So, banknotes for the King of cryptocurrency - Bitcoin (BTC) - are out in Singapore, and I have to wonder... is this good news or bad news?
Well, from an objective point of view, and since I am a Marketer and know that all publicity is good publicity, I know that it is good...
...but considering what Cryptocurrency stands for and the cleave that most people want it to have in regards to FIAT money, is it the way to go?
There are a lot of different ways to think about it... and while I already made my mind, I would love to hear your unbiased opinion so I'm not disclosing it for now.
What do you think?
Here's the Story on it:
So, Tangem notes were printed by the company by the same name. Tangem has a foothold in Singapore, Moscow, China and Switzerland.
This is the store in which they first got use:
It seems to me that the company wanted to make payments in BTC made easy... sure... but the real THING that made them launch this was obviously trying to glue themselves to the Crypto buzz going worldwide.
They knew they were going to get a lot of coverage, free advertising for their company such as I'm doing now (heck, I never heard of them before) so for them it was obviously a good decision.
What about the whole baggage of it and what it means, what do you think about that?
There's Good Things and Bad Things: But this is big for adoption!
There are good things and bad things we can say about this initiative, and while we can argue these are just fancy paper wallets, there are some concerns people have been voicing about it.
But here on STEEM I know we have a melting pot of crypto skeptics, crypto enthusiasts, people who don't even know about crypto and even bitcoin maximalists...
...so I figured this would be the place to ask:
What do you think?
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I don't like the idea. Even paper fiat money is used less and less so why would we have Bitcoin paper notes?
Well, I dont think it will get any use or evolve from this, I think this was a marketing stunt, but on the other hand there were some good things to take from this....
But what if you don't have a phone, or internet. People tend to think that internet and a fully charged phone is available for everyone. But that isn't always the case, so I like this idea, as long it is secure.
Plus the government CAN NOT cause inflation on this one, that being the for the existence of crypto currency.
if this bank issued bitcoin notes is accepted, they in effect can inflate it to a degree. as all the notes is not accounted for in the chain and thus it cannot be checked that it is correct in accordance to the chain. Aside from the issuer of the notes. And aslong as they keep the information about that to themselves, they can infalte it a little, and then a little, untill someone maybe finds out.
Inflation can only be caused by an abundance of currency. Meaning, if there is less to go around, they will be worth more. The government can surely influence the currency, but not by much. I really should look deeper into this. But I don't think inflation will be a problem.
And about removing currency from the blockchain, they already can do it without notes.
I think it’s a good step .. for uncrupto eefucated people who want to keep any tangible asset lol
I think this isn't going to go anywhere but I have no problem w/it as long as it stays fundamental. That being, only enough notes are printed, that are backed up offline in actual BTC. (Funny to think of "actual" BTC as the version that is strictly digital ;).
Publicity stunt in my opinion, but if it raises awareness to crypto I'm all for it.
A lot of truth in that opinion!
Interesting idea,you can check if note is valid by scaning the code.its like real money.
At least no transactions fees right and offline for all and if they get lost um....less supply :)
If done right this could be huge. But here the thing it better than fiat it backed by something not backed by the gov but the people the main issue is how are they backing these bitcoin banknotes will real bitcoin and how long will they last and stuff like that. The minor issue is how the material of the banknote is
Good point of view !
Kinda think those holding the BTC offline would be on the hook for the "transaction fees." Which would be deflationary! After all PoW is still the BEST form of running an efficient digital/paper (in this case) system! ;) Someone is going to have to log and secure those transactions. Unless......BTC smart contracts?!?!?!?
?
Which part are you struggling with?
Plus we all know that NFC isn't completely reliable. Someone can bounce against you and steal your money. Well, I don't know enough to judge it, but I like the concept, if not, love it.
I see some issues, but I thought about that "burn" method as well :D
It seems to me that it's the pressure of an old system making changes to a new system. In my opinion a physical banknote doesn't have much permanency in the cryptocurrency realm.
I agree, a mobile gadget will do the swipping easier, plus technology is evolving a lot, paper money will be useless.
What I think would be cool is if one of the cryptocurrencies would adopt what is called an Aurum. This is an actual bill-sized sheet of gold.
You can find more about it at Valaurum.com.
Hmm.. thanks! Will check it out!
This is definitely a good method to spread the word of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to those who are unfamiliar. I just don't think this makes it anymore simple to newbies. Now that Bitcoin has hit mainstream news every knows that it is a digital currency. Having something physical just complicates it more and could act as more of a deterrent in the long run.
