Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

I Spent A Coin (And I Liked It) — How I Bought Lunch in Manhattan with Bitcoins

starburst.hackerfriendly.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

131–139 of 139 posts

Re: I Spent A Coin (And I Liked It) — How I Bought Lunch in Manhattan with Bitcoins

#131

Post by vrotaru »

ars wrote: post #33
c4urself wrote: post #2

There's a lot to like about BitCoin. They "just" need to solve the following: 1. Technical issues (make it more secure) 2. Economic issues (deflation) 3. "Competitor" issues (governments, banks, the powerful status quo)

> Economic issues (deflation) This is actually a pretty serious problem. The value of bitcoins always settles such that the cost of the electricity to make them is approximately their value. But because the difficulty is adjusted such that a fixed number of bitcoins are generated per time (meaning faster or more efficient computers don't help), and that the number generated per unit time is constantly shrinking, it w…

> This is actually a pretty serious problem.

.. with the modern understanding of deflation. Price is not a problem if the money supply is constant. Just think about it, it is *more goods chasing the same amount money". There will be no way we can have this conversation without that kind of deflation in computer industry.

Now, money supply contraction IS painful, but so is hangover. If you have an institution with the ability to inflate the money supply almost at will, don't act surprised if from to time a correction can be in order.

Re: I Spent A Coin (And I Liked It) — How I Bought Lunch in Manhattan with Bitcoins

#132

Post by ignifero »

arohner wrote: post #129
sethg wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But even before the gold standard was officially abandoned, devaluation was a regular feature of gold- and silver-based currencies. I once saw an exhibit in the Israel Museum showing a sequence of ancient coins, all stamped from the same die over a period of some decades, where the gold content gradually declined from about 99% to about 1%.

Yes, because it was possible and practical for the gov't to do so. Governments have always devalued their currencies, and citizens are rarely happy about. Just because it happens doesn't mean "we" chose it.

so what's your suggestion when a country runs out of money? (practical example today: greece)?

Re: I Spent A Coin (And I Liked It) — How I Bought Lunch in Manhattan with Bitcoins

#133

Post by BrianGaffney »

pieter wrote: post #3

Sounds like there really is a need for a standardized way to integrate bitcoin addresses into DNS. For example, just adding the address as a TXT field and using DNSSEC to sign it would make the whole experience a bit nicer already.

I recently came across a different approach to to the same problem.

http://www.coinhandle.com You give it a name and your bit coin receiving address. Then you can query it for the address associated with that name.

It has some sort of API, would be much more useful if this was integrated with the official bit coin client though.

Re: I Spent A Coin (And I Liked It) — How I Bought Lunch in Manhattan with Bitcoins

#134

Post by dacoinminster »

If you want to buy some bitcoins, I recommend http://www.TradeHill.com, which has lower fees and than MtGox, and seems more professional to me. I have a code that will get you 10% off your fees there if anybody wants to buy or sell bitcoins on TradeHill.com: TH-R1168

Re: I Spent A Coin (And I Liked It) — How I Bought Lunch in Manhattan with Bitcoins

#135

Post by rprasad »

sukuriant wrote: post #123
gvsteve wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everything is legal until it is made illegal. Bartering for goods and services is not illegal, at least in the US, and Bitcoin falls under that legal realm. There is no law hindering any company's ability to accept Bitcoin as payment besides the requirement to pay taxes on the fair market value of the Bitcoins.

Just out of curiosity, are you a tax lawyer/whatever-lawyer-is-entitled-to-make-this-claim?

His statement is legally accurate.

When you engage in a trade transaction (as opposed to cash), the "income" from the transaction is the fair market value of the items/assets/property exchanged, at the time of the exchange.

The problem is that taxes aren't due until the end of the quarter (for businesses) or year (for individuals). Even if the value of the bitcoins has dropped, you owe taxes on the value when received. On the other hand, if the value has gone up, you don't owe any additional taxes until you use the appreciated bitcoins in another transaction.

Re: I Spent A Coin (And I Liked It) — How I Bought Lunch in Manhattan with Bitcoins

#136

Post by swishercutter »

ubernostrum wrote: post #50
drivebyacct2 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious. Where exactly do you see a security flaw in Bitcoin? Exchanges run by former magic the gathering admins don't count. What flaw is there is there in the security of the currency, I'm curious.

Exchanges run by former magic the gathering admins don't count. Not sure what's meant by that dig, but worth pointing out that a lot of former (and some current) Magic pros do quite well in financial work. In fact, an eerie number of them seem to graduate from Magic, to poker, to finance.

Agreed, I personally know 2 people who make their living playing poker...both are former magic players. It was explained to me like this...magic has so many different variables the odds on different hands are very complex, poker by comparison is very easy (odds wise vs. magic). I used to watch one of them play online, 3 monitors with 8 tournaments running per screen at the same time, I think he was in the top 50 worldwide for a bit there (not to mention winning a very large sum in one of the poker tours).

Both of them moved out of country when the Poker stars crackdown happened so they could keep playing.

When I mentioned I liked Blackjack they laughed and said "...odds are terrible...you might as well play the stock market..".

Re: I Spent A Coin (And I Liked It) — How I Bought Lunch in Manhattan with Bitcoins

#137

Post by swishercutter »

bdr wrote: post #122
jussij wrote: post #121

> me he wanted 0.52 Bitcoins for my lunch With the Bitcoin currently valued at about $0.02 (down from $17.00), I suspect the restaurant won't be accepting to many more Bitcoin orders.

Where are you seeing bitcoins for $0.02? They're about $16 on TradeHill and Mt. Gox.

He must be thinking of the flash crash...it recovered in minutes.

Re: I Spent A Coin (And I Liked It) — How I Bought Lunch in Manhattan with Bitcoins

#138

Post by pessimizer »

rprasad wrote: post #135
sukuriant wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just out of curiosity, are you a tax lawyer/whatever-lawyer-is-entitled-to-make-this-claim?

His statement is legally accurate. When you engage in a trade transaction (as opposed to cash), the "income" from the transaction is the fair market value of the items/assets/property exchanged, at the time of the exchange. The problem is that taxes aren't due until the end of the quarter (for businesses) or year (for individuals). Even if the value of the bitcoins has dropped, you owe taxes on the value when receive…

That sounds super complicated and like an opening for somebody to write some software.

Re: I Spent A Coin (And I Liked It) — How I Bought Lunch in Manhattan with Bitcoins

#139

Post by sukuriant »

rprasad wrote: post #135
sukuriant wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just out of curiosity, are you a tax lawyer/whatever-lawyer-is-entitled-to-make-this-claim?

His statement is legally accurate. When you engage in a trade transaction (as opposed to cash), the "income" from the transaction is the fair market value of the items/assets/property exchanged, at the time of the exchange. The problem is that taxes aren't due until the end of the quarter (for businesses) or year (for individuals). Even if the value of the bitcoins has dropped, you owe taxes on the value when receive…

Thank you for clarifying
Post reply on HN