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Bitcoin Tops $50USD on MtGox

mtgox.com

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Re: Bitcoin Tops $50USD on MtGox

#81

Post by ufo »

w-ll wrote: post #80
modeless wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think "fighting terrorism" in the form of preventing "money laundering" through Bitcoin will be more than enough justification to push a bill through Congress, and even if it is unconstitutional it won't really matter at that point, because Bitcoin will crash long before any constitutional challenge could possibly make it through the courts.

Just like alcohol use crashed with prohibition, or the drug market? Previous attempts to stop these have resulted in larger market shares of those willing to still do related business and almost always increases demand.

Illegality doesn't increase demand. It just means that the supply gets provided by shady criminals instead of legal business that follow the rules.

Re: Bitcoin Tops $50USD on MtGox

#82

Post by retrogradeorbit »

pokpokpok wrote: post #11
lwat wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are still many people holding large amounts of bitcoin (because they mined them in the early days) and just one of them selling everything would cause a pretty large downswing.

how many is a large amount? 1000?

Here is some more info on Bitcoin users' demographics:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-03-10/demographics-bitcoi...

I read somewhere (source unknown, possibly unreliable) that 75% of all BTC are hoarded (ie. not in circulation).

Re: Bitcoin Tops $50USD on MtGox

#83

Post by mattbarrie »

citricsquid wrote: post #57
frisco wrote: post #37

Don't listen to the "it's out of control" or "is very due for a crash because it's rising so quickly" stuff. It comes down to a very simple test: do you think that there are significant reasons Bitcoin would or would not gain acceptance as a mainstream currency? A few reasons I can think of why it would: * The current banking system is inherently insecure. If you have an account number and a routing number (written o…

> The current banking system is inherently insecure. If you have an account number and a routing number (written on the bottom of every check), you can pull money. Bitcoin is potentially much more secure. If the company you store your wallet with is hacked you lose everything, if your laptop is stolen or your dropbox account is hacked... it's as safe as keeping cash in your apartment. If your bank fucks up your money…

Unless you live in Cyprus, or maybe another European country.

Re: Bitcoin Tops $50USD on MtGox

#84

Post by rishimoko »

citricsquid wrote: post #57
frisco wrote: post #37

Don't listen to the "it's out of control" or "is very due for a crash because it's rising so quickly" stuff. It comes down to a very simple test: do you think that there are significant reasons Bitcoin would or would not gain acceptance as a mainstream currency? A few reasons I can think of why it would: * The current banking system is inherently insecure. If you have an account number and a routing number (written o…

> The current banking system is inherently insecure. If you have an account number and a routing number (written on the bottom of every check), you can pull money. Bitcoin is potentially much more secure. If the company you store your wallet with is hacked you lose everything, if your laptop is stolen or your dropbox account is hacked... it's as safe as keeping cash in your apartment. If your bank fucks up your money…

> If the company you store your wallet with is hacked you lose everything, if your laptop is stolen or your dropbox account is hacked... it's as safe as keeping cash in your apartment. If your bank fucks up your money is (almost always) insured.

What unthinking person leaves his bitcoins with a third party or on a computer? Would you leave your RL wallet with a stranger? Would you leave something easily stolen in public?

Store bitcoins in a paper wallet until you need to use them. They'll never get lost or stolen unless one is just as careless with the paper as they might be with their live keys.

Re: Bitcoin Tops $50USD on MtGox

#85

Post by josephagoss »

EvanKelly wrote: post #70
josephagoss wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the "max block size" issue is one of the biggest ones at the moment. Oh and the censorship of S.Dice sets a terrible precedent too.

I read a few pages of the forum posts about SD's transaction "spam". Could you clarify the notion in the thread that SD is generating more money for themselves by using these micro-transactions rather than internalized accounting?

The spam is the 1 Satoshi (0.00000001 Bitcoin) sent to players to confirm a loss, whereas a win they send a healthy amount back (The winnings)

At the moment Bitcoin cannot handle lots of transactions made with its smallest unit. This is being called spamming the block chain.

