61–70 of 79 posts
Pretty good Bitcoin guide, not so technical and easy to read.
Here's a detailed testimonial on what a good exchange Cryptsy is. Sorry, was: http://www.coindesk.com/cryptsy-ceo-millions-digital-currenc...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
As others have said ASICs have made it impossible to mine Bitcoin on normal hardware at any sort of profit. However, there are many ASIC-resistant cryptocurrencies out there that may be worth looking into. The most well-known is Ethereum, but there are others with different strategies. Which would be best probably depends on your specific hardware (some are probably more CPU-friendly while others are better for GPUs)…
> ASIC-resistant cryptocurrencies No such thing. If it relies on a Proof of Work hash, it can be put into a chip, and specialist hardware for a simple function will always be more efficient (hashes per watt) than general hardware. The main barrier is not capability, but bothering to. Proof of Stake would be different, but all examples are presently experimental.
That's not the only relevant measure, since specialist hardware must be designed and produced.
For a memory-latency bound PoW requiring hundreds of MB, it's far from certain that custom designed RAM can compete with commodity RAM.
For instance, SRAM is one order of magnitude faster than DRAM, but two orders of magnitude more expensive, making it much less suitable for mining.
Interesting to see an article like this show up on the HN frontpage at a time when Bitcoin supporters are pumping and dumping other crypto-currencies on the major crypto exchanges. Seems like a co-ordinated effort to make a quick buck.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Bitcoins can be split and divided up to 8 decimal points. You can own 0.00000001 BTC. Additionally, the software could be forked to allow division of BTC to a more granular amount than 0.00000001, meaning if all but 1 BTC were lost the entire world could still transact with that last singular BTC by dividing it up into smaller units.
The problem is we don't really know what's lost and what's in storage. It could be that all those lost bitcoins are just sitting in someone's harddrive, waiting for moment to crash the market
The system for trading ownership of bitcoins does not care for the value of that ownership.
The value we, outside of the system used for logistics of trade, place on the bitcoins is then affected by their scarcity.
To the system, it doesn't matter if the scarcity is caused by loss or by hoarding. But this can affect our valuations.
I bought in when HN perpetuated the market debasement the last two times, when it "crashed" at $450 and $600 CAD. Both times, there was substantial fear, uncertainty, and doubt surrounding bitcoin in the HN comments (look them up yourself if you doubt me!). I adopted the position that I should be doing the exact opposite of what HN was recommending.
I'm still sticking to that position. I'll probably diversify greatly at this point with other altcoins, so I avoid the drop, then I'll buy in at the lower price. in around 30 days, I'll post back to see if I was wrong or not.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
At that point: Theoretically nothing. At that point the currency is stable and its value adjusts to very small degrees (if any) and it is no different than dave and busters money. You're taxed on your income and all you are doing is adding an extra layer of indirection before spending. And if you were paid in bitcoin, you have the same capital gains to report when you effectively translate it to fiat while buying you…
> And if you were paid in bitcoin, you have the same capital gains to report when you effectively translate it to fiat while buying your new Gameboy. But what if you never have to translate it to a "real currency"? Granted - bitcoin isn't anon - but let's suppose it was (or there existed a e-currency that was). If every transaction in the entire supply chain was carried out using such a currency, how would any govern…
As for how to avoid The Man: Take a look at India. They lived that dream and likely will again in a month or two.
* Where can I find Bitcoins? 1. You can hand over stupendous amounts of personal identification to an all-but-unregulated exchange. This is best analogised to keeping your money in a sock under someone else's mattress. Occasionally exchange owners disappear with everyone's socks, or get "hacked". This is very rare, and only happens once or twice a month. Our FAQ strongly recommends Cryptsy, they're a good one mate. 2…
it clearly challenges your beliefs/ideologies to a point that you spent the time to comment and try to frame bitcoin in a negative light.
Is it bitcoin (the software) scamming people? or is it humans?
and most importantly, what are your reasons for wanting bitcoin to fail?
