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posted by Dopefish on Tuesday February 25 2014, @06:00PM   Printer-friendly
from the that-didn't-end-well dept.
lennier writes "Has Magic the Gathering Online Exchange tapped all its mana? MtGox, the first and best known Bitcoin exchange, has abruptly shut down, and CEO Mark Karpeles has resigned from the Bitcoin Foundation after rumors of ongoing theft related to the transaction malleability issue reported several weeks ago. According to the latest news reports, Bitcoin has hit a three-month low of $465 USD per coin."
 
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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by unitron on Wednesday February 26 2014, @09:34AM

    by unitron (70) on Wednesday February 26 2014, @09:34AM (#7217) Journal

    "No, that's not its intrinsic value, that's the current market value of the material."

    If you ignore the fact that it's a piece of currency and think of it just as a lump of metal, then the price you can sell it for if you melt it down *is* the intrinsic value.

    It's the value of what it is, not what it represents.

    Anything else is face value, transactional value, collector value, et cetera.

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  • (Score: 1) by Taibhsear on Wednesday February 26 2014, @02:42PM

    by Taibhsear (1464) on Wednesday February 26 2014, @02:42PM (#7298)

    If you ignore the fact that it's a piece of currency and think of it just as a lump of metal, then the price you can sell it for if you melt it down *is* the intrinsic value.

    And if you ignore the fact that melting it down is illegal...

    The new regulations authorize a fine of not more than $10,000, or imprisonment of not more than five years, or both, against a person who knowingly violates the regulations. [usmint.gov] In addition, by law, any coins exported, melted, or treated in violation of the regulation shall be forfeited to the United States Government.

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by unitron on Wednesday February 26 2014, @02:58PM

      by unitron (70) on Wednesday February 26 2014, @02:58PM (#7319) Journal

      But that's only going to hold true until there's no longer a government of the United States to enforce that law (or stand behind the face value of the coin, for that matter).

      In our bleak, distant, post-apocalyptic future, the intrinsic value of the coin will remain whatever you can sell it for as a melted chunk of metal.

      The only law that enforces intrinsic value is the law of supply and demand.

      Which means that the basis of the intrinsic value remains unchanged, but what you can get for it can vary over time.

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