๐ช๐ต๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฃ๐ก๐ฎ ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐น๐ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐
In a world of abundance, ๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐.
๐๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐ต๐ด have a potentially unlimited supply, but ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ญ๐บ ๐๐ช๐ต๐ค๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ is absolutely scarce and ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ง๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ญ๐บ limited.
But arenโt precious metals supposed to be scarce? And what about real estate?
Letโs explore ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ below, and examine just how scarce they ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ areโฆ๐
๐ช๐ต๐ ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ
Fiat currencies are government-issued money ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ป๐น๐ ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ถ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ, rather than by a commodity. Central banks can create more at will, leading to inflation and diminishing purchasing power. This lack of scarcity undermines fiat's long-term value.
Fiat's supply is measured in various ways, such as M0 (physical currency) and M1/M2/M3 (including digital forms). These measurements show fiat's ๐ง๐ญ๐ฆ๐น๐ช๐ฃ๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐บ and the ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด between present and future money, contributing to its abundance.
Ownership of fiat is conditional and ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ by issuing authorities. This uncertainty, coupled with fiat's ability to manifest ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐จ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ balances through debt creation, further highlights its fundamental lack of scarcity.
๐ช๐ต๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ
Stocks represent ownership shares in companies, and are far from being scarce. Companies can issue new shares, diluting existing ownership. This process is subject to corporate decisions and market conditions, making stocks ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ญ๐บ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต.
Stock issuance is controlled by company executives and boards, ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฎ๐น๐ด๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ต๐บ. This means the total number of shares can increase, leading to potential dilution of individual share value.
The regulatory environment also influences stock scarcity. Securities laws and market demands can lead to stock splits or reverse splits, further adding to supply volatility, and altering the number of shares ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ข ๐ง๐ช๐น๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฎ๐ช๐ต.
๐ช๐ต๐ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ
Bonds are debt securities issued by entities like governments and corporations to raise capital. Investors lend money in exchange for periodic interest payments and the return of the bond's face value at maturity. ๐๐ด๐ด๐ถ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐ถ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ง๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ซ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ด, making them abundant, not scarce.
The issuance of bonds is ๐น๐ถ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ป๐น๐ ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ถ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ'๐ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ, not by a fixed supply. Governments, in particular, issue bonds regularly to finance budget deficits, making the total volume of bonds in the market ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ-๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ.
In essence, the bond market's ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ค๐ข๐ฑ๐ข๐ค๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐จ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ต๐ฉ and the ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ช๐ด๐ด๐ถ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ด underscore its lack of scarcity.
๐ช๐ต๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ
Real estate encompasses land and any structures on it, including buildings and natural resources. While often perceived as scarce due to its fixed geographical nature, ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ when considering the long-term perspective and human innovation, including the eventual colonization of other planets.
On Earth, scarcity of desirable locations drives up real estate values. However, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ด๐ค๐ข๐ณ๐ค๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ช๐ด ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฃ๐ซ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ข๐ฅ๐ท๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด, such as the ability to reclaim land from the sea, or create habitable environments in previously uninhabitable areas.
Real estateโs scarcity is further challenged by the potential for space colonization. As humanity explores and settles on other planets or moons, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ฒ๐
๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ, reducing the constraints of Earth-bound real estate scarcity.
๐ช๐ต๐ ๐๐ผ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ
Collectibles encompass items like rare artifacts, art, and jewelry, valued for their uniqueness and desirability. While some may appear scarce, ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ถ๐๐ป'๐ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐๐ฒ. Technological advancements and changing tastes can affect their rarity and value.
Furthermore, collectibles' perceived scarcity ๐ช๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฃ๐ซ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ณ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ฅ๐บ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ค๐ด. For instance, as more collectors enter the market, previously overlooked items can become sought after, creating new categories of collectibles.
