What is bitcoin backed by?

nope

>implying any of memes, math or jews is correct

...

The biggest motherfucking military in the world, kid.

No.
This is a good answer actually. for a while..

lol whether you "believe" in it or not, math is a real thing; it exists

and the reason you're even asking this question in the first place is because you don't "believe" in math

backed by greed, one of the biggest motivators in human history, try to argue that

not really, that's just to repel the savages

>This is a good answer actually.
nope
USD is backed by innovation, son. It might not be moving very well right now that's what it's backed by.

>I have trouble differentiating between an idea and its implementation
see you in school kid
Make sure you watch death note

greed is good if used positively

backed by salty nocoiners

we could be producing anything ,innovating all you want, and interchanging it with cocoa beans as the aztecs did.

The difference between bitcoins, and USD is that they can print as much paper as they want. Bitcoin is more transparent.

Thats why they took down Gadafhi, he wanted for his oil something based on gold, not USD. (And thats why they hate venezuela , one of several reasons.)

srsly tho

its backed by a generation of people raised on the internet. it used to be that people went on to computers to escape the outside world, now people go outside to escape their computers. a digital currency was inevitable.

.....

>and interchanging it with cocoa beans as the aztecs did.
except cocoa beans don't last very long
>USD
>They can print as much they want
fuck no
They can pass a decree bailing a couple of big institutions.
>buttcoin is more transparent
lmao
>completely unrelated fact about oil
okay, kid

>its backed by a generation of people raised on the internet.
vague as shit, I bet you didn't even think any furthur about it.

>I have never read into the technology behind Bitcoin
it's called "Blockchain"

It's not hope, but hype.
Why do people buy Bitcoin? Because it goes up in value! Why does Bitcoin go up in value? Because people keep buying it!

>Bitcoin is more transparent.
Hahaha. Buttcoins is so easily manipulated. The exchanges are all shady is fuck.

What is gold backed by???

Faith in its inherent value...

> USD is backed by Innovation
user does not understand the concept of money

USD doesn't produce anything.

It's just a medium of exchange like any other currency. What the USD does provide is transparency when it comes to monetary policy, however Jewish it may be and the world's largest military protecting interests abroad as the world's reserve currency.

The good thing about Bitcoin is that you need it to buy other coins. As long as the crypto community grows, Bitcoin will continue rising. Although nothing is guaranteed, it seems money laundering & tax evasion will help push the trend forward, especially when you can hedge your positions on the futures market (riskless money laundering). For example, keep a cash pile in BTC (not linked to your name, obtained from private transaction). Short on Futures market and have zero net exposure. Then you can move around your BTC with anonymity while being protected from crashes with your futures position. You can hold billions off the books. Once the cartels figure this out, BTC will go astronomic.

Gold is backed by it's uses for making jewellery and electronics.

People are only buying Bitcoin to get rich quick. A few may have that happen, most won't.

A decentralized computer network spanning the entire globe. Trend: Growing.

I haven't stopped smiling since last week

trust between 2 parties without government or any other 3rd parties involved

scarcity, USDT, ignorant normies FOMOing

>29 replies
>no one has the correct answer
shame

the unchained and decentralised will of the people who are sick of being continually assfucked by their governments' monetary systems... that and memes

Viggo.

What is the money backed by?
Pro tip: it's not gold

wrong. the military is backed by usd not the other way around. just wait till no one gets their salaries.
the usd is backes by the us taxpayer and all his claimable assets

Emotions

>What is bitcoin backed by?

Fear of missing out, greed, speculation.
The same thing all stocks are backed by.

normie FOMO

>what is USD backed by?

The American Navy, all the British bases that the USA racketeered out of the English during WW2, all the ones they added over the years, the petrol trade being dollar specific (because of the navy and bases).

Basically muscle.

Worldwide debt

>TETHERED

Read the bitcoin FAQ on the wiki brainlet

Stocks are backed by the company you are buying a share of. You don't just buy stocks willy nilly and expect to get rich.

>the same thing all stocks are backed by
Brainlet, stocks are backed by earnings and discounted cash flows

not an argument
>Faith in its inherent value...
wrong, it has its uses and it is durable
inb4 "b-but there are other things more durable!"
Protip: it's shiny.
>user does not understand the concept of money
I actually do.
>USD doesn't produce anything.
We're talking about different things here. I'm talking about the money, as in money in the US, and you're talking about the CURRENCY.
nice memes
I can form a small network of 100 people and share secrets, does that make every investor a billionaire? nope.
to some extent,yes
Nope
It's backed by actual solid things
>Basically muscle.
That's the insurance kid, not the source.
*it might lead to
>*let
discarded
>The same thing all stocks are backed by.
fuck no. Stocks require something to invest in first.

