US government tracking the energy implications of booming bitcoin mining in US.

Over 2 percent of the US’s electricity generation now goes to bitcoin::US government tracking the energy implications of booming bitcoin mining in US.

  • makeasnek@lemmy.mlEnglish
    35·
    9 months ago

    Stablecoins are a house of cards built around stably relating to another house of cards which is the entire inflationary fiat system. Every single asset and currency is speculated on via the open market. Bitcoin is no exception. If it is overvalued or undervalued, that creates market opportunities for people to exploit the difference. The market has decided it’s worth a certain amount today, it will be another amount tomorrow. Not unique to Bitcoin. Every year people have said Bitcoin was “overvalued” and powered purely by hype, on average, the market has decided they were wrong the following year.

    Any honestly-run stablecoin inherently has to collateralize their coin with something. They can buy BTC (and do), they can buy USD (and do), they can buy wheat futures (but I’m not sure they do). Ultimately, a diverse portfolio would probably be wisest. Yet you don’t see anybody complaining that “USD is being pumped by Tether/USDC”. Why? Because it’s not a problem.

      • makeasnek@lemmy.mlEnglish
        01·
        9 months ago

        The previous poster is alleging BTC is being “pumped” by tether because tether is collateralizing their coin by buying BTC. I’m pointing out that they also buy USD yet nobody is complaining that USD is being pumped.

        If you buy a stablecoin, the hope is that the stablecoin is tied to an actual dollar (or whatever it is supposed to represent). This means if you buy $1 in tether, tether should buy $1 USD on the open market, put it in a vault, and wait until somebody else comes back to sell that dollar back to Tether. But you can buy other stuff too, other assets, which when you start managing large amounts of money is important for risk management. Plus they can make some returns that way. Some stablecoins pass the returns on to people who hold the stablecoin. Generally, these stablecoins are collapses waiting to happen for these and many other reasons.

        • TypicalHog@lemm.eeEnglish
          1·
          9 months ago

          Do you genuinely believe the impact of Tether buying Bitcoin on Bitcoins price is comparable to the impact of Tether buying USD to USD “price”/value? Like fr?

          • makeasnek@lemmy.mlEnglish
            1·
            9 months ago

            I’m not saying it doesn’t impact the price, I’m saying it doesn’t matter. Bitcoin’s current price looks like a steal to me if it’s going to be the underlying currency for the global economy.

            All currency is speculated on. The market finds the right price. Then it corrects. The price goes up and down. That’s how markets work. The USD is guaranteed to lose value and buying power over time due to an inflationary supply. That’s not even throwing in the US’s declining role as a global currency hegemon and the reduced demand it causes.

            Bitcoin? It could go up or down relative to other currencies or goods, but my portion of the supply relative to the whole will always be the same. That’s why I buy bitcoin.

              • makeasnek@lemmy.mlEnglish
                1·
                9 months ago

                This may be true for Cardano, but not for Bitcoin. As more BTC gets mined, your percentage of the total supply goes down

                This is so terribly incorrect. Bitcoin has a fixed supply. Those miners are selling those coins on the open market and they are running out as you say. 1 BTC is the same portion of the total final supply it was a year ago or 10 years ago.

                • TypicalHog@lemm.eeEnglish
                  2·
                  9 months ago

                  My mistake, I was thinking about the current supply. Brain fart.
                  It’s the same with ADA. 1 ADA is the same percentage of the total supply 5 years ago or now.