What is bitcoin? Some people will say it is a kind of folk currency, some people will say it is a string of computer codes, some people will say it is a financial product, some people will say it is a Ponzi scheme, but no matter how to comment on it, we can not deny that its influence is worldwide.

If we really want to define bitcoin, we must start from the historical reasons for its emergence. Anything that can be called money appears to solve the problem of limited commodity circulation. The essential reasons for the emergence of bitcoin and other non-governmental currencies are the same. They are all to get rid of the official restrictions or exploitation of money. For example, the paper money jiaozi appeared in the Northern Song Dynasty Truth. Folk currency is a kind of exchange agreement concluded between multi-party strength folk subjects. The birth of bitcoin is such a truth. Even if there is no bitcoin, there will be other folk currencies. For this, I can understand that it is the product of folk currency in the Internet era. In addition, the establishment of bitcoin exchange also provides a basis for its pricing. Therefore, it is meaningless to discuss whether it should exist or whether it has value.

But the existence of bitcoin does have a lot of adverse effects on the real world, such as cross-border transfer of assets by corrupt officials, money laundering by criminals, Internet financial fraud and so on. These situations need more international exchanges and wisdom to solve. Today we are mainly discussing a financial issue. Is holding bitcoin wealth belief or bottomless abyss?

Since the moment bitcoin was targeted by financial institutions, it is no longer a simple folk currency, but a financial product similar to futures. If it is a financial product, there will be speculation. Most people buy bitcoin not as money, but as a tool to make money. Bitcoin once created the myth of making wealth, which is still talked about by people today. The doubling of its thousands of times capital makes all the people who have the dream of sudden wealth crazy. So they buy bitcoin crazily, with good wishes, and expect to realize "wealth freedom" while lying down. However, things go against their wishes. No matter bitcoin rises or falls sharply, there are always many people who burst their positions, most of them The good wishes of sharing people eventually turned into a "nightmare" of losing money. The reasons for this result are "greed" and "leverage".

For bitcoin investors, greed is right, ignorance is the "original sin"; speculation is right, leverage is the original sin. "Ignorance + high leverage" is the common reason for all investment failures. This is the reason for the so-called speculation in precious metals and postal money cards in the past few years, and it is also the reason for the current speculation in bitcoin. So don't think that the speculation in bitcoin will be much better than financial fraud products. We can think about it. If we invest according to the ratio of 1:1, there is no chance of position explosion except that bitcoin returns to zero. But with leverage, it's different. According to the current bitcoin price of US $60000, with double leverage, position explosion needs to drop by US $30000, with four leverage needs to drop by US $15000, with eight leverage only needs to drop by US $7000, and many people speculate All of them are more than 10 times leverage, or even 30 times leverage. In fact, it's doomed to be doomed. It's only an accident that they can make money.

The author deeply believes that since the existence of bitcoin can not be wiped out, it should be regulated, whether for the purpose of fighting crime, protecting the interests of investors, or maintaining financial order, which has long-term significance. The passive attitude of indifference can only be used by those who want to take advantage of it. For example, the United States, which calls itself the "World Police", because bitcoin is priced in US dollars. In fact, it is also a kind of "US dollar hegemony". Bitcoin will be a financial weapon to crack down on the financial order of emerging markets. Isn't the current surge of bitcoin the "vent channel" for the over issuance of US dollars? This is the typical "the United States prints money, the world pays". From this point of view, the regulation of bitcoin transactions is a necessary option for every sovereign entity.

Therefore, if we want to use the special currency, the best way for the country is to regulate; for individuals, understanding its financial nature and abandoning unreasonable leverage is the beginning of wealth belief, rather than falling into the abyss.

(2021-4-15)