"A century on from the demise of the [Classical] Gold Standard, which collapsed in the interwar years amid a breakdown in central bank cooperation over how to manage the metal, gold is quietly becoming a more important feature of our financial system rather than an outmoded 20th-century relic." This shows that gold cant be made out of thin air. There is proof of work to mine it initially. It is similar in bitcoin in many ways.
Yeah, it's just that it's pretty darn heavy if you have to make large settlements.
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Not only that, if you get a large amount, you need to store it in a secure location. Or else someone can walk off with your wealth.
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That's true, but people spend money securing their bitcoin too. I'm not sure how optimal security costs compare.
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True, but when you have gold you usually have to have a very secure safe. And that safe has to sit on a huge concrete slab. Bitcoin you can just secure for a couple hundred dollars.
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Yes, it was. They only settled in bullion when the clearing couldn’t happen. Clearing couldn’t happen when there were trade deficits. Clearing couldn’t happen during inflation (defined as creation of new money). Any other time, there was no clearing problem.
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Is there a shortage of gold right now?
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