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Comment by mattwilsonn888 | Hacker News Reader

Says a lot about this site's bias that this even needs to me said (how under a rock do you have to be not to know the macro crash happening right now isn't localized to crypto?). Your comment should either be so obvious that it isn't necessary or so obvious that its the top comment.

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I thought crypto was supposed to be a hedge against the markets.

> thought crypto was supposed to be a hedge against the markets

This made no theoretical sense from the start and has been quantitatively untrue for years.

More goalpost shifting. I've been hearing "Bitcoin is the new gold" and "Bitcoin is a hedge against inflation" since the beginning.

Gold is down 2% and Bitcoin is down like 30% or something.

Also please keep in mind this isn't Reddit, this is HN. The people here were there right at the beginning, and most of us played with the funny money while it was worthless. Some even became rich (Not me lol)! So don't fucking gaslight HN.

I can't count how many times people have explained here that Bitcoin is a "store of value". A store of value that can be down 40% YTD is...problematic. I mean, I guess the value is still there....

Most people using bitcoin as a store of value are willing to accept volatility, given that we know for certain that fiat is a store with built-in leaks — leaks that we can all see are getting bigger and there's good reason to believe will become a sieve.

The crypto believers told me US dollar would enter hyperinflation very soon and Bitcoin will be the only viable currency because it has a finite supply.

Why something that has a finite supply would be viable as a currency.

Since it's deflative all the incentive is holding, not spending. Why buy a house for 5 bitcoins now, if I can get it at 4 bitcoins 3 months from now..What if I could get it at 1 bitcoin in 3 years...crazy right..?

And no one spends, because the incentive is not here.

Our economies are all based on people wanting to spend or invest rather than stock money.

How is saving for the future somehow bad? People will spend on what's important and the bullshit will go bankrupt. Welcome to reality.

You're right. No one ever buys computers or phones. They'll be cheaper and more powerful tomorrow!

Finite supply doesn't even matter anymore since exchanges are now operating like banks with fractional reserves, loans and everything. Through credit they can inflate away the value of cryptocurrencies as much as they want. The entire financial system was reinvented on top of bitcoin, it's the worst possible outcome.

> entire financial system was reinvented on top of bitcoin

You can build shit on top of anything. But you can't build anything worthwhile on top of shit. Bitcoin at least has a solid, extractable, base.

You just put your finger on what has been frustrating me and cryptocurrency for the past few years, thank you

Elephant shit also has a finite supply, and is actually more useful than Bitcoin.

"The Markets" aren't what's causing a downturn in "the markets" or in crypto. The Federal Reserve's monetary policy has a direct effect on the price of everything.

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