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Bitcoin reaches an all-time trading high of over $33

arstechnica.com

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Re: Bitcoin reaches an all-time trading high of over $33

#21

Post by ealloc »

adambom wrote: post #2

Bitcoin is a deflationary currency since it's supply is limited. Doesn't that mean that it's expected to rise in price? This also ends up being the currency's downfall, since there's an incentive to hoard it rather than spend it.

Currently bitcoin supply is inflationary because 25 bitcoins are created every 10 minutes, and a similar amount will be generated for decades.

True, this amount is set to decrease to 0 eventually. However, with some planning conceivably this could be changed, as long as the majority of bitcoin users agree it should be changed.

Re: Bitcoin reaches an all-time trading high of over $33

#22

Post by justinmk »

TylerE wrote: post #8
thangalin wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/408/does-hoarding... "The argument that increasing value means people would prefer to hold Bitcoins rather than spend them is specious. While it will make people want to have Bitcoins more, it will also make people want to convince others to give them Bitcoins more so they can have them."

That....doesn't answer the question at all.

It is a coy answer to the question. Currency is a good, like anything else. An economic agent (human) trades currency for some other good precisely when that currency becomes less valuable to that individual than the good.

Re: Bitcoin reaches an all-time trading high of over $33

#24

Post by simonsarris »

fourstar wrote: post #23

Can someone tell me if I should invest in this right now or not or did I miss the boat and I should just move on?

I think that's a good question in general, and to answer you sincerely someone cannot tell you that. It's anyone's gamble.

Look at Apple: http://goo.gl/6hZfI

People felt like they "missed the boat" in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. Seriously.

And none of them had any concrete way of knowing that it would continuously impress year over year.

...Or that it would go from 700 to 450 in the last six months.

Re: Bitcoin reaches an all-time trading high of over $33

#25

Post by adsenseclient »

DanBlake wrote: post #12
dangrossman wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just make a free Coinbase (YC S12) account and click the buy button. Couldn't be easier. http://i.imgur.com/Yym66Gv.png

Coinbase was a giant waste of time for me. I signed up a week ago and its been a mostly crap experience. Would not recommend. Im using mtgox now and its a much more streamlined experience. . Here was my coinbase timeline- Keep in mind I verified my account, did 2 step auth, everything. About as normal a user as possible. They make buying bitcoins near impossible. 1: Create a account and link it with a US bank. I am l…

The real question is, what will happen to Tinychat after Google hangouts?

Re: Bitcoin reaches an all-time trading high of over $33

#26

Post by pixie_ »

adambom wrote: post #2

Bitcoin is a deflationary currency since it's supply is limited. Doesn't that mean that it's expected to rise in price? This also ends up being the currency's downfall, since there's an incentive to hoard it rather than spend it.

Are you saying that inflationary currency is the root cause of an economy geared towards consumption.

Re: Bitcoin reaches an all-time trading high of over $33

#28

Post by oijaf888 »

downandout wrote: post #19

The fact that Bitcoin has flourished despite numerous high profile incidents of theft and fraud, the relative difficulty associated with buying and selling them, and the rather unsavory nature of many of its most popular uses today, is a testament to its long-term viability as a currency. The Bitcoin ecosystem has a long way to go before it is considered mainstream, but I believe its long-term success is almost inevi…

Are you sure its not proof that there's a huge market for an internet based currency and despite all of bitcoin's issues it is still growing?

Re: Bitcoin reaches an all-time trading high of over $33

#29

Post by mrb »

adambom wrote: post #2

Bitcoin is a deflationary currency since it's supply is limited. Doesn't that mean that it's expected to rise in price? This also ends up being the currency's downfall, since there's an incentive to hoard it rather than spend it.

Critics keep saying that there is no incentive to spend it. But all the numbers indicate that there is increased spending: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5296889 Therefore, no, I do not think it will cause its downfall. I guess people are irrational and still spend bitcoins despite knowing about deflation.

Re: Bitcoin reaches an all-time trading high of over $33

#30

Post by glesica »

downandout wrote: post #19

The fact that Bitcoin has flourished despite numerous high profile incidents of theft and fraud, the relative difficulty associated with buying and selling them, and the rather unsavory nature of many of its most popular uses today, is a testament to its long-term viability as a currency. The Bitcoin ecosystem has a long way to go before it is considered mainstream, but I believe its long-term success is almost inevi…

It says to me that there is a large amount of speculation. As a currency, Bitcoin is basically useless except for illicit transactions (which are usually pretty inefficient anyway). Would you use dollars if the value of a dollar could change by hundreds of percentage points in a few months? No one would.
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