#divisibility

A divisibility lattice for the number 60. 

30.05.19 32/100 days of productivity

Introduction

Money, in its various forms, plays a fundamental role in our daily lives, serving as a medium of exchange, a store of value, and a unit of account. Over the centuries, different forms of money have emerged, each offering unique advantages and drawbacks. In this blog post, we will explore the essential services that money provides: portability, durability, recognizability, scarcity, and divisibility. We will then compare these services across three prominent forms of money: Bitcoin (BTC), gold, and the US Dollar (USD).

The Essential Services of Money

Portability refers to how easily money can be transported and transferred from one place to another. It's crucial for facilitating trade and commerce in a globalized world. Imagine needing to carry a significant amount of gold for a transaction—it's cumbersome and impractical. This is where the ease of transporting digital currencies like Bitcoin or even digital USD can be a game changer.

Durability is the ability of money to withstand wear and tear over time. Durable money maintains its physical form and value, ensuring it can be used repeatedly without deteriorating. Gold is incredibly durable, maintaining its luster and form over centuries. In contrast, physical USD notes can wear out, but digital USD remains intact and Bitcoin, being purely digital, doesn’t degrade at all.

Recognizability means that money is easily identifiable and accepted by people. This ensures that money can be trusted and used for transactions without extensive verification. Gold’s historical status gives it unparalleled recognizability, while the USD’s global use ensures it is accepted almost anywhere. Bitcoin, though newer, is rapidly gaining recognition as more people and institutions accept it.

Scarcity refers to the limited availability of money, which helps maintain its value. Money that is too abundant loses its value, while scarce money retains or increases in value over time. Gold’s natural scarcity has preserved its value for millennia. Bitcoin’s fixed supply cap of 21 million coins ensures its scarcity, driving its value. The USD, however, can be printed in large quantities, which can lead to inflation and a decrease in its value.

Divisibility is the ability to divide money into smaller units to facilitate transactions of varying sizes. This allows for precise pricing and exchange, catering to different economic needs. The USD is easily divisible into cents, making it convenient for all transaction sizes. Bitcoin is highly divisible down to eight decimal places (satoshis), and can be further divided through soft forks if necessary. Gold, on the other hand, is not easily divisible for practical everyday use.

Comparative Analysis

Bitcoin excels in portability, being entirely digital and capable of being transferred globally within minutes without the need for physical transportation. Its durability is unmatched as a digital asset that does not degrade over time, existing on the blockchain to ensure its longevity and integrity. The recognizability of Bitcoin has grown significantly, with increasing acceptance by merchants, investors, and institutions worldwide. Its scarcity is a defining feature, with a fixed supply cap of 21 million coins, making it highly valuable. Bitcoin is also highly divisible, down to eight decimal places, and can be soft forked to allow for infinite divisibility, ensuring it can meet any future transactional needs.

Gold, while less portable due to its weight and bulk, remains incredibly durable, resistant to corrosion and tarnish, ensuring it retains its physical form over centuries. Its historical and universal recognition as a store of value is unparalleled, trusted and accepted globally. The natural scarcity of gold, with limited new discoveries and mining, helps maintain its value over time. However, dividing gold into smaller, practical units for everyday transactions is challenging, limiting its use as a daily medium of exchange.

The USD is relatively portable, with physical cash being easy to carry, and digital transactions facilitating global transfers. While physical USD notes and coins are durable to an extent, they do wear out and need replacement; digital USD, however, is virtually indestructible. As the world’s primary reserve currency, the USD is widely recognized and accepted for international transactions. The Federal Reserve controls the supply of USD, and while it is abundant, inflation can erode its scarcity and value. The USD is highly divisible into smaller denominations, making it convenient for transactions of all sizes.

Conclusion

Each form of money—Bitcoin, gold, and USD—excels in different areas of the essential services money provides. Bitcoin stands out for its portability, divisibility (with the potential for infinite divisibility through soft forks), and fixed scarcity, making it a strong contender in the digital age. Gold remains unparalleled in durability and historical recognizability but faces challenges in portability and divisibility. The USD, while highly portable and divisible, grapples with issues of inflation that impact its scarcity and long-term value.