Not a bad analogy, except that you can't convert data back into energy. Bitcoin might be the scent of elephant shit...a hint of something being there that really isn't.
Here's an interesting analogy. Suppose someone made a currency from ice medallions on which beautiful miniature paintings have been made on them from water-soluble ink, each one unique. You trade them by moving them quickly from one refrigerated wallet to another. There must be continuous refrigeration power to keep them intact and valuable. And then the power system blows out and there is no power. All your currency melts away, worthless. (People sometimes make the utterly ignorant statement that "information cannot be destroyed." Burn a book in front of them sometimes and see if they think it has not been destroyed.)
You just described our entire current economic system.
The only part you forgot to mention is that crypto is a far superior option compared to our current economic system for transacting quickly over long distances.
The superiority of physical money for local transactions doesn't change this.
Anybody can make electronic Monopoly Money. And if you want to believe it has value (because you paid for it) you are welcome to that delusion.
You can have electronic money transfers without sending a courier with a pouch of gold coins. I don't know where you've been for the past century. The stock markets are able to make frighteningly rapid transfers made on the basis of equally rapid transfers of information.
A rapid transfer of something that has no commodity value is like a signal bounced off the Moon. Impressive...but insubstantial. I don't see that rapid international monetary exchange solves many problems of ordinary people, who are more concerned about the stability and permanence of their funds.
I think the way that worked was that elephant dung could be burned for a fire.
And fire became electricity in terms of energy and heat? Just spitballing here. Bitcoin is the new elephant shit.
Not a bad analogy, except that you can't convert data back into energy. Bitcoin might be the scent of elephant shit...a hint of something being there that really isn't.
Here's an interesting analogy. Suppose someone made a currency from ice medallions on which beautiful miniature paintings have been made on them from water-soluble ink, each one unique. You trade them by moving them quickly from one refrigerated wallet to another. There must be continuous refrigeration power to keep them intact and valuable. And then the power system blows out and there is no power. All your currency melts away, worthless. (People sometimes make the utterly ignorant statement that "information cannot be destroyed." Burn a book in front of them sometimes and see if they think it has not been destroyed.)
You just described our entire current economic system.
The only part you forgot to mention is that crypto is a far superior option compared to our current economic system for transacting quickly over long distances.
The superiority of physical money for local transactions doesn't change this.
Anybody can make electronic Monopoly Money. And if you want to believe it has value (because you paid for it) you are welcome to that delusion.
You can have electronic money transfers without sending a courier with a pouch of gold coins. I don't know where you've been for the past century. The stock markets are able to make frighteningly rapid transfers made on the basis of equally rapid transfers of information.
A rapid transfer of something that has no commodity value is like a signal bounced off the Moon. Impressive...but insubstantial. I don't see that rapid international monetary exchange solves many problems of ordinary people, who are more concerned about the stability and permanence of their funds.