# Passengers wanted Uber to accept Bitcoin, now it’s close to becoming worthless



## BurgerTiime (Jun 22, 2015)

Full:
https://www.marketwatch.com/amp/story/guid/7131BE3C-F4E7-11E8-AD71-A9FA5576A6EF








Just one year has passed since bitcoin enthusiasts forecasted that the cryptocurrency would hit a price of $1 million.

But that was then. With the price of bitcoin BTCUSD-3.97% having fallen almost 80% from its peak, and now trading well-below the support level of $6,000, everyone is wondering where it goes from here.

The answer is, a swift and painful drop to zero.

In a MarketWatch column I wrote last April, I explained what it would take for bitcoin to become worthless. Bitcoin is getting close to that point. As I argued, once Bitcoin's price falls below its cost of mining, the incentive to mine will deteriorate, thrusting bitcoin into a death spiral. That is, without the mining activities supporting the ledger that maintains the records of who owns what - bitcoin is, after all, a set of encrypted numbers that cannot establish the ownership of anything - bitcoin will become worthless.

A typical asset has a set of cash flows, and its value is driven by investors' expectations of those cash flows. Bitcoin has no cash flows. In that respect, it is more like gold, in that its value is driven to some extent by its desirability and potential uses, but mostly by its cost of mining. While there are many estimates of bitcoin's cost of mining, most suggest it is close to $5,000 per coin. Furthermore, even though traditional commodities like gold require significant investments, with limited technical knowledge and capital, anyone can mine bitcoins. Thus, the price of bitcoin must be close to the fully loaded cost of mining it (meaning you are modestly compensated for your time and capital outlay). So, one would expect the price of bitcoin to fluctuate somewhere around that point.

Related: Is Uber about to accept Bitcoin?
https://www.thestreet.com/amp/story/14287261/1/is-uber-about-to-accept-bitcoin-directly.html


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## The Gift of Fish (Mar 17, 2017)

*Passengers wanted Uber to accept Bitcoin, now it's close to becoming worthless*

Uber or Bitcoin?


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## Rocky S (Dec 15, 2018)

The Bitcoin "protocol" ensures that the cost of mining it is proportional to its price, so the article's premise that the price can fall below the cost of mining for any significant amount of time makes no sense. In any event, Uber accepting Bitcoin makes no more sense now than when it was at its peak: it is way too volatile, is not widely used, takes too long to conduct transactions vs a credit card, etc.


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## Pax Collector (Feb 18, 2018)

And to think that the same inevitable fate will befall Uber makes it even more ironic.


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## HotUberMess (Feb 25, 2018)

And once again I find myself unable to remind friends and family they were wrong (due to the desire to retain relationships). We’ll move on to the next Big Thing they’ll be touting without researching and they’ll forget the pain of their previous mistakes.

It’s so annoying.


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## racheljo (Nov 22, 2018)

I paid $70 for my bitcoin. Currently it's worth $3000+. Time will tell whether it is ultimately worth a lot or zero or somewhere in between. What it's doing right now is not a valid indicator of anything. People have been predicting its demise for years and so far they are wrong.


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## cryptoblue (Sep 28, 2017)

HotUberMess said:


> And once again I find myself unable to remind friends and family they were wrong (due to the desire to retain relationships). We'll move on to the next Big Thing they'll be touting without researching and they'll forget the pain of their previous mistakes.
> 
> It's so annoying.


Some people's mistake was not buying in soon enough or selling way to late. To many people buy the top sell the bottom.

Plenty of money to be made in crypto right now. And for those who are soooo sure its gonna be worth zero. Well...then short it and make a bunch of money. 

My name should tell you what side of the fence I'm on lol. It paid off my house and I bought a brand new car with the funds (no...not a lambo)


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## HotUberMess (Feb 25, 2018)

cryptoblue said:


> Some people's mistake was not buying in soon enough or selling way to late. To many people buy the top sell the bottom.
> 
> Plenty of money to be made in crypto right now. And for those who are soooo sure its gonna be worth zero. Well...then short it and make a bunch of money.
> 
> My name should tell you what side of the fence I'm on lol. It paid off my house and I bought a brand new car with the funds (no...not a lambo)


If you paid off your house that means you already sold and you're on the winning end of that game.

Someone else is on the losing end.


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## mikehulak (May 29, 2018)

Id gladly accept payments in crypto


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