Bitcoin is backed by its scarcity. The user who answered "mathematics" was right. It is valuable as a currency because you cannot falsify it or use it to create artificial credit, unlike the USD.

USD is "backed" by the U.S. government. Not in the sense that they will reimburse you for what you lose in inflation or refund your money if someone steals it, but in the sense that people have at least enough confidence in the Federal Reserve that, even though we'll have inflation, they aren't going to go the route of Argentina or Venezuela and print money so fast that it becomes so plentiful that it loses almost all value.

So, currency is roughly correlated with the confidence people have in the issuing institution.

Bitcoin is "backed" by its blockchain network--a network that has proven to be remarkably secure and un-hackable. That same blockchain also ensures bitcoins scarcity because the supply is limited by design. Actually think about this before you respond.

1/2

2/2

>to some extent, yes
plz, OP, share us your ultimate wisdom then

I forgot to mention, those are the reasons why BTC can become the new currency and overthrow the USD
Sadly the US govt (or any govt) will never agree to using decentralized money
But a shit ton of companies will

engineering / mathematics student here

-nope

>I studied something so you should assume I'm right with no explanation

That's not how this works

comp sci student here: yep

bitcoin has worth because you need to exert work to mine it, which is secured by the difficulty of bruteforcing a one-way hash function. which is fuckin math.

>Bitcoin is backed by its scarcity.
Exclusive shit! Being scarce doesn't make something valuable.

It's not even scarce. You aren't forced to buy one Bitcoin; you can buy .00001 Bitcoins if you wish. And then all of the alt coins into the mix.

This is the only right answer

The ability of the US government to assrape you in jail if you dont pay them your taxes in USD

The first answer is correct tho

Does any government in the world force people to pay taxes in bitcoin?

90%+ of our money supply is electronic

Bitcoin offers nothing new in that regard

this

Unlike bitcoin, Gold has a 5000 year old track record of being a store of value.

Also, you cant create "altgold" the same way you can create "altcoins", many of which offer better privacy protections than bitcoin

Again, listen to Peter Schiff

Consensus

>Bitcoin is backed by its scarcity.
Altcoins are not scarce at all, What can bitcoin offer that any other altcoin cannot?

hope. like any other speculative commodity.

Very few commodities are priced at their functional value.

Houses are worth more in wealthy neighborhoods due to proximity to jobs.
USD is worth more than printed paper because we all agree on its value.

If we are looking at strictly functional value, bitcoin is worthless, just like 99% of our economy.

If we look at social value and its promises, it is valued as a potential a sociological shift to a new money system. USD is the inverse of this, hoping the traditional system maintaining its dominance.

If you ignore the "hope" factor of cryptocurrencies, you should do the same for the "hope" factor of maintaining traditional government fiat systems.

>Protip: Hope is not a valid answer
didn´t you know? Hope rides alone

aka a "bubble"

"everyone thinks this overpriced item is underpriced, therefore we should keep driving the price up ad infinitum"

Hope is rather fickle...

Miners time an processing power plus the code is finite and its supply is being lost over time as people die with btc in wallets without passing on private keys. Its core value is (slowly this is becoming was thanks to futures ) that nobody owns a controlling stake in like a business or any other financial system. It is/was a means of making all men equal. This is quickly becoming false. Monero, even dare I say bitcoin cash and other coins are the only hope we have in this now. BTC is corrupted. It is still ok for a store of value though but nothing more and if futures destroys confidence in it the store of value may even switch to something like bitcoin gold (i am going purely on the name with that one) for example.
>Lurk more Bazingoid!

>Houses are worth more in wealthy neighborhoods due to proximity to jobs.
Thats a functional value

>USD is worth more than printed paper because we all agree on its value.
And because you need to pay taxes in USD

>If we are looking at strictly functional value, bitcoin is worthless, just like 99% of our economy.
99% of our economy has uses

>If we look at social value and its promises, it is valued as a potential a sociological shift to a new money system
What makes bitcoin any different than altcoins in that regard?