I didn't think about that... maybe you're right... but it would also make them feel safer since they can touch it.
This is really fascinating. I just wonder if the price of these wallets would change daily? I’m assuming the price would change to the moment in which you purchased one and then would be loaded at the register: like gift cards. The only problem I have with this, is that the transactions can take a long time with bitcoin. They are very slow compared to other crypto currencies.
Yeah, waiting one hour for a transaction at the store wouldnt be nice.
hmmm dot now on this one. or a like it but bitcone..and 0.01 0.05 is a big number to. its remving the ide of it been digital. am 50/50 on this one a like the "progress" but a think is more a gimmick then a application atm and 0.05 btc now is 3200$ ish so do u want to have it ur pocket? am not.
No no, you should look at the idea and not what they have done now. If they can make the those cards reliable, they will probably make the smallest there is.
yes a like the gimmick of it. but just tjis one semms bit impracticable but blockchain its new to. so as a one of the first technologies over to normal fiat its not super bad.
In my opinion it will only work as a publicity stunt.
Wow thanks man. Had not heard of this. Indeed the world has changed.
No prob! I live to serve :D
My mind goes back to how the debt based system got started, by the issuance of recets of stored gold. No more recets could be issued then there was gold to back up, untill the the concept of fractional reserve lending started.
This could be the initiall of a similar scenario. + i dont se how that could in effect work without the potentiall of sudely existing fake bitoins in terms of bank notes that is not accounted for in the chain. And can it then be sayed to be bitcoin? Unless it somehow is handled the sme way as lightning network transactions is handled.
It brings a lot of stuff to the table for people to consider, that's for sure, luckilly for us it is only a small initiative and I don't see it taking off.
Like you said, this will attract publicity for the company. As for bank notes, obviously for the people who have been immersed into crypto space this is not a good way to go. However, there are a lot of people who want to get into crypto, but it still seems for them like rocket science.
Let's admit it. Many people don't feel comfortable about using wallets and exchanges. And don't let me start with old-fashioned fellows who cannot stand fractions (0.02 BTC). They are used to integer figures.
Anyway, this company knows there are still some gaps for massive adoption and they're tapping on them, for their benefit of course.
Yeap, that's exactly what I concluded as well, nicely said!
I don't really like this move at all, the digital currency initiative was and is the plan for crypto currency in the first place, diverting to cash will only get the THIRD party involved the bank or government will control this currency sooner or later.
I sm strongly against the move
Well, it was a small publicity stunt, it won't go further, I agree with you on that, but I think this was positive at the same time, turned some heads into the crypto space, that's always positve.
I always thought of cryptos as the lead poster tech poor for a cashless society, this might be good for adoption and publicity but at the end of the day, cashless is the way ahead.
I agree, though I think this is good publicity.
Great for publicity and aiding mass adoption, but I think it’ll only go as far as being a good publicity stunt. I can’t see this going much further.
Indeed, I'm 100% of that opinion as well.
I do not think I am the most appropriate person to comment, since I am not an expert in the matter, but I could express a strange confusion, I believe that to have a btc in physics would be to distort the main idea, at least the idea that was explained to me at the beginning and on the other hand, there are many people who distrust the computer world and would give them much more confidence, but I do not understand who would have the control so, I believe that I should be better informed! Thanks for the news, happy night.
Yeah, you should definitely research crypto... it's the future, and even if it is hard to understand its nuances it will pay to do so!
Too fancy for the industry at this point in time IMHO
+1
They will make things closer to the people not educated in crypto currencies
This smells fishy to me, and I think having physical currency of this kind will not work. Like you say, mostly what this is about is a sensational marketing ploy. Will these notes have any relevance when the price shoots up wildly and then goes back down just as violently? (as has been predicted to happen by years end). Bitcoin is a global currency, and it's based a lot on how the community interacts with it. Does the community want hard currency? My guess is not really
Marketing stunt for sure, but in the banknotes defense, their value would rise and fall alongside BTC price, so they would always be worth the same. 0.01 and 0.05
After watching @andrarchy ‘s video about Steemit economics I have a deeper understanding of what a commodity is, vs a currency, and I think that’s crucial in this discussion.
A commodity is a marketable good that can be exchanged, and does not have a price stabilization mechanism (steem, gold, bitcoin, coffee...). This variable price makes it a great investment vehicle as people can buy low and sell high.
