Crypto Currency to replace the Dollar? 1 1

[Alex in PA.]

Today:  The Mayor of Miami is pushing to have City paychecks in Bitcoin.   san Francisco, New York City, Toronto, Canada and more are Crypto Currency friendly.  Any thoughts on this? 

[Lem E]

I’m not quite sold on the whole crypto thing. I think with the way cybercrime is right now, it opens up the possibility to lose all of your money. I know that bank accounts can be hacked now, but ALL of my money is not in my bank account. Not to mention that technology doesn't always work. Imagine that you are trying to pay for your cheeseburger and your digital wallet or whatever doesn’t work, or there are problems on the other end. You don’t have to worry about your cash not working or having a glitch that won’t let you use it. Maybe I am behind the times, but I like hard assets. It has worked for a long time. 

[Fenntucky Mike]

Why would they want to pay with Crypto? If they aren't already "paperless" and going with direct deposits to accounts there is a problem. If people want to be cashless they can do that now, very easily, and I'm having a hard time seeing the need to move to a crypto currency. A CBDC, same, don't see the benefit, sure it may eliminate the need to manufacture money and increase seigniorage but no one is going to get a check for the cost savings. There is no way I would want my paycheck in crypto due to volatility, but that doesn't mean I don't have any or wouldn't invest money into one. But that's my choice. 

The U.S. will probably be the last country to completely eliminate cash, mainly due to the need for USD's in third world countries where their economies/Governments are garbage and connectivity is limited.

[RWB]

Why not just make little coin-shaped containers of hot air? Just as valuable as "crapto".

[zadok]

On 10/15/2021 at 5:44 PM, Lem E said:

I’m not quite sold on the whole crypto thing. I think with the way cybercrime is right now, it opens up the possibility to lose all of your money. I know that bank accounts can be hacked now, but ALL of my money is not in my bank account. Not to mention that technology doesn't always work. Imagine that you are trying to pay for your cheeseburger and your digital wallet or whatever doesn’t work, or there are problems on the other end. You don’t have to worry about your cash not working or having a glitch that won’t let you use it. Maybe I am behind the times, but I like hard assets. It has worked for a long time. 

...doesnt take much these days to render cash registers inoperable ditto gas pumps n u cant use ur cash, so what could possibly go wrong with invisible money?....

[zadok]

On 10/15/2021 at 4:47 PM, Alex in PA. said:

Today:  The Mayor of Miami is pushing to have City paychecks in Bitcoin.   san Francisco, New York City, Toronto, Canada and more are Crypto Currency friendly.  Any thoughts on this? 

...ill try to stay non-political, but if u look closely all those places have a common thread similar to those of the sanctuary places???....its looking more n more like i just mite live long enuf to see a regression back to the days of barter, once all these pretend schemes collapse....at least then we wont have to discuss whose pictures r on each potato or bag of flour....

[Revenant]

On 10/15/2021 at 3:47 PM, Alex in PA. said:

Today:  The Mayor of Miami is pushing to have City paychecks in Bitcoin.   san Francisco, New York City, Toronto, Canada and more are Crypto Currency friendly.  Any thoughts on this? 

Unless they are going to say you get XX bitcoin / Satoshi a year then these people are still having salaries spec'd in dollars and therefore, to me, the dollar is still king. And they are not going to want to state it in bitcoin and not dollars - not the city and not the employees - because bitcoin is not stable enough. The ability to have your pay "go up" 50% in a month does not make up for the chance it goes down 50% in a month.

[Revenant]

On 10/15/2021 at 5:27 PM, Fenntucky Mike said:

Why would they want to pay with Crypto? If they aren't already "paperless" and going with direct deposits to accounts there is a problem. If people want to be cashless they can do that now, very easily, and I'm having a hard time seeing the need to move to a crypto currency.

I am probably paperless 95% of the time, but my wife likes cash, my son gets his allowance in cash, and I still keep cash for Hurricanes.

Try using Bitcoin to pay when even  the cell network is down. Try using cash or credit after a hurricane.

Try paying a 5 year old his allowance with a digital wallet. lol. Try explaining Crypto to a 5 year old.

[MarkFeld]

No.

[Coinbuf]

I am not very crypto savvy, however from the little I know most of the crypto currencies are still far to volatile to be used as a base currency for things like paying employees.    However after saying that it is being done on some small scales and I would not be surprised to see this become more mainstream sooner than later.    Hopefully not during my lifetime. 

[Henri Charriere]

Cryptic currency...

Now there's a scheme or scam that never caught m y eye.  This might appeal to the pi-guy a/k/a   @physics-fan3.14  whose password only he has committed to memory however many decimal places are required.

