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Shopify accepts Bitcoin

ecommerce.shopify.com

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Re: Shopify accepts Bitcoin

#61

Post by Toucan »

d4vlx wrote: post #57
oleganza wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One way to start selling a bit of your stash is to actually spend some part of it. No hassle with exchanges, no fees and no tax implications. Historically, people were more willing to "cash out" by spending coins during boom periods: https://blockchain.info/charts/n-transactions-excluding-popu...

> One way to start selling a bit is to actually spend them. That is what I was getting at, in order for Bitcoin to have a reason to exist people must spend them on goods and services. Bitcoin most likely would not exist for long if it became purely a store of wealth. Not that that will happens but many people are treating that way. > no tax implications Wouldn't that be tax evasion?

UK point of view: No, it's tax avoidance. Tax will still be paid in the form of VAT/Sales Tax and Corporation Tax.

You avoid paying Capital Gains tax.

Re: Shopify accepts Bitcoin

#62

Post by panarky »

wcummings wrote: post #58

It's obvious to me that many of the Bitcoin critics in this thread have never actually used it. I prefer Bitcoin for online purchases, if a vendor accepts it, I'll use it. Purchases aren't tracked, or being sucked up by some SIGINT program, no fees (even in exchanging, if you do it right) and I don't have to give my CC # to the vendor.

I've also had good experiences using Bitcoin for online transactions. Fast, cross-border, nearly free. But I assume the transactions are getting analyzed by any number of government and corporate entities.

There's a lot to be learned from the public blockchain, especially if any transaction in the chain can be linked to your identity (such as sending/receiving with exchanges or online wallets).

I assume that authorities have access to your identity at exchanges and online wallets, can link your identity to addresses used for deposits and withdrawals, to IP addresses you use, and from there to historical and future transactions.

Re: Shopify accepts Bitcoin

#63

Post by wuschel »

atmosx wrote: post #23

BitCoin can be better viewed as gold . If you would use gold to buy something then you will use BTC (illegal markets apart of course). But peercoin could stand a chance to become a sort of online trading currency because of it's inflationary[1] policy. Something BitCoin should also have in order to become a widely accepted currency instead of a hoarding mechanism that gives the early adopters huge advantage over anyo…

I am sorry - this is something I do not understand. Where is the problem in deflation? You can always pay in fractions of a bitcoins, e.g. nanobitcoins, picobitcoins, etc.

There is not really an agreement in the ivory towers that a limited amount of currency is a bad thing per se.

Could someone explain this to me?

Re: Shopify accepts Bitcoin

#64

Post by oleganza »

d4vlx wrote: post #57
oleganza wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One way to start selling a bit of your stash is to actually spend some part of it. No hassle with exchanges, no fees and no tax implications. Historically, people were more willing to "cash out" by spending coins during boom periods: https://blockchain.info/charts/n-transactions-excluding-popu...

> One way to start selling a bit is to actually spend them. That is what I was getting at, in order for Bitcoin to have a reason to exist people must spend them on goods and services. Bitcoin most likely would not exist for long if it became purely a store of wealth. Not that that will happens but many people are treating that way. > no tax implications Wouldn't that be tax evasion?

If bitcoin becomes a universal "store of wealth" it automatically becomes the only currency: most marketable, most liquid, cheapest to transport and store currency. See my big comment on how this happens elsewhere in the comments in this post.

Gold is not currency because it's too damn expensive to store and move.

Capital gains tax evasion - maybe, I'm not a lawyer and I'm not advocating it. But it's clearly a motivation for some people to spend bitcoins directly without going through an exchange.

Re: Shopify accepts Bitcoin

#65

Post by panarky »

d4vlx wrote: post #53
knodi wrote: post #52

Bitcoins are better not spent these days as they seem to increase in value almost 10%-20% daily.

To me that means that it's time to start selling. There is no fundamental reason why Bitcoin is rising so fast, it seems like speculation to me. I'm not one of the Bitcoin haters either, I've been heavily involved the last 6 months, I just don't see any major reason for this spike other than the usual speculative arguments. If Bitcoin shouldn't be spent then what use are they?

Yes, it's speculative.

Yes, there's no intrinsic value.

Yes, the exchange rate could fall by 90%, or expand by 10,000%.

It's also true that Bitcoin has survived and thrived far longer than experts predicted. Acceptance is increasing rapidly, and globally.

Pretty cool how all of these things can be true at the same time.

