's units and the blockchain system for that currency knows exactly how many and where they are.

What about hacking the central server? Well... there kind of isn't a central server to hack. Good luck with that.

Now if the power goes out, you can't ACCESS your money right at that moment. Or if the store's internet connection drops out, they cannot accept your digital currency payment at this time. But it's still there, in the records all over the world, that you own that specific amount of that digital currency.

 

[toinena]

Still sceptical

 

[Lynx]

As well you should be, at the moment. There are currently no crypto-currencies that are actually backed by anything like gold, or a government, or anything at all really, so their market value always fluctuates wildly. Today you might buy a house with a fraction of a bitcoin. Tomorrow you might be able to buy a pizza with that same fraction, if the market suddenly tanks.

 

[Blain]

So basically as it is now the bitcoin is extremely unstable?

 

[SpoonJuly]

I see zero pros for digital currency.

I still like using old fashion cash for all my purchases. That way no one knows what I buy, when I buy, or how much I spend.

Digital currency is already used by most--debit cards, credit cards, phone apps, etc.
Every time you do that you are giving all kinds of personal info to anyone who wants to see it.

Several years ago, I read an article about a firm in California that could look a person's buying records without knowing the person's name or address and after analyzing the data could give the person's name, address, income, wife and kids names, where they worked and much much more private info with 90% accuracy.

 

[tourist]

I wonder if you can purchase bitcoin in units of one penny. I could probably afford to buy a few of those but will have to check to see how much is in my coin jar first.

 

[JonahLynx]

I can't think of many pros to crypto except that it is extremely convenient and difficult to commit theft. The cons all stem from a lack of centralization or oversight, meaning its a feeding frenzy for the worst type of criminals in the world. Crypto is so unbelievably volatile, it should be treated as a speculative investment - not a currency. The only way it could be brought into the mainstream as a substitute for a national government (again, terrible idea in my opinion) is if the major players institute a regulation of their own. But then you are looking at a new form of cyber government, operated by people from God knows where, with its ideals based completely on the free market with non-societal based rules.

This is a terrible, terrible idea, but I'm almost certain it's future given the stupidity of the masses and obsession with wealth.

 

[Deade]

Well, those of us that bank and use debit cards must, because the stores treat checks like EFTs. They give us no choice. I am not afraid of anything out there yet. I think there is too much literal application to the mark of the beast. The mark is in the forehead (mind) and the right hand (labor/work). I think it is a spiritual concept. God is not going to allow you to err unless He wants you to. This fear mongering over the mark is not from God.

2 Tim.1:7: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” If God didn’t give us that spirit, why are we keeping it?

 

[Lynx]

So basically as it is now the bitcoin is extremely unstable?

Not unstable, just volatile. Unstable would be if bitcoins suddenly all vanished in a puff of internet smoke. Cyber currencies are mostly just volatile - they will be here tomorrow, but they might be worth three times what they were worth today or they might be worth one tenth what they were today.

 

[zeroturbulence]

About hacking digital currency: it can't really happen because there's nothing to hack.

Nope. Bitcoin has already been hacked.. (as well as other digital currencies)...

$534 million in bitcoins stolen by hackers:
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-...y-inspect-exchanges-south-korea-a8183281.html

Bitcoin: Hackers Have Stolen $400 Million From ICOs Since 2015 | Fortune

 

[Blain]

Is it possible in any way that bitcoins could finally make the economy stable? Like maybe everyone wouldn't have to scrap fro money so much?

 

[G00WZ]

Is it possible in any way that bitcoins could finally make the economy stable? Like maybe everyone wouldn't have to scrap fro money so much?

I have some Venezuelan friends who are getting paid in bitcoin to gold farm on some online games, some of them said that without it they would be starving, or have to resort to being in the streets. Not really sure if it can make an economy completely stable, but for some its helping put food on the table.

 

[Lynx]

Nope. Bitcoin has already been hacked.. (as well as other digital currencies)...

$534 million in bitcoins stolen by hackers:
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-...y-inspect-exchanges-south-korea-a8183281.html

Bitcoin: Hackers Have Stolen $400 Million From ICOs Since 2015 | Fortune

Bitcoin ITSELF has not been hacked. Some third-party hosts can get hacked, just like a bank can get robbed. That's another thing, be sure of where you do your banking.