A currency is a store of perceived value that can be exchanged, With a price stabilization mechanism ( USD and SBD).
Because of the price volatility, bitcoin seems to be more of a crypto commodity than a crypto currency.
In my opinion, this makes bitcoin a hard sell in terms of replacing the usd, because a price stabilization mechanism provides certainty to the participants of a transaction.
If there was a physical form (banknote) of SBD’s, I’d consider it a valid innovation to help crypto currencies get offline- which would be immensely helpful in areas of the world which aren’t being blasted by WIFI.
I'm not from the school of thought that any crypto will replace the dollar... I think we're still pretty far from that... in my opinion the dollar will be replaced by another currency first.
When I first heard about this I thought it was ridiculous, learning that each note has a microchip with actual bitcoin stored on it makes the idea way easier to swallow.
As nice as this idea is, I can't imagine it having much use past the novelty level.
Yeap... waiting for transactions in retail stores would be hilarious.
Great as a publicity stunt. Kinda idiotic when it comes to implementation.
How many things are goin to cost exactly 0.01 or 0.05 BTC especially with a changing exchange rate every day?
If you are able to spend fractional sums, then the face value doesn’t match the wallet value any more.
What would be a lot better would be a bill-shaped hardware wallet with a large digital display that could show the balance. Add to that a fingerprint authentication and a qr scanner for 2 step transfers and now you have something.
Yeap! But this way the store owners had a nice marketing boost :D
Um.... Wtf? Looks more like a gift card than a real bank note. Useless piece of plastic.
It contains BTC so not that useless... I'd want it if I found it :P
But it sounds like someone could drain the funds and then it really becomes useless. I suppose you're right though. If there's money on it I'd want it haha
Bad news in my book. The joy of crypto lies in it's digital ease.
I made 3-4 instant crypto transfer this week while I was having a meal with my phone in one hand. If I tried that with fait my food would get cold while I wait on the line.
Yeap, I wholely agree with you, but I think there are some positive things to take from this as well... raising awareness towards crypto is one of them.
True. More awareness needs to be raised about the crypto world.
Some people are under the impression that crypto is a scam and wonder how they can profit from "imaginary money".
If only they knew of the wonders of the crypto sphere.
I get what you mean but I think we should be very wary about the cashless society. Block chain technology offers the potential for decentralised currency exchange but I really can't imagine for one moment that government will allow that to flourish. I suspect it is much more likely that they will legislate so that only their crypto can be used. This will further centralise economic control in my view.
Hmm, that's an interesting view.
People have been talking about this for a while now.
The government will definitely kick against this, but we can survive. No one can stop the blockchain, not even the governments of the world.
I really hope you are right. I agree, from the little I know about blockchain, the technology offers massive potential. But equally government won't give up their ability to control the monetary system without a fight. We'll have to wait and see.
do you actually gain access to the wallet from nfc or is it just watching only?
In both cases this has big downsides. In the first case you need to check every note that there is still btc on it. And the previous owner may still hack it and potentially spend afterwards. In the second case you need to trust the issuer that they will actually pay you the btc on demand. And you never know if your watching wallet is also used for another note.
Yeah! I agree that the technical limitations, bugs or possible exploits in this are crazy.
Thanks @spiritualmax for an informative post. Firstly I have to declare that I know very little about crypto-currency, I'm new to Steemit, so I hope you will forgive my ignorance. However I think it is absolutely vital that we maintain cash of some description. It seems likely to me that we are moving towards a cashless society but one that continues central control of the monetary system. There will undoubtedly be some form of government backed 'Fedcoin' type currency in the near future. The purpose will be to ensure that the blockchain currencies become centrally controlled and I anticipate legislation will soon be forthcoming to build that currency (and possibly outlaw others.) Therefore, in my currently uninformed opinion, I think some form of cash will be vital in the struggle to establish decentralised, voluntary exchange and continue to fight the bankster hegemony. All the best.
I think we'll have a gadget of sorts that serves as the cash... swipe, done paid... much like cards, but on steroids.
Probably something of the sort. But I'm a big advocate of counter economics. While block chain technology offers that possibility in a digital form if legislation is passed which dictates which crypto can be used as legal tender, and I reckon that's a strong possibility, counter economics is going to be a real problem without some form of cash to exchange. Honestly I don't know enough about it yet but am very interested in finding out more.
too early for it.how will one know that it is backed by something like gold or silver.
gold or silver? No... bitcoin.
Scam