Friendly (non-technical) introduction to bitcoins:
BitCoins - a real, alternative currency with a market?
41–47 of 47 posts
Re: BitCoins - a real, alternative currency with a market?
#42Note that it is illegal in the US to use an alternate currency. The second this becomes popular, the feds will raid it and shut it down. See Liberty Dollar, e-gold, etc. Casino chips are specifically exempted from this rule, but only inside a casino.
Bitcoin's existence is insuppressible. It is a peer-to-peer network with no central authority or server that can be shut down.
The worst a government can do is declare it illegal.
Re: BitCoins - a real, alternative currency with a market?
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
Raid what? There is no central authority with bitcoins that can be shut down. They could go after exchanges I suppose, but exchanges aren't really necessary for there to be a functional economy built around bitcoins.
There's always something to raid. Someone is hosting bitcoin.org, developing the client, etc. The government hates competition.
Shutting down the bitcoin.org domain/website would be as effective as the attempts to block distribution of the DeCSS software and keys to combat DVD piracy in the late 1990s. It would be unlikely to hamper development of the Bitcoin network.
Re: BitCoins - a real, alternative currency with a market?
#44BitCoins for cash seems a bit suspect. :) Cash? No checks? No registered mail?
You can ask around in the #bitcoin-otc channel on Freenode to get an idea of who's considered reputable. I understand Bitcoin4Cash is generally well-regarded.
Re: BitCoins - a real, alternative currency with a market?
#45Where do I start selling pickaxes?
By which you mean: this bitcoin thingy is analogous to the gold rush in which the miners make no money. Is this an educated assessment or a quick bit of sarcasm? Happy either way, just trying to understand whether Bitcoins are worth paying attention to...
Gold's a pretty good analogy. We're not quite to the point where it's impossible to make money mining, but you have to plan carefully to break even.
The real usefulness, though, of bitcoins/gold isn't to make money mining, but rather as a secure medium of exchange. Bitcoins are a bullion currency that you can spend online.
Re: BitCoins - a real, alternative currency with a market?
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
Has anyone run through the power/hardware costs versus the mined amount in bitcoin and real currency yet?
Yes. I can't find the link, but I read an analysis a few weeks ago. IIRC: Six months ago you could easily build a machine to mine enough to pay for itself relatively quickly. Today it is probably still possibly but more difficult (you need to use GPUs or you can't compete) and the margins are quickly narrowing.
It takes about 3 months to pay off a $1200 - $1600 mining machine, nearly 4 if you have to pay for electricity. That all assumes the market stays in it's current state for that whole time. Highly unlikely.
Re: BitCoins - a real, alternative currency with a market?
#47Note that it is illegal in the US to use an alternate currency. The second this becomes popular, the feds will raid it and shut it down. See Liberty Dollar, e-gold, etc. Casino chips are specifically exempted from this rule, but only inside a casino.
Bitcoin's existence is insuppressible. It is a peer-to-peer network with no central authority or server that can be shut down. The worst a government can do is declare it illegal.
Thus giving it legitimacy.