Is Bitcoin invsetment a game of chicken?
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7280794I am very perplexed as to why Fred Wilson and other vc's would invest money in bitcoin startups without actually buying bitcoins themselves. It seems that them putting just a small amount of money into BTC would give coinbase a much higher chance of success.
So here's a thought: Maybe the wealthiest people in the world see bitcoin invsetment as a game of chicken. If someone like warren buffet puts just a few thousand dollars into bitcoin, its value will skyrocket, giving him and all other bitcoin holders an enormous return. Seeing as how so there is so much money looking for safe investment now, a lot of people would follow him. This would mean capital leaving certain markets and going to BTC - which would seriously drop the value of dollars and other government-backed currencies.
A rapid drop in dollar value would leave even more of the wealthiest people in the world will wanting to move their capital to bitcoin, perpetuating itself. This 'runaway bitcoin value' scenario is probably one they wish to avoid. The world's wealthiest people largely know and trust one another; if bitcoin skyrockets, the richest people won't be able to meet in geneva or vale or wherever and make deals with each other. Even if they did manage to all move in unison to put all their money into BTC, the drop in value of government-backed currnecies would probably cause so much instability in the world that none of them want it to happen for fear of government action shutting bitcoin down. so for people with public reputations as solid investors, bitcoin is game of nuclear chicken: first guy to put money in either wins huge or loses all of it.