But to say Bitcoin has been hacked, that would be like claiming the robbers broke into the mint and started running it themselves to print out their own money.

 

[Depleted]

So, in order to buy something people have to buy smart phones?

"I'm sorry there's nothing to eat, honey, but I had to pay for our phone bill first."

"I'm sorry you can't see your phone to use it. Please step out of line."

Funny thing though. My city has set up bank accounts for homeless people, so people can swipe their phones against the homeless person's phone to put money in his account. All in all, I'd rather have shelter for the night. And if I can get into a shelter, I wouldn't be able to sleep for fear someone would steal my phone.

I sincerely hope I'm dead before the only choice for money is digital.

 

[PennEd]

Well, all of the problems you mentioned can be solved with reliable backup records which is what they do now with bank accounts. The real difference with digital currency is that it isn't backed up by a country's gold stores. Each country's money is dependent on its gold stores, demand for imports and exports, and inflation.... There's probably other things too that I don't know of... Those things give each country's currency its value on the world currency exchange...

Bitcoin (Digital currency) is just now getting assigned an official value because it is now an item on the stock market. The problem that is revealing itself now is that its value is fluctuating like crazy and nobody knows if the value is being manipulated by key investors or not. In other words there might be someone out there who holds like 20% of all bitcoins and he/she alone can drive the value up or down in the market by buying or selling his coins like one buys and sells stocks. With businesses, that does not happen because of insider trading rules.. If you own a large amount of a company's stock, you can't just trade it at will without notifying the public of what you're doing. Also, there are time limits so you can't just trade whenever you want. With bitcoin, there are no insider trading rules.

The U.S. Dollar, and EVERY major currency of every country is no longer backed by Gold. In fact, I don't think ANY country backs their currency with Gold anymore. The economy expanded to the breaking point almost 50 yrs ago and there isn't enough Gold in the world to back the many trillions of Dollars, much less any other currency, in the World.

The Dollar is now backed by word and good faith of the U.S. government to repay it's debt. Yeah, you read that right! HAHAHHA!!! Now you know just how tenuous our situation is. We owe OVER $20 Trillion dollars, and that is just the debt on the books. When the whole house of cards tumbles down, that will be the moment where it won't be market forces that determine digital currency, but GOVERNMENT that DICTATES IT! There you truly will have your one world government and anti christ.

The government will track EVERYTHING you do since currency is needed for everything we do. There will be NO freedom. When they instituted negative interest rates in several countries, which means the banks charge YOU interest to hold YOUR money, many people simply withdrew their money in cash. So their answer is to faze out cash starting with large denomination bills.

Make NO mistake. The abolition of cash WILL BE the death knell of freedom the world will not recover from until the Lord returns.

 

[Pontiac]

Well, all of the problems you mentioned can be solved with reliable backup records which is what they do now with bank accounts. The real difference with digital currency is that it isn't backed up by a country's gold stores. Each country's money is dependent on its gold stores, demand for imports and exports, and inflation.... There's probably other things too that I don't know of... Those things give each country's currency its value on the world currency exchange...

Bitcoin (Digital currency) is just now getting assigned an official value because it is now an item on the stock market. The problem that is revealing itself now is that its value is fluctuating like crazy and nobody knows if the value is being manipulated by key investors or not. In other words there might be someone out there who holds like 20% of all bitcoins and he/she alone can drive the value up or down in the market by buying or selling his coins like one buys and sells stocks. With businesses, that does not happen because of insider trading rules.. If you own a large amount of a company's stock, you can't just trade it at will without notifying the public of what you're doing. Also, there are time limits so you can't just trade whenever you want. With bitcoin, there are no insider trading rules.

A couple inaccuracies here ... The United States has not been on the gold standard since 1933 ... Also, insider trading is rampant in the U.S. stock markets ... Actually it is perfectly legal for those in top government positions ... You may not know this but say if a new law is about to be passed and a certain company is set to benefit greatly from this new law a member of congress can buy this stock before the law is passed and then sell it for great profit after the law is passed ... Obviously congress has the inside information on which laws are about to be passed and it isn't difficult to figure out which companies will benefit ... So, basically the congress members that participate in this activity are generally guaranteed to profit from this practice ... Many have amassed their fortunes in exactly this manner ... Nancy Pelosi, John Boehner and many, many others ... Do some research on it and you will see ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ypr11PvaCpI