Some collectibles, may in fact be scarce, but they are issued by a central authority, so ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐บ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฟ๐๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ถ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟโ๐ ๐ฐ๐น๐ฎ๐ถ๐บ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐, and their promise that they will never increase the supply in the future. This reliance on a promise make them hardly any scarcer than fiat currencies.
๐ช๐ต๐ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ
Commodities are raw materials or agricultural products that can be bought and sold. While they might ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ scarce, technological innovations, such as more efficient mining techniques and the potential for atomic transmutation, could make it possible to create or mine commodities faster and more efficiently.
The discovery of commodities on meteors and distant planets could reduce their scarcity even further. With the vastness of space, and ever-improving methods to one day access the commodities found there, their potential supply is ๐ท๐ช๐ณ๐ต๐ถ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฎ๐ช๐ต๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด.
While commodities are currently limited by their available amounts on Earth, as well as the costs of extraction and production, ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ต๐ป๐ผ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐
๐ฝ๐น๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ผ ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ป๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐น๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐, challenging the traditional notion of scarcity.
๐ช๐ต๐ ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฝ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ
Cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, its forks, altcoins, and NFTs, are digital currencies that are secured using cryptography. However, any perceived scarcity in the โcryptoโ space (i.e. everything besides Bitcoin) is actually ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ข๐ฃ๐ด๐ฐ๐ญ๐ถ๐ต๐ฆ๐ญ๐บ ๐ด๐ค๐ข๐ณ๐ค๐ฆ.
New cryptocurrencies can be created relatively easily. This means that even if their protocols make them have a limited supply, ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ซ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต ๐ฅ๐ช๐ญ๐ถ๐ต๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ท๐ข๐ญ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด, effectively making them abundant.
Additionally, every cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin has a central leader or group that can change or update their system as they see fit. So even if a cryptocurrencyโs protocol says it has a limited supply, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ผ๐น ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฎ๐๐๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐, as has been seen with Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies.
๐ช๐ต๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ ๐ง๐ฟ๐๐น๐ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ
Bitcoin's scarcity is foundational to its value, with an eventual supply of just under 21 million coins. Bitcoin is run by users around the world, who are incentivized to never increase its supply. This immutable supply limit ensures bitcoin remains scarce, ๐ณ๐ฆ๐จ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฆ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ข๐ฅ๐ท๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐บ'๐ด ๐จ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ต๐ฉ.
The mining process, or guessing a particular large number in order to add transactions to Bitcoinโs ledger, the timechain, is how new bitcoin are issued. However, the rate of the issuance of new coins decreases over time through "halving" events, causing the supply to ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ 21 million, ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ถ๐, ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ถ๐.
#Bitcoin was designed to mirror the scarcity of traditional assets like gold. However, while Bitcoin and commodities are mined more in response to price increases, ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ญ๐บ ๐๐ช๐ต๐ค๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ด ๐ช๐ต๐ด ๐ช๐ด๐ด๐ถ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ด๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฆ, regardless of how many miners start hashing, thanks to the difficulty adjustment. This makes Bitcoin truly scarce, no matter what any individuals choose to do.
๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฐ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
As you can see, Bitcoin is the only completely and permanently scarce asset. The only other thing that might be as scarce as Bitcoin is your ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ, but you can never know how much you have left. And with technology assisting you in using your time more efficiently, and extending your lifetime by many years, ๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ป ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐น๐ณ ๐ถ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป.
Some other things that arenโt scarce are ๐๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ค, ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐, and ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐๐.
And if thereโs anything youโd like to add to this, please leave it in the ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐โฌ๏ธ
๐ช๐ต๐ ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ
Fiat currencies are government-issued money ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ป๐น๐ ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ถ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ, rather than by a commodity. Central banks can create more at will, leading to inflation and diminishing purchasing power. This lack of scarcity undermines fiat's long-term value.
Fiat's supply is measured in various ways, such as M0 (physical currency) and M1/M2/M3 (including digital forms). These measurements show fiat's ๐ง๐ญ๐ฆ๐น๐ช๐ฃ๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐บ and the ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด between present and future money, contributing to its abundance.
