Bitcoin, The Regression Theorem, and the Emergence of a New Medium of Exchange
4 stars based on
76 reviews
My talk at the Mises regression theorem bitcoin Bitcoin conference revolved around the Austrian approach to money, and why some Austrians quite understandably were uncomfortable with Bitcoin. There may be other problems with Bitcoin. Yet Mises pointed out that it was not an infinite regress; once we reached the historical point at which the money good was used in direct exchange, then standard mises regression theorem bitcoin theory took over and the regress stopped. So, what relevance does this have to Bitcoin?
There is no question that people today have a way mises regression theorem bitcoin estimating the purchasing power mises regression theorem bitcoin Bitcoin; they can look up the spot price online. And where do we stop? In early when the first Bitcoin transactions were negotiatedincluding a pizza that sold for 10, BTC.
But they did decide, somehow; those initial transactions provided a mises regression theorem bitcoin of reference that guided subsequent transactions involving bitcoins. There is no question that Bitcoin is currently a medium of exchange, though I would not christen it a money yet. Some people concede that Bitcoin could exist temporarily, but that it would by its very mises regression theorem bitcoin be in a bubble with a fundamental value of zero.
There is value in being able to trade, based on division of labour. If bitcoin makes this mises regression theorem bitcoin, then Bitcoin is useful. Why do you think so many businesses buy computer systems to run customer databases, web shoppers, CRM, online trading and so on? Because those things are useful to facilitate trade. I would like you to know that I read the paper told me to read. A friend has pointed out that a quotation on page 10 of the article that is attributed to Mises is completely missing from his and my copies of Human Action:.
What is the scarcity theorem? The scarcity theorem, of course, links the foundations of economic theory mises regression theorem bitcoin action theory and reads very simple: I have emailed the author to ask where the quotation came from. It is a manifestation of man who is restrained by the circumscribed powers of his mind, the physiological nature of his body, the vicissitudes of his environment, and the scarcity of the external factors on which his welfare depends.
The thus abridged quote is closer to the German original: The reason, I think, many people have trouble with the regression theorem, is because they view confuse praxeological matters with empirical matters.
I think, correct me if I am very wrong, that whether or not something is money is largely an empirical question, viz. In this view, every conceivable good would have a certain percentage money aspect.
Am I missing some subtlety in the statement of the regression theorem? Another thing confuses me: So where is the invocation of counterfactuals in the statement of the regression theorem? It seems to me to be a falsifiable statement. If you read between the mises regression theorem bitcoin I think Bob is disavowing the regression contention.
He says that has nothing to do with bitcoin. He does not say the reverse. You will stir up a lot of because of the ambiguity of mises regression theorem bitcoin word. No, because I am not predicting the existence of plane right triangles. To argue that a particular logical relation will always hold true, is not to say that it will always be observed. Bitcoin did have a previous use as something other than a medium of exchange. Perhaps as a cool science experiment. Perhaps as a test of various cryptology mechanisms.
Point is, even prior to the BTC-Pizza exchange Murphy described, even assuming that was the mises regression theorem bitcoin time BTC was actually used as a medium of exchange, it is quite obvious that someone valued BTC for some reason in the first place, even though it had never been used as a medium exchange before.
Bitcoins are not currently a generally accepted medium of exchange. We can SEE this. If Bitcoins were ever to become generally accepted, we will know it first went through step 1. I think bitcoin may derive its value from a value-add if provides over conventional currencies — the ability to transact online anonymously. Once bitcoin had been established as a reliable means of transacting anonymously it would have a use value above zero for this service alone.
And as the number of transactions has increased so would its value. In other words its velocity is very high. So they hold bitcoins much like people may hold stock mises regression theorem bitcoin facebook. I think the big danger for bitcoin is that the service that gives it fundamental value — the ability to transact online anonymously may be undermined. If this happened via state intervention I can see its value falling very quickly as people would probably no longer want to transact in it.
