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Edward Vielmetti studies Bitcoin as a signal of conspicuous consumption and conspicuous waste.

Bitcoins are almost the perfect expressinon of conspicuous waste, and in a benefit that Veblen might not have guessed at, they are liquid in a peculiar way such that it’s impossible to distinguish between someone who has purchased them vs. someone who has a mining rig going full bore creating them. How peculiar a commodity to have no intrinsic value that’s obvious right now, but that is a perfect signal either that you have consumed a lot of energy or a lot of money to have acquired them. In this sense they look like they are Veblen goods, where they are more in demand depending on them being more expensive.

Read more at Vacuum.

Peacock CC Image by Madison Berndt.

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