Ownership of fiat is conditional and ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ by issuing authorities. This uncertainty, coupled with fiat's ability to manifest ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐จ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ balances through debt creation, further highlights its fundamental lack of scarcity.
๐ช๐ต๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ
Stocks represent ownership shares in companies, and are far from being scarce. Companies can issue new shares, diluting existing ownership. This process is subject to corporate decisions and market conditions, making stocks ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ญ๐บ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต.
Stock issuance is controlled by company executives and boards, ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฎ๐น๐ด๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ต๐บ. This means the total number of shares can increase, leading to potential dilution of individual share value.
The regulatory environment also influences stock scarcity. Securities laws and market demands can lead to stock splits or reverse splits, further adding to supply volatility, and altering the number of shares ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ข ๐ง๐ช๐น๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฎ๐ช๐ต.
๐ช๐ต๐ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ
Bonds are debt securities issued by entities like governments and corporations to raise capital. Investors lend money in exchange for periodic interest payments and the return of the bond's face value at maturity. ๐๐ด๐ด๐ถ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐ถ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ง๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ซ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ด, making them abundant, not scarce.
The issuance of bonds is ๐น๐ถ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ป๐น๐ ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ถ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ'๐ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ, not by a fixed supply. Governments, in particular, issue bonds regularly to finance budget deficits, making the total volume of bonds in the market ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ-๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ.
In essence, the bond market's ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ค๐ข๐ฑ๐ข๐ค๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐จ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ต๐ฉ and the ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ช๐ด๐ด๐ถ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ด underscore its lack of scarcity.
๐ช๐ต๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ
Real estate encompasses land and any structures on it, including buildings and natural resources. While often perceived as scarce due to its fixed geographical nature, ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ when considering the long-term perspective and human innovation, including the eventual colonization of other planets.
On Earth, scarcity of desirable locations drives up real estate values. However, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ด๐ค๐ข๐ณ๐ค๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ช๐ด ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฃ๐ซ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ข๐ฅ๐ท๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด, such as the ability to reclaim land from the sea, or create habitable environments in previously uninhabitable areas.
Real estateโs scarcity is further challenged by the potential for space colonization. As humanity explores and settles on other planets or moons, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ฒ๐
๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ, reducing the constraints of Earth-bound real estate scarcity.
๐ช๐ต๐ ๐๐ผ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ
Collectibles encompass items like rare artifacts, art, and jewelry, valued for their uniqueness and desirability. While some may appear scarce, ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ถ๐๐ป'๐ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐๐ฒ. Technological advancements and changing tastes can affect their rarity and value.
Furthermore, collectibles' perceived scarcity ๐ช๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฃ๐ซ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ณ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ฅ๐บ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ค๐ด. For instance, as more collectors enter the market, previously overlooked items can become sought after, creating new categories of collectibles.
Some collectibles, may in fact be scarce, but they are issued by a central authority, so ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐บ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฟ๐๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ถ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟโ๐ ๐ฐ๐น๐ฎ๐ถ๐บ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐, and their promise that they will never increase the supply in the future. This reliance on a promise make them hardly any scarcer than fiat currencies.
๐ช๐ต๐ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ
Commodities are raw materials or agricultural products that can be bought and sold. While they might ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ scarce, technological innovations, such as more efficient mining techniques and the potential for atomic transmutation, could make it possible to create or mine commodities faster and more efficiently.
The discovery of commodities on meteors and distant planets could reduce their scarcity even further. With the vastness of space, and ever-improving methods to one day access the commodities found there, their potential supply is ๐ท๐ช๐ณ๐ต๐ถ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฎ๐ช๐ต๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด.
While commodities are currently limited by their available amounts on Earth, as well as the costs of extraction and production, ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ต๐ป๐ผ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐
๐ฝ๐น๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ผ ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ป๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐น๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐, challenging the traditional notion of scarcity.