Re: Bitcoin Tops $50USD on MtGox

#86

Post by xur17 »

khuey wrote: post #78
mrb wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"If the company you store your wallet with is hacked you lose everything" Which is why it is not recommended to store Bitcoin wallets with third parties. Store it and secure it yourself. "if your laptop is stolen or your dropbox account is hacked... it's as safe as keeping cash in your apartment." Which is why it is recommended to encrypt your wallet, so that if your laptop is stolen, the attacker has no access to it…

BTC may solve buyer-side fraud, but it creates a giant seller-side fraud problem.

I basically see advantages for the seller (lower fees, fraud protection), but none for the buyer (seller-side fraud potential, no cash-back).

Therefore, why would I, a buyer use this vs a credit card?

Re: Bitcoin Tops $50USD on MtGox

#87

Post by eof »

stcredzero wrote: post #51
shredfvz wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Facebook's market cap is $63,000,000,000. If the market cap of Bitcoin were just 10% of Facebook, each Bitcoin would be worth about $500. 1% and it's about $50. Can a global financial system conceivably give the world just 10% of the value of Facebook? Because just ten percent ... and one BTC is $500. Oh, but clearly society demands Farmville, you say? Clearly we don't need a new financial system ... more than we nee…

> Bitcoin is valuable because the world desperately needs to escape the current financial system. Individual sovereignty and financial privacy are the most scarce resources on the planet, bar none. Someone needs a way to sell firearms, ammo, and canned goods for BTC. That sounds funny, but I'm dead serious. Local laws against shipping arms can often be worked around.

The armory used to exist; basically silk road for guns. I am not aware of any other tor hidden services offering a market, but it is doubtless that these transactions are actually taking place (maybe not for canned goods).

Re: Bitcoin Tops $50USD on MtGox

#88

Post by oleganza »

xur17 wrote: post #86
khuey wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

BTC may solve buyer-side fraud, but it creates a giant seller-side fraud problem.

I basically see advantages for the seller (lower fees, fraud protection), but none for the buyer (seller-side fraud potential, no cash-back). Therefore, why would I, a buyer use this vs a credit card?

Since transactions are irreversible, buyers need to fill less forms and have lower prices. Coindl.com sells you stuff with no registration/forms/emails - it shows a QR code and gives you a download button within two seconds after you sent a transaction. And buyer does not need to trust his CC details to new merchants. He only risks the amount to be paid, not the whole bank account.

Re: Bitcoin Tops $50USD on MtGox

#89

Post by neilkumar »

oleganza wrote: post #88
xur17 wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I basically see advantages for the seller (lower fees, fraud protection), but none for the buyer (seller-side fraud potential, no cash-back). Therefore, why would I, a buyer use this vs a credit card?

Since transactions are irreversible, buyers need to fill less forms and have lower prices. Coindl.com sells you stuff with no registration/forms/emails - it shows a QR code and gives you a download button within two seconds after you sent a transaction. And buyer does not need to trust his CC details to new merchants. He only risks the amount to be paid, not the whole bank account.

But a compromised credit card doesn't mean you risk your whole bank account. First, at least in the US, there are limits to what you are liable if you are card is compromised -- report within 48 hours, the limit is $50, report within 60 days, the limit is $500. Second, credit cards have a credit limit -- so, worst case scenario, you'd be out to whatever your limit is (which is unlikely to happen as any weird use of your card would probably trigger it for a security review, which wouldn't allow any transactions until someone talks to you). Finally, credit cards (unlike debit cards), are not linked to your bank account.

Re: Bitcoin Tops $50USD on MtGox

#90

Post by EvanKelly »

josephagoss wrote: post #85
EvanKelly wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read a few pages of the forum posts about SD's transaction "spam". Could you clarify the notion in the thread that SD is generating more money for themselves by using these micro-transactions rather than internalized accounting?

The spam is the 1 Satoshi (0.00000001 Bitcoin) sent to players to confirm a loss, whereas a win they send a healthy amount back (The winnings) At the moment Bitcoin cannot handle lots of transactions made with its smallest unit. This is being called spamming the block chain.

I gathered most of that. My confusion was that people on the bitcoin forum were implying that performing loads of 1 Satoshi transactions was financially beneficial for SD somehow, as well as to miners.
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