>If you ignore the "hope" factor of cryptocurrencies, you should do the same for the "hope" factor of maintaining traditional government fiat systems.
I have a lot more hope that the US government will last a few more decades than bitcoin, out of all the other competing cryptos, will dominate the global economy

proof of work

>muh scarcity
no, the economic system should not be a zero-sum game

I know the USD is just a fucking guarantee - but it has something material it's being raded with.
>So, currency is roughly correlated with the confidence people have in the issuing institution.
nope, it's correlated with what it produces.
>Bitcoin is "backed" by its blockchain network
That's like saying the USD is backed by the note-printers.
>--a network that has proven to be remarkably secure and un-hackable.
lol no. Shitty definition of hack there.
>That same blockchain also ensures bitcoins scarcity because the supply is limited by design. Actually think about this before you respond.
Scarcity is not necessary. The fact that you think a currency needs to be scarce tells me all about your view of money. You view it as a circlejerk.
>BTC can become the new currency
you still need a computer for it though
THat's why it will NEVER replace USD
FOMO isn't as big of a causeas you might think.
>bitcoin has worth because you need to exert work to mine it, which is secured by the difficulty of bruteforcing a one-way hash function. which is fuckin math.
And you buy a graphic card to do the "work" for you through a program you download off the internet for free.
nice try, 0.5/100
nice meme
>Also, you cant create "altgold" the same way you can create "altcoins", many of which offer better privacy protections than bitcoin
this
>Again, listen to Peter Schiff
also this
circlejerk, in other words
hope is dead. bury it.
>Very few commodities are priced at their functional value.
does not justify bitcoin's shit-tier actual value
>USD is worth more than printed paper because we all agree on its value.
we=gubmint
>new system
the new is shit if it doesn't work, and bitcoin doesn't bring anything new to the table.
>traditional government fiat systems.
It's a huge scam but better than btc

Scarce in economics means "limited supply". It is mathematically impossible to have more than 21 million BTC in existence. This means that if you buy bitcoins no one will be able to take them away from you. This is not the case with the US dollar or any fiat currency; the government can devalue them at will. The BTC price might be fluctuating a lot these days but if you have satoshis they`re yours forever, they`re simply being more or less expansive to acquire.
That`s why people who believe in this technology and don`t want to simply speculate are buying it and using it as a store of value. Most altcoins out there work with these same parameters, they`re just not as valuable right now because they`re seen as cheap knock-offs.

>USD is correlated with what it produces.

what the fuck does that mean? Currencies don't "produce" anything on their own.

21 million supply plus people dying without passing on their private key info means the finite supply is gradually decreasing over time too.

>proof of work
by GPUs
>Miners time
aka start the program and eat pizza?
> an processing power
considerably less than the real value of buttcoin
>plus the code is finite
HAHAHAAHAHAAHAAHAHA
>and its supply is being lost over time as people die with btc in wallets without passing on private keys.
It's a decade old, fag. Forgotten walltes will not be an issue for the next 5 decades.
> Its core value is (slowly this is becoming was thanks to futures →) that nobody owns a controlling stake in like a business or any other financial system.
close there
>It is/was a means of making all men equal.
lmao
> This is quickly becoming false.
What the fuck did you expect?
> Monero, even dare I say bitcoin cash and other coins are the only hope we have in this now.
go all in!
> BTC is corrupted.
nope, it did what it should have
> It is still ok for a store of value though
nope
> but nothing more and if futures destroys confidence in it the store of value may even switch to something like bitcoin gold (i am going purely on the name with that one) for example.
nope. If bitcoin fails, any other coin has very little chance of revival.
>Scarce in economics means "limited supply". It is mathematically impossible to have more than 21 million BTC in existence. This means that if you buy bitcoins no one will be able to take them away from you.
correct.
>This is not the case with the US dollar or any fiat currency; the government can devalue them at will.
Same for bitcoin as long as people keep cross-transaction with any other fiat currency alive and/or fail to monopolize in a market and trade in bitcoins exclusively.
> The BTC price might be fluctuating a lot these days but if you have satoshis they`re yours forever, they`re simply being more or less expansive to acquire.
and they would be worthless if ti crashes.
>store of value
*highly volatile
I'm talking about value and not currency. Value is what backs the currency, moron.

>Scarcity is not necessary.

No one said it's necessary, but an asset with a limited supply is obviously more likely to rise in value than one with potentially unlimited supply.

>It is mathematically impossible to have more than 21 million BTC in existence.
Unless they fork and change that. Even if they don't you can just keep moving that decimal over. It's hardly scarce. And being exclusive shit matters little to the value of something.

>I'm talking about value and not currency. Value is what backs the currency, moron.

God you are thick. Ok, how does USD "produce" value. It doesn't. It's a medium of exchange for things of value. Can you actually answer the fucking argument instead of nitpicking and throwing out lame quips? In what sense does USD "produce" value?

being scarce does make something seem valuable.

What is the USD backed by?

