This is an interesting eleven-plus minutes for film enthusiasts
Also check out Bryan Goldberg (the guy who started and sold BleacherReport.com for nine figures)’s take on Bitcoins
Great, now engineers think that they are economists too
Several months ago, one of my company’s engineers told me about Bitcoin. It wasn’t the first time that I had heard about the concept, but it was the first time that somebody I knew actually bought some.
Did I say some? What I meant to say is that he bought a crapload of Bitcoins. They were worth about $9 each when he acquired them, and he decided to drop a healthy $5,000 on his roll of digital bullion.
Today, even as he has sold a small percentage, his holdings are worth close to $100,000 — a very nice return for a guy in his mid-20s. He is skeptical about selling them, but he does like the idea of buying a house.
So, now that he has demonstrated a 4,000 percent IRR on his investment, I should probably concede that he was right, and that Bitcoin is the real deal… I shall — of course — do no such thing.
Instead, I will re-iterate exactly what I thought several thousand-percentage points ago: Bitcoin is ridiculous, and there is no reason why someone should buy them.
“But, Bryan, a Bitcoin is a perfectly legitimate currency…”
Yes, a Bitcoin fits many of the theoretical definitions of a currency. And if you had just completed your fourth day of Economics 101 coursework, then you would feel pretty great about yourself right now.
As any Economics professor will remind you, there is nothing particularly clever about the characteristics of money. It needs to be a portable, divisible, easily recognized form of exchange that is universally accepted by merchants and service providers.
Gold, shells, beads, etc. have all been used as currency in past years. And, it’s also true that more and more merchants have begun to accept Bitcoins.
End of story, right? Well, no, not really. There are several other key facets of a currency that need to be taken into account in the modern day.
Awesome story! Thanks so much for sharing!!