Eine postkeynesian Analyse:
'...In the case of the USA and most other modern payment systems the banks control the issuance of money and the government oversees how this system is regulated. This strikes a nice balance by allowing private entities to compete for money issuance (loans create money) and utilizes the various strengths of government to support this system. As the entity with taxing authority over private production as well as control of the legal structure of the system the government has an extraordinary amount of power to secure and stabilize a payment system. After all, when the banks blow things up they don’t turn hat in hand to one another. They usually turn hat in hand to the government to stabilize everything. And the government is happy to help because governments know that the stability of their payment system is central to the health of, well, just about everything in the financial system. To separate government ENTIRELY from money is to separate money from one of its most integral features.
But the credibility a government contributes to a currency is only one component of this relationship between money and governments. Another important component of money as a credible and valuable medium of exchange is in its use for public purpose. A government must be able to tax money in order to be able to generate revenue for public purpose. And in order to properly tax it must maintain some level of government oversight. This means that there is simply no such thing as having a fully decentralized monetary system. In other words, to separate “money” from a government is to create a mythical world where government does not exist since, by definition, a government cannot exist if it has no taxing or legal authority within a monetary system where it exists. Therefore, to create a currency that is fully decentralized is to create a currency that serves ONLY private purpose. This is totally incompatible with the existence of modern human society and the interconnected social systems in which we live. So no, decentralization is not Bitcoin’s greatest strength. In fact, as I highlighted over a year ago and prior to the massive Bitcoin fraud, this decentralization is Bitcoin’s greatest weakness...'
Further, the value of a Bitcoin is not like a “currency” at all. It’s more like a financial asset issued by a private/decentralized system whose value is fluctuating up and down like a stock or bond based on what speculators think it’s worth at any given moment in time. And just like stocks or bonds this financial instrument called “Bitcoin” is denominated in local currency and can be exchanged into deposits. But make no mistake – when you want to go buy 99.9% of goods and services you must convert that financial asset into good old fashioned bank deposits denominated in USD. The reason why is because, control of money is about controlling a trustworthy payment system. And for all its flaws, the modern banking system is extremely trustworthy. That’s a big part of the reason why a system like Bitcoin, being decentralized, simply can’t compete with modern banking (not to mention, the banking system’s lobbyists are bit more powerful than anyone associated with Bitcoin)...'
Read more at pragcap.com/getting-bitcoin-wrong#ujyJ55L6zGIS7APf.99
'Being a contrarian is tough, lonely and generally right'