Quote from: HabBear on August 14, 2017, 04:51:13 AM

Quote from: Realist247 on August 14, 2017, 04:26:12 AM

Backed by fiat currency.

Lack of patent.

What do you mean by these two comments? You're listing mistakes cryptocurrencies have made and these two are on that list.

Bitcoin is backed by fiat currency? Since when?

Bitcoin lacks a patent? Why does it need to be registered as an invention with a company?

I think you may misunderstand a bit how Bitcoin works (and call me out if necessary).

Bitcoin isn't backed by fiat currency. The reason people refer to the value in terms of fiat is because that's the currency that people use to buy and sell it. Bitcoin isn't backed or pegged or hinged to the value of a fiat currency. It's performance or existence isn't dependent on fiat currency.

Bitcoin is a project, creation, invention that isn't bound by any government. A founding principle is that it fills a void in the money system that's been lacking free access, support, and market. For Bitcoin to be registered for a patent would completely and directly undermine what Bitcoin is meant to be. It's meant to operate independent from any central entity (especially government). Trying to gain approval and protection to exist from a government would be the single greatest irony Bitcoin could achieve (and not for the better.)

If I've misunderstood you, please let me know.

New cryptos, like from Goldman Sachs, have a patent. It may not mean anything to someone that truly understands cryptos, but it will be perceived as something important to someone that GS or equivalent is pushing on their clients, just like most are pushing the benefits of BTC on noobs on or off this forum. It's a selling point.

BTC is "backed" by fiat meaning it is priced in fiat and exchanged in fiat. It's not much different than all of the world currencies that exist as 1's and 0's on a bank ledger. If there were precious metals or other commodity that guaranteed a base value of BTC then that would be one thing. But let's say there is a black swan event that causes the FED to print $10 trillion or more to pump up markets in the case of a severe crash, BTC would be devalued by a proportionate amount relative to the Dollar.

Everyone that I read posting values their BTC on a fiat system. To exchange it to precious metals would first involved a conversion to fiat for valuation. There is no "direct to precious metals" system in place. If you know of one I'd love to hear of it.

While I am not a hardcore coder, I understand the mechanics of how BTC works. The whole 21 million coins is irrelevant. It is dependent on those mining it to verify the block chain. If there is no one to mine it, the whole chain collapses.

I'm not advocating that it be supported by a centralized system. But if certain things are not done to improve BTC in the near term, centralized systems will emerge that cater to those who only care about lack of fees and their funds not being stolen because they don't know how to secure their smartphones.