Guest Ret.Maj.Xander=US= Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 I don't know how many of you have heard of it. I think its brilliant and could be used a lot in the future. I started "mining" tonight. http://www.weusecoins.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RET.CW4.ThievingSix=US= Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 Yeah i got into that and out of that in a day :D. I think any good nerd has heard about it but in my opinion its doomed to fail. Earning any coin requires you to "mine" and earning coin is pure luck, but you can increase your chances and get a guaranteed payment with a "pool" kind of like investing in shares. Once the market peaks, there is going to be limited coin available and its going to be nearly impossible to mine coin. Traders with coin that go "inactive" or hoard large amounts of coin will cause gaps in the market place, increasing the value of coin in the market place. They can then sell this "hoarded" coin for larger returns. Which is a pretty big flaw. Bitcoin also has little to no protection or encryption of the e-wallet meaning anyone can steal the text file stored on your computer along with your $$. In essence the likely hood of deflation and uncertainty in the marketplace is going to cause problems with people holding onto their funds and not trading. Another problem is that is that there is a disparity of funds between individual users and the poor will get poorer and the rich richer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RET.SSgt.Haterade=US= Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 I recently heard about BitCoins on either Slate or Salon. Apparently they're big with the libertarians who are anti-Fed, online poker players, people with "privacy concerns," and criminals. That being said, there is no way I'm putting my money in a completely uninsured, unregulated market--especially when there is no guarantee that anyone will accept it as valid currency. Dollars work because they are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States and everyone in America is legally required to accept them as a form of payment. Banks in the US work because your deposits up to $250,000. What happens if BitCoin disappears tomorrow? You lose all your money. What happens if no one decides to accept it as valid currency? They're worthless. What happens if there is a concerted effort to game the system? They're worthless. What happens if the software and/or system isn't as secure as believed? Everyone pulls out of the system and they're worthless; or you just get straight-up jacked for your stuff. Decentralized currency is a bad idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ret.Maj.Xander=US= Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 In all honesty I have more faith in an open source currency than our own American dollar. The FED is a joke and inflation is devastating the economy. Bitcoins can't be inflated due to how it is written and you can trade a trillionth of a bitcoin (or even less) if you wanted. Think of it a digital cash, like Thieving said someone could easily hop onto my computer and nab the wallet file and its gone, just like if someone took my wallet in real life. But there are sites like MyBitcoin.com where you can store your coins online (what I do). Here is an easy example: Say Thieving has an old mouse I would pay him for. Paypal could work but the exchange rate plus transaction fee would make it a little over the top. But I could easily send him something like .5 of a bitcoin. The transaction is instant and he will have it in his wallet in minutes. No having to deal with international issues or processing fees. Having digital cash is scary for governments and there is talk of banning them. But even if that happened all they could do is prevent US vendors from accepting them. You could still trade with people internationally. Weather or not the bitcoin protocol stays around is up to how its accepted. But I can promise you that eventually all currency will be traded in this way. US currency has been going down the tubes rapidly. If I could have the option to get paid in Euros or GBP I would in a second. I have little faith in the American dollar in the next 25 years if the FED isn't abolished or audited. Bitcoins provide me an alternative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RET.CW4.ThievingSix=US= Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 I recently heard about BitCoins on either Slate or Salon. Apparently they're big with the libertarians who are anti-Fed, online poker players, people with "privacy concerns," and criminals. That being said, there is no way I'm putting my money in a completely uninsured, unregulated market--especially when there is no guarantee that anyone will accept it as valid currency. Dollars work because they are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States and everyone in America is legally required to accept them as a form of payment. Banks in the US work because your deposits up to $250,000. Theres quite a bit of misplaced information here, First you stated that their big with "criminals" and people who want to do the wrong thing, however thats completely untrue since majority of users are actually "nerds" not drug lords, who believe in a decentralized economy that does not rely on one single entity to control its value. You never actually put any physical money in to the market to get bitcoins, its not like trading for in-game currency. You get money by mining and trading with others, yes you can purchase bitcoin but that's completely your choice and its not the only way to get bitcoins nor is it the most popular. 