A Long-time member votes thumbs down on it, notably without explanation. I am not well-versed in crypto-cuneiform but no one is to assume it's because I know absolutely nothing about it,  though that happens to be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but.

What I would like to hear from is someone who is intimately familiar with the subject whether lodged in a gaol or presently a ward of the state for life. After all, it wasn't the crypto schtick that got the schmuck in trouble.  It was the cooperating source or paid informant who heeded the advice of opposing counsel when he barked:  "Better talk now; the train is leaving the station!"

I should like nothing better than to hear from a staunch advocate of this form of play money, or a referral to an authoritative source, such as:  Crypto  for Dummies.   🐓 

Edited October 16, 2021 by Quintus Arrius
Die polishing.

[Alex in PA.]

Well, I come from that generation that really liked cash and change.  What I can't seem to grasp is how this Mayor is going to pay his people.  One Bitcoin is now 61,576.42 US Dollar.

How are the paychecks or whatever going to be made out?  Who makes $61,000 every two weeks?  1/10th of a Bitcoin; 1/40th of a Bitcoin?  Very confusing.

[Revenant]

On 10/16/2021 at 6:30 AM, Alex in PA. said:

Well, I come from that generation that really liked cash and change.  What I can't seem to grasp is how this Mayor is going to pay his people.  One Bitcoin is now 61,576.42 US Dollar.

How are the paychecks or whatever going to be made out?  Who makes $61,000 every two weeks?  1/10th of a Bitcoin; 1/40th of a Bitcoin?  Very confusing.

There is a unit called a Satoshi, which is equal to 1/100000000 bitcoin. Most small transactions are in Satoshi.

Edited October 16, 2021 by Revenant
Had to add 2 zeros

[Henri Charriere]

I would imagine one's account would be credited.  The one and only thing that bothers me about them are the wild gyrations.

If you are young, you are willing to take calculated risks.  If you are old, not so much. (And if you are Robert Durst, not at all.)

[gmarguli]

I'm not a fan of crypto. It's a scam where the only value it has comes from the bigger fool.

The money supply is controlled by the governments. Why would they allow real competition? Right now it's kids playing with small amounts, but if it ever became a threat, the governments would stamp it out quickly. 

Besides, why do I need another digital currency? I have US dollars. I can pay anyone electronically in a matter of seconds. Crypto just adds unnecessary risks. 

[Alex in PA.]

I'm waiting for those famous Ukrainian hackers to get access to the Crypto Currency system.  If kids can do it well............  

• Andrew Schober, a Colorado man, claims he had 16.4 Bitcoin stolen from him in 2018, according to KrebsonSecurity. After working with investigators, he now says that he has discovered the identity of the boys who, when they were both minors, tricked Schober to transfer the Bitcoin to their possession using malware.

[numisport]

If their payroll taxes are withheld in Bitcoin, and Bitcoin fails do they still owe taxes ?  

Seriously who besides city taxpayers would pay losses if [at the time of the digital payroll dump] Bitcoin lost value or failed ?

 

[Coinbuf]

On 10/17/2021 at 9:37 AM, numisport said:

If their payroll taxes are withheld in Bitcoin, and Bitcoin fails do they still owe taxes ?  

Seriously who besides city taxpayers would pay losses if [at the time of the digital payroll dump] Bitcoin lost value or failed ?

 

In theory the city would still be responsible to pay the taxes to the feds in dollars, so the payroll software would have to be programed to do all withholding in dollars and a conversion table to covert to bitcoin for the salaries.   Not impossible and I think it is being done in a few instances, seems to me that I read where a few pro athletes have requested to be paid in bitcoin vs dollars.   I did not read any follow ups nor did I hear of this was granted or being done for them but it is possible.   While these are currently "one-off" examples it could pave the way for crypto payments as a more mainstream currency, still lots of issues and not fully viable yet but could be someday.

I'm just guessing here but I get the feeling that some people think that being paid in bitcoin is one way to stay off the IRS radar.   In case anyone is not aware part of the 3 trillion dollar boondoggle bill proposed by the current administration includes a provision that would require banks and financial institutions to report all cash transactions of $600 or more to the IRS.

[VKurtB]

On 10/15/2021 at 8:41 PM, MarkFeld said:

No.

Not just “no”, h-e-double hockey sticks, no.

[VKurtB]

On 10/16/2021 at 7:15 AM, Revenant said:

There is a unit called a Satoshi, which is equal to 1/100000000 bitcoin. Most small transactions are in Satoshi.

But oddly enough, not even ONE of my transactions have ever been on Bitcoin, or Stoshis, or Yokohamas, or Showa Dollah, and never will be.