* Where can I find Bitcoins? 1. You can hand over stupendous amounts of personal identification to an all-but-unregulated exchange. This is best analogised to keeping your money in a sock under someone else's mattress. Occasionally exchange owners disappear with everyone's socks, or get "hacked". This is very rare, and only happens once or twice a month. Our FAQ strongly recommends Cryptsy, they're a good one mate. 2…
im curious why you're so angry at bitcoin. it's just open source software, that is VOLUNTARY. it clearly challenges your beliefs/ideologies to a point that you spent the time to comment and try to frame bitcoin in a negative light. Is it bitcoin (the software) scamming people? or is it humans? and most importantly, what are your reasons for wanting bitcoin to fail?
No, here you go, actual reasons:
* Every cryptocurrency I’ve seen is a fractal scam at every level. When phrases along the lines of "a whole new form of money" and "the old rules don’t apply any more" start going around, people get gullible and the ethically-challenged get creative.
* Every cryptocurrency I’ve seen is a disastrous waste of resources and effort at every level – “proof of work” in particular is literally wasted to secure a distributed thing that should not be distributed, and which naturally recentralises anyway. (4 miners do 50% and 7 miners do 75% of Bitcoin, and 75% of hashing power is about to be in a single building.)
* Cryptocurrency advocates are frequently both strident and delusional about technology, economics, human nature and computer science itself.
* Bitcoin ideology is based on John Birch Society and Eustace Mullins conspiracy theories about central bankers, based on economic ideas which are most generously described as "not even wrong".
* Bitcoin advocates want a dot-com payday, where you get rich for free, only without even the step where you build an enterprise that does something that's useful to someone.
* Bitcoin advocates are almost universally either scammers, suckers or (best of all) suckers who think they're the scammer. Sorry, "early adopter". Pretty much everyone who got in after about 2012 is playing the role of "sucker" in the pump'n'dump. A "trustless" currency seems to attract people who absolutely cannot be trusted.
* Blockchains only approximately solve the problems they claim to (coordinating information amongst actors who distrust each other), and the approximation breaks down as they recentralise.
* Blockchains have no use cases outside cryptocurrencies, insofar as those count as a use case.
* Everything about cryptocurrencies is, in practice, a bad idea for pretty much anyone to be involved in, and warning people off it is a public service.
* I feel like it.
I've answered you. Now it's your turn to go back to my comment up there and point out which bits are factually inaccurate.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
As others have said ASICs have made it impossible to mine Bitcoin on normal hardware at any sort of profit. However, there are many ASIC-resistant cryptocurrencies out there that may be worth looking into. The most well-known is Ethereum, but there are others with different strategies. Which would be best probably depends on your specific hardware (some are probably more CPU-friendly while others are better for GPUs)…
> ASIC-resistant cryptocurrencies No such thing. If it relies on a Proof of Work hash, it can be put into a chip, and specialist hardware for a simple function will always be more efficient (hashes per watt) than general hardware. The main barrier is not capability, but bothering to. Proof of Stake would be different, but all examples are presently experimental.
There is such a thing as ASIC-resistant cryptocurrencies as evidenced by the fact that there are many cryptos in existence today that have been around for longer a year and have no ASIC mining yet. OP can mine on this today and not have to compete against ASICs.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
As others have said ASICs have made it impossible to mine Bitcoin on normal hardware at any sort of profit. However, there are many ASIC-resistant cryptocurrencies out there that may be worth looking into. The most well-known is Ethereum, but there are others with different strategies. Which would be best probably depends on your specific hardware (some are probably more CPU-friendly while others are better for GPUs)…
> ASIC-resistant cryptocurrencies No such thing. If it relies on a Proof of Work hash, it can be put into a chip, and specialist hardware for a simple function will always be more efficient (hashes per watt) than general hardware. The main barrier is not capability, but bothering to. Proof of Stake would be different, but all examples are presently experimental.