Editing 2280: 2010 and 2020

{{comic
| number    = 2280
| date      = March 13, 2020
| title     = 2010 and 2020
| image     = 2010_and_2020.png
| titletext = 2030: "I just bought a house for one bitcoin. No, it's the equivalent of a dollar. Houses are often transferred for a nominal fee because the buyer is taking responsibility for containing the holo-banshees in the attic."
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is the sixth comic in a row in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] about the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}}.

[[White Hat]], who lives in 2010, and [[Cueball]], who lives in 2020, are in contact with each other via some kind of time travel. White Hat wants to learn about life in 2020 and is particularly interested in {{w|bitcoin}}, a decentralized {{w|cryptocurrency}} which was released in 2009, and whether it had become an acceptable currency. Cueball answers that bitcoin still exists, and that he just bought a bottle of {{w|hand sanitizer}} for the price of one bitcoin. White Hat probably assumes that bitcoin is a widely accepted currency worth a few dollars, and thinks that the situation is "normal". (In April 2010, one bitcoin was worth about 14 cents.)

At the time of this comic, the COVID-19 is spreading around the world, causing thousands of people to die (although relatively few compared to the number of people that have gotten better) and billions to panic. This increased the demand for hygiene products, including hand sanitizers, and therefore their price has increased. It also triggered a panic on financial markets, including severe devaluation of the infamously volatile bitcoin. Despite the crash, one bitcoin was still worth about $5,400 on the day this strip was published, not a few dollars. Therefore, buying a hand sanitizer for one bitcoin is not as normal as White Hat assumes.

The price of hand sanitizer has not reached the price of a bitcoin (yet), although some people on sites such as {{w|Amazon.com}} are attempting to sell it for ludicrous amounts and there are attempts by Amazon, eBay, and other selling platforms, as well as potential legislation, aimed at curtailing such {{w|price gouging}}.

The title text claims that, in 2030, bitcoin will again be worth about one dollar, but many houses will also be worth only one dollar due to the difficulty inherent in containing "holo-banshees" in the attic.  What a holo-banshee is is not explained, but one can guess as to what it might mean.  "Holo" is generally short for {{w|hologram}} and typically denotes some kind of 3D looking digital visual form, and a "{{w|banshee}}" is a mythological wailing creature or spirit.  So even if not a physical object, constant shrieking would be undesirable.{{Citation needed}}

The "nominal fee" mentioned by the 2030 time traveler is known in legal parlance as a "peppercorn". In reality, such a practice has been quite common for several decades (though not for something on the scale of a house); legal processes state that both sides must give something in order for a contract to exist, and a minimal peppercorn payment to secure a contract is preferable to the legal hoops that must be jumped through in order to lawfully give something away for nothing.

==Transcript==
:[White Hat and Cueball are walking to the right of the panel. There is a gray outline around Cueball, indicating he is from the future]
:White Hat: What are things like ten years from now in 2020?
:White Hat: We have this new "bitcoin" thing &mdash; does it ever catch on and become normal?

:[A frameless panel, with White Hat and Cueball still walking to the right.]
:Cueball: It's still around. I just bought a bottle of hand sanitizer for one bitcoin.

:[A regular panel, with them continuing to walk]
:White Hat: Cool, that sounds pretty normal.
:Cueball: Well, here's the thing...

== Trivia ==
* Cueball has previously traveled back in time ''twenty'' years to converse with his past self in [[2220: Imagine Going Back in Time]].  Like this conversation, his past self has a completely different set of concerns and expectations about the future compared to his present self like White Hat has compared to Cueball in this comic.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category: Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category: Time travel]]