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Bitcoins reached $300

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Bitcoins reached $300

#21

Post by jpswade »

mtgx wrote: post #5

Bitcoins should lose 3 zeros, like many countries do to their currencies. So 1 new Bitcoin = 0.001 old Bitcoins = $0.3 I think I'd like that more than just starting naming them something else all of the sudden, and call them Satoshis or whatever, and then when the Bitcoin reaches $10,000 we'll probably have to use new names yet again. Cutting the zeros could be a little confusing at first, but I think less confusing…

There's a theory that it could just keep going for a while yet.

We're talking $10,000 to 1BTC. So what then? Lose another set of zeros?

Re: Bitcoins reached $300

#23

Post by svantana »

mtgx wrote: post #5

Bitcoins should lose 3 zeros, like many countries do to their currencies. So 1 new Bitcoin = 0.001 old Bitcoins = $0.3 I think I'd like that more than just starting naming them something else all of the sudden, and call them Satoshis or whatever, and then when the Bitcoin reaches $10,000 we'll probably have to use new names yet again. Cutting the zeros could be a little confusing at first, but I think less confusing…

>Bitcoins should lose 3 zeros, like many countries do to their currencies.

I've never heard of that, although the opposite has been done plenty of times. But that's rarely a sign of a healthy economy, most of the time it's done out of desperation I would think.

Re: Bitcoins reached $300

#24

Post by netcan »

user24 wrote: post #12
mtgx wrote: post #5

Bitcoins should lose 3 zeros, like many countries do to their currencies. So 1 new Bitcoin = 0.001 old Bitcoins = $0.3 I think I'd like that more than just starting naming them something else all of the sudden, and call them Satoshis or whatever, and then when the Bitcoin reaches $10,000 we'll probably have to use new names yet again. Cutting the zeros could be a little confusing at first, but I think less confusing…

people have suggested mBTC or "millibits". I think it's not something that can be mandated. A new terminology will naturally arise if the need is genuine.

I don't think it'll be needed until/unless bitcoin stablises enough that people start quoting prices in bitcoin.

Right now, advertising a computer at 3 bitcoins is not practical. The value of those bitcoins change to fast.

Re: Bitcoins reached $300

#25

Post by wildgift »

pera wrote: post #18
shubhamjain wrote: post #4

When Silkroad went down I expected bitcoin to take quite a slump but what has happened is contrary. I am not implying that anonymous transaction s for illegal use are the only thing bitcoins are good for but its my guess that it forms a major part of the group that actually use bitcoins for buying stuff. I am not sure why would anyone would get troubled in buying bitcoins for purchasing rather than punching a CC numb…

SilkRoad was important, but most important was its community (dkn255hz262ypmii.onion) that it's still online. You see, the most important things for the anonymous market are the WoT and the PGP pubkeys, and that's not illegal (at least until now). Additionally Black Market Reloaded was already very popular when SR was seized. I believe that what is pushing Bitcoins value is that many people call it "the credit card o…

I thought this too, but then, due to my lame password management, my mtgox account got owned and they took out around $250. Oh well. Easy come easy go. But what I learned is that bitcoins really are like cash. You lose it, and you won't get it back.

That's what's different with Visa - there's an element of insurance with a credit card, and that is greater than what you get with a bank's checking account.

The insurance of being able to cancel a check is what you get with a regular checking account, and that's greater safety than what you get with bitcoin.

Of course, there's a price to this insurance, and it's the fees, which are much higher than what you pay for bitcoin transactions.

Re: Bitcoins reached $300

#26

Post by VMG »

shubhamjain wrote: post #4

When Silkroad went down I expected bitcoin to take quite a slump but what has happened is contrary. I am not implying that anonymous transaction s for illegal use are the only thing bitcoins are good for but its my guess that it forms a major part of the group that actually use bitcoins for buying stuff. I am not sure why would anyone would get troubled in buying bitcoins for purchasing rather than punching a CC numb…

Bitcoin is antifragile

Re: Bitcoins reached $300

#27

Post by letney »

mtgx wrote: post #5

Bitcoins should lose 3 zeros, like many countries do to their currencies. So 1 new Bitcoin = 0.001 old Bitcoins = $0.3 I think I'd like that more than just starting naming them something else all of the sudden, and call them Satoshis or whatever, and then when the Bitcoin reaches $10,000 we'll probably have to use new names yet again. Cutting the zeros could be a little confusing at first, but I think less confusing…

A "Satoshi" already has the common usage/definition of 0.00000001 BTC -- the current smallest denomination.