๐ช๐ต๐ ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฝ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ
Cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, its forks, altcoins, and NFTs, are digital currencies that are secured using cryptography. However, any perceived scarcity in the โcryptoโ space (i.e. everything besides Bitcoin) is actually ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ข๐ฃ๐ด๐ฐ๐ญ๐ถ๐ต๐ฆ๐ญ๐บ ๐ด๐ค๐ข๐ณ๐ค๐ฆ.
New cryptocurrencies can be created relatively easily. This means that even if their protocols make them have a limited supply, ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ซ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต ๐ฅ๐ช๐ญ๐ถ๐ต๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ท๐ข๐ญ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด, effectively making them abundant.
Additionally, every cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin has a central leader or group that can change or update their system as they see fit. So even if a cryptocurrencyโs protocol says it has a limited supply, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ผ๐น ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฎ๐๐๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐, as has been seen with Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies.
๐ช๐ต๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ ๐ง๐ฟ๐๐น๐ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ
Bitcoin's scarcity is foundational to its value, with an eventual supply of just under 21 million coins. Bitcoin is run by users around the world, who are incentivized to never increase its supply. This immutable supply limit ensures bitcoin remains scarce, ๐ณ๐ฆ๐จ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฆ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ข๐ฅ๐ท๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐บ'๐ด ๐จ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ต๐ฉ.
The mining process, or guessing a particular large number in order to add transactions to Bitcoinโs ledger, the timechain, is how new bitcoin are issued. However, the rate of the issuance of new coins decreases over time through "halving" events, causing the supply to ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ 21 million, ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ถ๐, ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ถ๐.
#Bitcoin was designed to mirror the scarcity of traditional assets like gold. However, while Bitcoin and commodities are mined more in response to price increases, ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ญ๐บ ๐๐ช๐ต๐ค๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ด ๐ช๐ต๐ด ๐ช๐ด๐ด๐ถ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ด๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฆ, regardless of how many miners start hashing, thanks to the difficulty adjustment. This makes Bitcoin truly scarce, no matter what any individuals choose to do.
๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฐ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
As you can see, Bitcoin is the only completely and permanently scarce asset. The only other thing that might be as scarce as Bitcoin is your ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ, but you can never know how much you have left. And with technology assisting you in using your time more efficiently, and extending your lifetime by many years, ๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ป ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐น๐ณ ๐ถ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป.
Some other things that arenโt scarce are ๐๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ค, ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐, and ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐๐.
And if thereโs anything youโd like to add to this, please leave it in the ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐โฌ๏ธ
The prevalent term for Bitcoinโs distributed ledger is โ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ค๐ฌ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ช๐ฏโ, yet the original name that Bitcoin's creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, gave it was โ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ช๐ฏโ. ๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐บ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ถ๐บ๐บ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป, highlighting its progression through time as a one-way, irreversible system.
A blockchain/timechain is not an especially disruptive technology or a โsecret sauceโ that somehow makes a system decentralized. In reality, ๐ถ๐โ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ ๐ฏ๐ ๐บ๐๐น๐๐ถ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐, which agree on each update whenever itโs time for a new โpageโ, or block, to be added to the ledger.
"Blockchain" has become a generic descriptor for various projects with distributed ledgers, though it's essential to recognize that ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป'๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐, such as proof-of-work and decentralization. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฎ "๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ" ๐ช๐ด ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ต, ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ค๐ช๐ง๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ช๐ต๐ค๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ต๐ด ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ต๐ต๐ณ๐ช๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ค๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ด๐ต.
So while โ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ค๐ฌ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ช๐ฏโ might dominate the discourse today, โ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ช๐ฏโ more accurately captures the essence and originality of Bitcoin, stressing the importance of its chronological, ๐๐ฟ๐๐น๐ ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ that distinguish it from all other cryptocurrencies.
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