There
are wealthy speculators who are banking on the Bitcoin to become a real
currency, perhaps a global one that replaces all currencies. This would be a huge mistake and lead to
horrific economic consequences. But
while the commoditization of a made-up digital jewel gets traded at nearly
$3000 a coin, the real economy of books remains steady, but slow-growing. It just doesn’t seem fair.
The
book world, to a degree, reflects the rest of the world’s economy. Books can be produced digitally or on paper. They can be sold from a brick-and-mortar
store or ordered online. They can be manufactured by a large corporation, a smaller company or an individual. Many products or services are created or sold
in a similar manner.
But
the Bitcoin represents the worst of all worlds.
It is something that no single government can control nor can its
existence be verified. It’s all online,
through some mysterious codes and algorithms.
Who is to say how many Bitcoins actually exist? How do we know the system hasn’t been
hacked? It’s all run under a shroud of
mystery.
A
Bitcoin, to me, is useless. It has no
intrinsic value and the marketplace just speculates and bids it up too wildly
or bids it down with fast, huge drops.
There’s no rhyme or reason to it.
There are no sound economics attached to it, yet some are looking to
invest huge sums into it. Why?
The
book economy represents good old values.
Hard work, creativity, and resourcefulness can lead to a profit. There’s something tangible to it – we can see
it, touch it, and understand it. There’s
something measurable and comparative at work here. A Bitcoin is one part Mafia-controlled craps
tables, one-part fixed horse racing.
There’s no honor, truth, or value to the Bitcoin.
Nations
should outlaw the Bitcoin and arrest these scammers. It is not in humanity’s interest to have a
single currency that is solely digital and unaccounted for. It’s not fair to the book market or any
industry, where people actually work hard for a living, to just let people
gamble on some type of pyramid-scheme fling.
The
book world runs with a bit of honor, whereas the Bitcoin industry seems like it
only exists to make money without substantive reason. Books have a value and they spew values. Bitcoins are almost not real and yet some
people will pay thousands for one. The
world’s upside down.
The
world has always been this way. Wall Street makes money from money, while the
rest of the world has to earn its way.
One may not think to pit Bitcoins vs. books, but think about this: Two opposites, co-existing in a single
world. Which one do you hold in higher
esteem?
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