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Comment by csomar | Hacker News Reader

> no one spends the money b/c they're better off waiting and letting it appreciate, which leads to less spending, which leads to even more deflation

Do you have actual scientific and researched proof for that or you just pulled it from air? The bitcoin money processor (bitpay) said that every spike in price results in a spike of sales; that goes against what you are saying. If the price of a currency increases significantly, the purchasing power of the holder of that currency increases too. Which means he can spend more.

But I don't have any data to back my claim either, and bitpay doesn't release their volume numbers.

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Russ Roberts, the host of EconTalk and economics professor, also doesn't think that Bitcoin's fixed supply would lead to destructive deflation.

> Isn’t a fixed supply of money dangerous?

> It’s certainly different. “Elaborate controls to make sure that currency is not produced in greater numbers is not something any other currency, like the dollar or the euro, has,” says Russ Roberts, professor of economics at George Mason University. The consequence will likely be slow and steady deflation, as the growth in circulating bitcoins declines and their value rises.

> “That is considered very destructive in today’s economies, mostly because when it occurs, it is unexpected,” says Roberts. But he thinks that won’t apply in an economy where deflation is expected. “In a Bitcoin world, everyone would anticipate that, and they know what they got paid would buy more then than it would now.”

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/424091/what-bitcoin-is-an...

This is not some general consensus, this is a viewpoint that exists. Among many others.

Also this:

> Elaborate controls to make sure that currency is not produced in greater numbers is not something any other currency, like the dollar or the euro, has

Is very obviously incorrect. Fed and the congress have absolutely been producing new money in great numbers without any controls by the people. Ever seen the national debt watch? If you have not researched how Fed works and how (and when) new money has been produced during recent decades, you should really do that. You will be scared.

I think there's a misunderstanding. Russ Roberts is saying in that sentence you quoted, basically, "USD and EUR can be produced in huge amounts just because the monetary authorities want to". Are you sure you think he's incorrect?

In that case I apologize. I have misunderstood the quote.

Could you provide a link to where you read/heard that statement from Bitpay?

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