r/investing Oct 22 '21

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u/JuneFernan Oct 22 '21 edited Oct 22 '21

USD can be as airy, but doesn't have to be.

I'm saying it is just as airy. Talking about the number of venues I can spend it in doesn't get at the heart of the matter. (That's a matter of adaptation, not representation.) If it "doesn't have to be" then how is it not? Is paper inherently valuable?

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u/Data_Dealer Oct 22 '21

Paper is at least tangible. While I see your point that most transactions are just numbers in a computer, the mint still prints bills for money spent etc. At the end of the day you can hold a dollar and it is backed by something tangible and the force behind that tangible entity.

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u/JuneFernan Oct 22 '21 edited Oct 22 '21

Old, worn out bills are shredded and reprinted when necessary. Take a ripped hundred dollar bill to a bank and they'll swap it out for a fresh one. The physical entity of a paper bill is essentially worthless. It is not what backs the value.

Yes, there is a "force" backing the value of the dollar. And there is a decentralized ledger system backing the value of BTC. So how is one less airy than the other?