[1]https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/FAQ#What_do_I_call_the_various_de...

Re: Bitcoins reached $300

#28

Post by jafaku »

shubhamjain wrote: post #4

When Silkroad went down I expected bitcoin to take quite a slump but what has happened is contrary. I am not implying that anonymous transaction s for illegal use are the only thing bitcoins are good for but its my guess that it forms a major part of the group that actually use bitcoins for buying stuff. I am not sure why would anyone would get troubled in buying bitcoins for purchasing rather than punching a CC numb…

Most of the people of the world can't really have a bank account, let alone be eligible for a credit (card). With Bitcoin you only need internet access.

Most of the people of the world can't really save either. Cash loses value over time, gold is hard to validate and keep safe, and is even banned in lots of places. Bitcoin to the rescue! Now everyone can start saving, and even be rewarded for that.

I could go on all day long, the benefits are endless. Just live in a shitty country for some time and you'll figure it out pretty fast.

Re: Bitcoins reached $300

#29

Post by dwaltrip »

Damn. Sometimes I can't believe it. I have been following bitcoin quite closely for over 18 months now. The ecosystem is growing in ways only a few bold people have predicted. Fundamentally, it is about belief and trust. The protocol has largely proven itself. People are starting to believe in bitcoin. This is why the price is going up.

For those who say "It isn't being used as a currency!" here is my response:

Bitcoin excels as a secure protocol for tracking account balances in a decentralized, seemingly untamperable fashion, as well as transferring value very quickly to anywhere in the world at the sole, uncensorable discretion of the owner. It is both a payment protocol and a distributed ledger. A lot of people want these unique feautures, even if they can't buy groceries with it yet. Those types of merchants will always be the last to adopt.

Bitcoin also has the pontential to be used in diverse ways as "progammable money". It has a built-in API, and features like timelock, mutli-entity transaction signing (built-in escrow), and others that I don't fully understand. An AI bot could utilize bitcoin (might have trouble with a bank account!).

Also, see gold and its $8 trillion of largely made-up valuation (not stemming from industrial/ornamental demand). You don't see gold owners buying things with a few shavings ;) Bitcoin is far superior to gold in almost every way (it isn't quite as shiny tho). If society can make up several trillion dollars of monetary valuation for gold, then I definitely can picture bitcoin snagging a pretty decent slice (right now it is only 1/3,000 the size gold).

People recognize this potential, and thus choose to invest. The first mover advantange is massive. Network effects are very important - it will take quite the innovation to unseat bitcoin, and it has to be something that can't be simply copied/integrated into the existing protocol. The whole thing is sort of a self-fullfilling positive feedback loop. I'm a cautiously strong proponent, and find it absolutely fascinating to watch. These kind of events don't unfold that often.

TL;DR - magic internet money!

Sorry for the multiple edits. I wrote this on my phone.

Re: Bitcoins reached $300

#30

Post by zorked »

svantana wrote: post #23
mtgx wrote: post #5

Bitcoins should lose 3 zeros, like many countries do to their currencies. So 1 new Bitcoin = 0.001 old Bitcoins = $0.3 I think I'd like that more than just starting naming them something else all of the sudden, and call them Satoshis or whatever, and then when the Bitcoin reaches $10,000 we'll probably have to use new names yet again. Cutting the zeros could be a little confusing at first, but I think less confusing…

>Bitcoins should lose 3 zeros, like many countries do to their currencies. I've never heard of that, although the opposite has been done plenty of times. But that's rarely a sign of a healthy economy, most of the time it's done out of desperation I would think.

I live in a country that used to need that. The real reason for doing that is simply not having to write so many useless zeroes. The people who were calling for cutting zeroes were mostly banks having issues dealing with whatever hard-coded limit was on their systems. There was no expectation that cutting zeroes would actually improve anything at all.

Though the situation was exactly the opposite of Bitcoin. Money was losing value so the numbers were getting too big. Bitcoin is becoming too valuable so the numbers are getting too small.

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