Re: Shopify accepts Bitcoin

#66

Post by snitko »

atmosx wrote: post #48
snitko wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is up to you to decide whether you are convinced or not. If you have any logical counter-arguments, then great, I would be willing to listen to them, discuss them and change my mind about deflation. However, simply saying "it doesn't work this way" and "it's more complicated than that" is not a way to argue and seek truth.

My argument is about currencies not inflation or deflation. The primary service provided by a currency is facilitating the exchange of goods. Being inflationary is imperative for the population to use it. It is true that currencies are forced upon population by governments (or any form of governance) and it's true that anyone would rather be holding an asset that will not lose value over time compared to one that wil…

>Inflation is an indirect motive to spend money today and not hoard.

Why is spending good? If I spend money on the things I don't really need because I'm afraid I'm gonna lose otherwise, why do you think it's good for the economy? Some spending is good, some spending is bad. If everyone spends money on cars while they don't really need that many cars, why is it good? Inflation might create some jobs, but those jobs wouldn't be secure for long, because workers would be producing things people really don't want. I don't understand how scaring people into spending is a good idea.

>Bitcoin in my view, will never be a largely used currency because it does not have this imperative characteristic any currency should have. So people would rather spend dollars

Since you argue that people would rather spend dollars, here's a thought experiment. Let's say Bitcoin is accepted in most places. Say you store your wealth in Bitcoin. Now you want to buy something. Why would you want to exchange it into USD, pay commission to the exchange and then make a purchase instead of paying it in Bitcoin in the first place?

Re: Shopify accepts Bitcoin

#67

Post by rmc »

d4vlx wrote: post #53
knodi wrote: post #52

Bitcoins are better not spent these days as they seem to increase in value almost 10%-20% daily.

To me that means that it's time to start selling. There is no fundamental reason why Bitcoin is rising so fast, it seems like speculation to me. I'm not one of the Bitcoin haters either, I've been heavily involved the last 6 months, I just don't see any major reason for this spike other than the usual speculative arguments. If Bitcoin shouldn't be spent then what use are they?

> There is no fundamental reason why Bitcoin is rising so fast

Sure there is. The goal of BitCoin is to be as popular as USD and EUR. There are maximum of 21,000,000 bitcoin. Imagine owning 1/21,000,000th of all the USD!

Re: Shopify accepts Bitcoin

#68

Post by JohnTHaller »

wcummings wrote: post #58

It's obvious to me that many of the Bitcoin critics in this thread have never actually used it. I prefer Bitcoin for online purchases, if a vendor accepts it, I'll use it. Purchases aren't tracked, or being sucked up by some SIGINT program, no fees (even in exchanging, if you do it right) and I don't have to give my CC # to the vendor.

Well, except for the fact that all bitcoin purchases are very publicly tracked for everyone to view.

Re: Shopify accepts Bitcoin

#69

Post by wcummings »

panarky wrote: post #62
wcummings wrote: post #58

It's obvious to me that many of the Bitcoin critics in this thread have never actually used it. I prefer Bitcoin for online purchases, if a vendor accepts it, I'll use it. Purchases aren't tracked, or being sucked up by some SIGINT program, no fees (even in exchanging, if you do it right) and I don't have to give my CC # to the vendor.

I've also had good experiences using Bitcoin for online transactions. Fast, cross-border, nearly free. But I assume the transactions are getting analyzed by any number of government and corporate entities. There's a lot to be learned from the public blockchain, especially if any transaction in the chain can be linked to your identity (such as sending/receiving with exchanges or online wallets). I assume that authorit…

Pseudo-anonymity is still loads better than a CC transaction from my point of view, but your point is taken.

Of course, you can always buy Bitcoin with cash (:

Re: Shopify accepts Bitcoin

#70

Post by petercooper »

rmc wrote: post #67
d4vlx wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To me that means that it's time to start selling. There is no fundamental reason why Bitcoin is rising so fast, it seems like speculation to me. I'm not one of the Bitcoin haters either, I've been heavily involved the last 6 months, I just don't see any major reason for this spike other than the usual speculative arguments. If Bitcoin shouldn't be spent then what use are they?

> There is no fundamental reason why Bitcoin is rising so fast Sure there is. The goal of BitCoin is to be as popular as USD and EUR. There are maximum of 21,000,000 bitcoin. Imagine owning 1/21,000,000th of all the USD!

Imagine owning 1/21,000,000th of all the USD!

Based on M0, you'd have about $148,090.

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