First off, it is important to distinguish between Bitcoin and "crypto". Bitcoin was fairly launched, is distributed and based on fundamental computer science breakthrough often called "proof of work". "Crypto" is all the scams that try to be better than bitcoin with the primary purpose of enriching the people who created them by hyping up a money printing machine for themselves.
Thus we cannot lump the two categories together as they have fundamentally different technological underpinnings and structures and purposes.
Criminals are often willing to accept wild fluctuations in value in return for the convenience of flying under the radar. Crypto is perfect for them.
The word "criminals" includes at least two groups of people - immoral people who commit crimes violating others rights and moral people who are deemed "criminals" by criminals in power.
Bitcoin benefits both groups, it's true, but there is no possibility to have a form of money that benefits only one of these groups without violating the rights of the other.
So if you think this is a win here, you're wrong. It's fantastic that we finally have a form of money that is outside the grasp of the criminals who run governments.
The biggest criminals of all are always governments. Serve them at your peril.
And crypto boosters are far too conspiratorial about the evil intentions of banks and governments.
The evil intentions of banks and governments are simply history. Read The Creature from Jekyll Island. It's not even debatable.
And no crypto allows for the supply to be adjusted to fit economic conditions. And having the correct amount of money is critical. As noted above (and seen in the Great Depression) too little money is as disastrous as too much. This is what crypto boosters fail to understand. They dismiss the study of economics because it's not perfect. I like to point out that scientists don't know everything, but pseudoscientists don't know anything. Something similar applies here: Economists don't know everything about how an economy functions, but crypto enthusiasts don't know anything about how an economy functions.
A central entity "adjusting supply" is not necessary, but it is sold as an excuse for stealing money from poor people so that people like you will defend this theft. The Great Depression proves monetary economists right. The Great Depression was a result of the banning of gold, which effectively was the theft of the entire economies savings.
We don't dismiss economics, you do. And if we were wrong you would make your arguments in terms of economics, not claims ab out "enthusiasts don't know anything about how an economy functions".
Our economic science explains everything that has happened in the past 100 years and more, and is capable of predicting the future. The "theory" you seem to subscribe to has failed constantly that past 100 years and cannot predict the future accurately. The ability to predict outcomes is a key marker of a science.
The very thing that crypto enthusiasts love about crypto is the thing that makes it utterly useless as currency: The lack of regulation.
This is kinda silly. Historically all the most successful forms of money "lacked regulation" as they were "regulated" by the nature of reality-- from sea shells to salt to gold, for good or bad, all of these were successful (and not) due to the nature of reality, and not governments involvement. And yet when you look at the history of the money you claim is required to be "useful as a currency" you consistently see the same thing- debasement, theft, inflation, collapse.
Not to mention the intentional fraud, theft, and embezzlement.
Twice, people have managed to charge purchases to my credit card. I called the bank and got all my money back. If I forget my password I can go to the bank, demonstrate my identity, and regain access. Crypto has none of that. It's an easy vehicle for speculation, but it's a zero-sum game: You only make money when somebody else is willing to put in even more money.
This was a funny pairing-- talking about "intentional fraud" and then talking about how you were defrauded in a way that is impossible with Bitcoin. Literally every bitcoin transaction requires demonstrating your identity (via private keys.)
As for speculation this is not an accurate description of how markets work. It is not a zero sum game because there is far more money outside of bitcoin than in it currently. If all the money were in bitcoin already and we were on a bitcoin standard, then bitcoin would be at about $5M each.
The only bet you are making when you buy bitcoin is that it is going to keep heading towards that price and you want to get it before everyone else realizes it too.