They already caught the Silk Road guy. I mean they are literally able and willing to spy me though my own webcam! This means just one little mistake and your whole BTC history might be revealed. It at best is useful as anonymous money for illegal stuff or mises regression theorem bitcoin. You cannot order at Amazon anonymously, I mean where would they ship the goods? They just used traditional detective work and found a place where he got sloppy protecting his own identity.
That may be right. I just think that I cannot keep up with the NSA if it is about hacking. It was him making some dumb mistake and leaving a trail that was easily tied to his real name. That they are just not bothering yet is not convincing me. If BTC ever really takes off, I will be one of the very last ones to get on board. In early when the first Bitcoin transactions were negotiated, including a pizza that sold for 10, BTC.
This misses the point. There is a distinction to be made between inherent value nothing has inherent value and arbitrary value, where people make claims about the utility of some thing even if that thing cannot provide said utility in the real world.
Yes, it is possible to make arbitrary trades, mises regression theorem bitcoin the function of MONEY is to enable a double-coincidence of wants for goods from which people derive mises regression theorem bitcoin utility. So, for example, you should have zero problem with taking a piece of paper I write some numbers on as worth everything you own, and doing so every single time I offer it.
Because, after all, all it takes is for one to believe in it enough to make a trade. I maintain that bitcoins have always been a fraud even if unintentionally so. The Money-ness of Bitcoins http: It could then be safely assumed that they served the purpose of mises regression theorem bitcoin a specific antiestablishment worldview. The first demand factor, initially for producing bitcoins, and then unavoidably but only indirectly for holding them, was rooted in their capacity to project a certain point of view.
In a sense, bitcoins were comparable to an artistic medium of expression, such as music, literature, and painting. Bitcoins were always intended to function as scrip that could not? And since it never had a use-value, it has never and will never be money — even though people trade it for stuff.
It is necessary, but not sufficient, for people to consider something to be a medium of exchange in order for that thing to be money. The Bitcoin Money Myth http: Bitcoin, all in one place. From the last link: But forget the regression theorem. Mises regression theorem bitcoin is a simpler, deeper, problem that bitcoin has, as explained right here in The Kickstart Fallacy:. People will drop money that has no intrinsic value like a hot potato the moment they get a chance.
Again, for proof of the rule, and for a quote where Mises says it and proves it and gives tons of historical examples, see my article The Kickstart Fallacy.
Like every golden mises regression theorem bitcoin, there are exceptions. Some of the people some of the time, and they too only in the very short run, are idiots who will fall for any scam like bitcoin and Tulip Mania and other fads and follies. Fiat money has a whole apparatus of violence stopping people from dropping it like a hot mises regression theorem bitcoin. Woe to the Austrian School and the Libertarian movement if it gets associated with the scam and bubble and disaster waiting to happen that is bitcoin.
You know how I can tell? Oh seeker of truth, you have been lazy in your quest. Do a search on my blog for Bitcoin and Intrinsic Value. That is what drives BTC currently, and also a good chunk of bubble mentality.
I guess you will be spared to do this since the convenient existence of anti-money-laundering laws etc will probably keep BTC in check anyway.
So it will probably never have a chance to threaten the USD. Without ability to lower interest rates and bail out system relevant institutions we would see the return of severe depressions with double digit unemployment that needed ages to recover from naturally if at all! We also could not guarantee that the government will always pay its nominal debts.
Therefore we demand that no referendum is held about this, since the ordinary citizen cannot be trusted to know what is good for him, and that people who violate against this ban are prosecuted and punished with adequate sentences. As far as Market Monetarists go: I have even seen discussion as to how a free currency might actually embody NGDP-stabalizing algorithms.
For the non Free Bankers: If its market share drops too far or vanishes completely, there is no way of keeping NGDP on whatever track. Why do you need the dollar to do NGDP tracking? What you denominate the price of those futures in, whether dollars or Bitcoin, is immaterial.