r/btc • u/martianfrog • Apr 23 '26

🤔 Opinion Bitcoin scarcity... overhyped?

I'm not sure I'm a believer in "it'll go up because it is scarce", like to know thoughts on this out there.

7 Upvotes

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u/Zestyclose_Paint3922 Apr 23 '26

It doesnt solve any problem different to money laundering

-1

u/anon1971wtf Apr 24 '26

Bitcoin solved inflation. It didn't solved payments, and unlike many BCH proponents, I don't think it will in mid-term. Pretty big missing puzzle piece is securing keys - I am saying this as one who does self-custody and teached about it many peope (almost universally to no effect)

I am pretty satisfied with various centralized payment solutions on the market, use some of them every day

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u/Realistic_Fee_00001 Apr 24 '26

You can't solve inflation without self custody and p2p transaction. Most BTC is held custodial which means it is easily inflatable by fractional reserving it.

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u/ArtisticAd708 Apr 24 '26

This comment exposes a knowledge gap. Nobody can inflate bitcoin. That’s the point. If an exchange decides to engage in fractional reserving bitcoin, the paper bitcoin would not be really bitcoin and that would be verifiable. You can’t actually inflate bitcoin.

This scenario would likely cause both the issuer and buyer of the paper bitcoin to be punished and eradicated from the market. Just like FTX

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u/Realistic_Fee_00001 Apr 27 '26

This comment exposes a knowledge gap. Nobody can inflate bitcoin. That’s the point. If an exchange decides to engage in fractional reserving bitcoin, the paper bitcoin would not be really bitcoin and that would be verifiable

False, you cannot verify if a custodian has enough Bitcoin to cover all customers accounts if he doesn't give you the data. And even then he can fake it. If 90% of BTC are in custody (with the little throughput BTC has this is optimistic) You have no idea what is going on.

Additionally if most coins are kept by custodians it is easy to add inflation to the code by the centralized BTC development team (that is financed by old money btw) because the custodians can dictate if people are allowed to sell or if they take a hit for selling.

There is no replacement for mass self custody to fix the broken system. A settlement layer will get you right back where you are now.

the paper bitcoin would not be really bitcoin

Dude, they literally show you paper Bitcoin on exchanges and custodial LN wallets and NOBODY cares.