90% of the worlds money is actually stored online, banks take your money and store it in their databases, they then invest that money out and they get returns and you get even smaller returns. If you asked the bank for $200,000 tommorow from your bank account they would say no give us a week to get that money. In essence its not actually your money if you put it in a bank, but with bitcoins you are in full control of your money. Will it be accepted as a form of currency, i can say no. Is it a good start, YES!. One day i can guarantee all money will be online and we will use cards only. Having a decentralized economy not only means that the market is immune to crashes but also inflation is capped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ret.Maj.Xander=US= Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 ^ +1 Will bitcoins catch on? It all depends on who adopts it/bans it. If bitcoin goes down another will spring up to take its place. The idea is already out there and SOMEONE will make it work. Sad thing is if I got into mining back when i first heard about this in Oct I could have 1000s of bitcoins or (at the current exchange of about 1BTC -> $6.97) probably somewhere between $65,000 or $100,000. But now due to how the Bitcoin protocol is written it is much more difficult to mine coins (this is one of its protections against inflation). That's why I decided to join a Mining Pool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RET.SSgt.Haterade=US= Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Having digital cash is scary for governments and there is talk of banning them. But even if that happened all they could do is prevent US vendors from accepting them. You could still trade with people internationally. They can shut down the websites which facilitate the system for their complicity in money laundering, wire fraud, and mail fraud. Congress could also outlaw the use of bitcoins as encroaching on Congress' sole authority to coin money and regulate its value. If you ban bitcoins in the United States and make illegal the exchanges which allow you to convert bitcoins into real money, you shut down the whole operation. First you stated that their big with "criminals" and people who want to do the wrong thing, however thats completely untrue since majority of users are actually "nerds" not drug lords, who believe in a decentralized economy that does not rely on one single entity to control its value. No one can say what the majority of the users of Bitcoin are given that it is designed to be anonymous. Even if you were to take a poll of bitcoin users and/or use anecdotal evidence to prove your point, the number of people who use bitcoin for criminal purposes would be severely underreported. After all, criminals don't generally like outing themselves. Further, it being big with a particular segement of people (i.e. they were among the early adopters) is different from my saying the majority of users are criminals. You never actually put any physical money in to the market to get bitcoins, its not like trading for in-game currency. https://mtgox.com/ You get money by mining and trading with others, yes you can purchase bitcoin but that's completely your choice and its not the only way to get bitcoins nor is it the most popular. Whether the most popular way to get bitcoins or not, there are still completely unregulated currency exchange markets. 90% of the worlds money is actually stored online, banks take your money and store it in their databases, they then invest that money out and they get returns and you get even smaller returns. If you asked the bank for $200,000 tommorow from your bank account they would say no give us a week to get that money. In essence its not actually your money if you put it in a bank, but with bitcoins you are in full control of your money. Banks in the United States by in large have to keep 10% of their deposits on hand as cash reserves. If there is a run on the banks, will the bank have enough money on hand to pay out all depositors? No, but all your deposits in an invidiual account (up to $225,000) is insured by the government in the case of a bank failure. If you put your money in bitcoins, your money is a lot less liquid (you either have to find people who accept bitcoins to use them, or you have to hope that the currency exchanges are still operational). Furthermore, there is no one insuring that your money is actually worth anything with bitcoins. Having a decentralized economy not only means that the market is immune to crashes but also inflation is capped. This is laughable. Decentralized economies do not have crashes? Before the Fed the United States economy crashed every 7 years or so. Thialand had a largely decentralized economy that crashed in the 1980s and 1990s. And inflation is capped only as long as new bitcoins aren't introduced or there isn't a concerted effort to manipulate the system to raise prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ret.Maj.Xander=US= Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Well I started mining just before I started this thread. I joined a mining pool in which I get a steady return for my work instead of hoping to find a block I just contribute to the hive and get a constant fee back. I wrote a small batch file that I open when I go afk from my computer. It does everything for me. My current online wallet account is showing this right now Account Balance is: 1.29 BTC (11.35 USD @ 8.798 ) That isn't including about .20 BTC still sitting in my mining pool wallet. The exchange rate is starting to skyrocket (it was 6.75 when I started). So basically by being afk and just using my beastly video card I have made $11.40. May not seem like a lot but over the span of a few months I'll have a decent amount. As for spending it I am confident the Bitcoin market will continue to grow (as it has been since October). Also I could buy anything on amazon http://astore.amazon.com/spendbitcoins-20/about Go here for more information on the current exchange rate of bitcoins https://mtgox.com/trade/history Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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