[Revenant]

On 10/17/2021 at 1:36 PM, VKurtB said:

But oddly enough, not even ONE of my transactions have ever been on Bitcoin, or Stoshis, or Yokohamas, or Showa Dollah, and never will be.

I agree. I have no interest in Crypto. My wife asked me if maybe we should try buying some back when it was $7,000 and I was like, "Not doing it. I think it's a bubble." In retrospect, we could have made a lot of money, but I still don't think it's a good idea to buy bitcoin. I thought it was a bad idea then. I think it is a worse idea now.

 

[VKurtB]

On 10/17/2021 at 2:25 PM, Revenant said:

I agree. I have no interest in Crypto. My wife asked me if maybe we should try buying some back when it was $7,000 and I was like, "Not doing it. I think it's a bubble." In retrospect, we could have made a lot of money, but I still don't think it's a good idea to buy bitcoin. I thought it was a bad idea then. I think it is a worse idea now.

 

Exactly. As little as “backs up” the dollar, crypto is backed by even less, as in absolutely nothing whatsoever. It has less backing it than those colorful currencies in board games.

Wait, that’s not fair. It’s backed by narco-terrorism and similar activities.

Edited October 17, 2021 by VKurtB

[Alex in PA.]

On 10/17/2021 at 2:33 PM, VKurtB said:

Not just “no”, h-e-double hockey sticks, no.

Are you sure you don't want to think it over?  Those Ukrainian hackers with their Ransomware prefer payment in Bitcoin.

[VKurtB]

On 10/17/2021 at 3:48 PM, Alex in PA. said:

Are you sure you don't want to think it over?  Those Ukrainian hackers with their Ransomware prefer payment in Bitcoin.

I prefer payment in plutonium. Let’s see how that works out.

[Alex in PA.]

On 10/17/2021 at 4:52 PM, VKurtB said:

I prefer payment in plutonium.

 

[Henri Charriere]

On 10/17/2021 at 4:48 PM, Alex in PA. said:

Are you sure you don't want to think it over?  Those Ukrainian hackers with their Ransomware prefer payment in Bitcoin.

All kidding (and head-banging) aside, not one comment submitted to this column was in favor of this cryptic schtick. Now, if @VKurtBsuggests a connection to narco-terrorists and the OP throws Russian OC into the mix, we're onto something. I have a feeling those folks are more into making money than philanthropy. 

In the meantime, I am going to write the Silk Road guy seeing as how his schedule -- two life terms + 40 cc / no parole -- will allow him to accommodate my request to inquire if he would be kind enough to refer me to a source who can sit me down and explain the whole kit and caboose to this schlemiel. No sense having our long-time members and untold thousands of people risk life and limb playing with radioactive materials for lack of simple information.   🐓 

 

[EARLY-COMMEM-HUNTER]

My .02....

HELL. NO. 

Subject to hacking/manipulation eventually, all tech invariably is.  Second, the moment crypto begins to pose a threat to the US dollar's dominance crypto is gone.  Or, when the USD itself finally goes digital.  The USG will never allow that kind of competition again the buck.  Yes, many have made money off crypto but its essentially worthless.  It hold ZERO real value.  Lastly, what good is it without electric.  If a storm or disaster knocks out the grid your crypto is now completely worthless since you cannot access it.  

[Coinbuf]

On 10/17/2021 at 4:33 PM, EARLY-COMMEM-HUNTER said:

If a storm or disaster knocks out the grid your crypto is now completely worthless since you cannot access it.  

How is that any different from the funds in your checking account?   Every bank relies on electronic devices to access and process deposits and withdrawals.  So if the power grid is knocked out then you will have no way to access your bank accounts or use your debit and credit cards as most do when buying and selling goods.    Sure some people have a few hundred or maybe even a few thousand on hand, but how long will that last if a widespread ransomware attack happens. 

[Henri Charriere]

It is my understanding the Peoples' Republic of China 🇨🇳  has banned it some manner, if they haven't already done so.

My guess is they dislike things they are unable to exercise complete control over.

[Morpheus1967]

I dabbled in it for awhile.  Was big on the Cardano train.  I decided enough was enough about the third time I lost 25% of my portfolio just because of some stupid Elon Musk tweet.  And that is not an exaggeration.  It's literally that volatile.  Controlled by the ultra wealthy (Musk, Mark Cuban is a huge Ethereum holder) and the whales who bought in early enough to have amassed obscene amounts of BTC.  That, and the fact that the market NEVER closes was too much stress for me.  It was nothing to go to bed up several thousand dollars, and then wake up in the red less that 6 hours later.  For no reason other than a tweet.