What is USD backed by? Learn how life works. BTC was created to stop the BS with fiat.

the blockchain technology and network

except bitcoin core is moving away from that into a more trust based system, instead you will have to trust your lightning network provider (aka bank)

Bitcoin cant even handle the volume of transactions there are now, nevermind in the future... Bitcoin is literally worthless and the only reason the price has risen is hype and ignorance. Blockchain technology is game changing indeed, but people that know nothing think bitcoin is actually adequate to be a p2p payment system.. its not. literally greater fool at its finest right now.

Bitcoin will be overtaken in 2018 when people actually think about whats going on right now and come to their senses. The question is, what coin will take its place? What coin can actually handle the volume and can be used in the way bitcoin was intended? XMR? ETH? ARK?

Sell btc bags while the price is high.. Crash is impending. Bitcoin literally is a prehistoric shit coin worth no more than 1 USD and the market will correct itself eventually. You're investing in hype and hype alone.

NOT TO BE SAID THERES NO MONEY TO BE MADE... If you play your cards right, sure you can make some profits off the hype run... but longterm holding is a no no no no no.

- Rational person

Maybe so, but that doesn't mean I won't ride the wave

bitcoin is backed by people thinking its worth something, the more people think its worth something the more bitcoin will increase

A zero-sum economic market is inherently unstable.
>Unless they fork and change that.
wrong. Unless the fork and original are used exclusively in mutually exclusive markets, it is akin to scanning and printing dollars at home.
>Even if they don't you can just keep moving that decimal over.
only to an extent
>God you are thick. Ok, how does USD "produce" value. It doesn't. It's a medium of exchange for things of value.
true.
>In what sense does USD "produce" value?
It doesn't, it's a guarantee for the ActualValue. ActualValue is produced when people make something new.
The US government
>the blockchain technology and network
nope, that's not what the question is about.
>What is USD backed by? Learn how life works.
gee, thanks grandpa
>BTC was created to stop the BS with fiat
and that falls flat on its face when people start exchanging BTC for USD
You need to have bitconi-exclusive markets for the system to work.
well said
>Bitcoin literally is a prehistoric shit coin worth no more than 1 USD
overestimating it desu
so...literally nothing?

Even if Bitcoin "crashed", its technology and mathematical parameters would still remain. The price right now is obviously too high for its actual value as a currency since it has several problems with scalability such as the slow transactions and high fees. But if the price falls drastically that would simply be an opportunity to buy even more since it is way more reliable than FIAT in the long term.
My guess is that Crypto will only achieve its true potential during the next financial crisis. That`s why the Chinese and Japanese are obsessed with this crap, their economy is about to crash with no survivors.

>so...literally nothing?
Indeed, but like anything if people give it a value those people will pay for it at that value. Much like diamonds as jewelry

>nope, that's not what the question is about.
retarded brainlet

Let me test you, what is the US dollar backed with? Oh wait you already answered.
>The US government

How do you not see it? FUCKING RETARD GO BACK TO YOUR SHIT BOARD

It’s backed by all currencies people use to purchase it. So it is inflated because of the mined bitcoin essentially is backed by nothing

>What is bitcoin backed by?
Russian oligarchs trying to hide billions of $$$ they siphoned out of the country.

Dreamies, memeies, and Lamborghinis

>Even if Bitcoin "crashed", its technology and mathematical parameters would still remain.
>But if the price falls drastically that would simply be an opportunity to buy even more since it is way more reliable than FIAT in the long term.
that's a perceived merit of the currency and a minor one at that. It requires a large number of computers.
correct
>much like diamonds
except mining good ones is a bitch and they're very pretty
basically scammy third-worlders desu
stop sperging, autist.

What is USD backed by?

Protip: Hope is not a valid answer
Protip: OIL is not a valid answer

>Also, you cant create "altgold" the same way you can create "altcoins", many of which offer better privacy protections than bitcoin
pot meet silver

The coming AIconomy.

We should use bitnation to create a private army that will kill and die to preserve our rights to have BTC at a stable $10 000 000.

Demand

backed by banks

as long as there are central banks in power, bitcoin will always rise - cap this

Hype & delusion.

So what gives gold its value? I can also produce things with gold? Protip: THE ONLY THING THAT GIVES SOMETHING VALUE IS PEOPLES TRUST IN IT ffs retards

Well modern day gold is used in a lot of electronics production.. but before it was a useful metal yeah idk

Why do no coiner fucks think this question actually stumps anybody? Pretty simple.
Value wise? It's backed by whatever 2 people are willing to sell or exchange for Bitcoin.
In terms of how is it safe or trustworthy? Blockchain.

It is scarce, malleable, and neither tarnishes nor rusts.