[mikediaz]

Has anyone here gotten into or heard of Bitcoin? It's been in the news lately due to its possibility as a mainstream currency and perhaps investment...
I bought a little and it's value doubled from early mid nov.. Was curious if anyone here had researched it.

Maybe PY could be the first/only classic parts house to accept bitcoin?

[KS circutguy]

http://www.good.is/posts/why-bitcoin-is-a-scam
Interesting.

[PonchoV8]

Yea, Steve's back.
Some of us skeptics believe Bitcoin is the trial balloon for ushering in the cashless society. Something with a digital footprint that can't be hidden in your pocket like a Jackson slipped to the grass cutter...which doesn't get taxed. Or like the tip you leave on the table that the waitress doesn't declare in taxes.

[salem1912]

I'll pass on Bitcoin http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphi...rth-9-million/

[andrewb70]

The nice thing about bitcoin is that it can't be inflated, like the dollar or any other fiat currency. The other nice thing about it is that it allows for completely anonymous transactions.

Andrew

[mikediaz]

Thx for the replies guys. Yes I agree it's future is shaky. And I'm intrigued by the notion that it's a test run for future govt digital currency.

Perhaps the best part about it is that it has made a lot of people say 'its not backed by anything' which has led to conversations about what the US dollar is backed by which has led to a lot of people learning about the montary system we have today (I'm not publicly taking a stance here on whether it's good or bad- just that anything encouraging learning is good).

I bought some bitcoin and it has appreciated nicely so I'll probably ride it out for a while. If I lose it it's ok but if not maybe I'll make some cash along the way.

Interesting the comment on the first site about it being about "as long as another sucker comes in after". I think the funding plan for some of the government programs works that way too. Again not blaming any specific politicians or groups - its been happening for decades through many of them - but things like Medicare and social sec. Only work if at this point if there's a big enough next generation to fund it (no funds in the existing Medicare and SS 'fund').

[JLHarper]

Govnt has nothing to do with it other than trying to figure out how to regulate it, so they say.

Ultra underground site called Silk Road where large volume drug dealers (think kilos), hit men, arsonists, counterfeit activities,, anything illegal would post items or services for sale/hire using Bitcoin.

Had 900,000 members.

Owner had a network he paid incredible sums of $ to many server companies who bounced around the world.

Interesting story;

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/11/silk-road/

US Govnt now has his $28 mil in Bitcoins (worth more like $33 mil now);

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/1...99P01120131026


Read today where ex owner of the Aladin Casino in Vegas is trying to sell his spread of a home for $7.8 mil using Bitcoin. One article said it may be hard to do as value can go up and down by 30% in a day in the time closing / escrow can happen.

http://www.businessinsider.com/las-v...-house-2013-12

Said a San Fran Lambo dealer recently sold car to another man for $91,xxx Bitcoins.

[mikediaz]

JLHarper- all very interesting things you're mentioning. I've heard of most of those but I mus correct you on this one:

Originally Posted by JLHarper

Owner had a network he paid incredible sums of $ to many server companies who bounced around the world.

Are you talking about the Tor network that annonymizes you? If so I know the site was only accessible through Tor but that isn't anything he paid for.

Maybe he paid money somewhere else so that it was hard to trace him as the guy behind it.. not sure. But Tor is free to use for anyone.


But beyond that -- all your other info makes it a perhaps risky bet but not without a high chance of coming out ahead.

The Bitcoin price is nosediving as of yesterday -- if anyone is interested in buying it might be a good time (unless you believe it will keep nose diving of course). I picked up a few more myself but that'll probably be it for me.

[lfdsteve]

Ok is "purchasing bitcoin" referring to stock in the company or is it an actual item ( albeit digital)? How does one purchase?
Steve

[mikediaz]

Originally Posted by lfdsteve

Ok is "purchasing bitcoin" referring to stock in the company or is it an actual item ( albeit digital)? How does one purchase?
Steve

Bitcoin is not a company and isn't centralized. Note that there are organizations supporting bitcoin use (i.e. the Bitcoin Foundation) but they didn't create it.

So when people talk about "buying Bitcoin" they mean they exchanged dollars for units of bitcoins (think like exchanging dollars for canadian dollars or japanese yen).

To exchange dollars into bitcoin you need to either go on an "exchange" site (think something like E*Trade or Scottrade but instead of choosing from stocks to buy you can only buy one thing - Bitcoin). In the US, the only established one is Coinbase (coinbase.com). It's based out of San Francisco and is legit. --- OR you can buy from people directly (i.e. find someone who has some Bitcoin already and say 'hey i'll pay you XXX dollars for YYY bitcoin ok?' and they accept, you give them some payment and they give you the bitcoin (all electronically). Web sites exist to connect buyers in sellers in this regard.




Bitcoin is a currency (legally the US goverment hasn't classified it as such though) that happens to be virtual. There's a nify quick intro video I found: http://www.weusecoins.com/en/ that tries to explain how it works.

The bottom line is that it's all based on an algorithm / protocol so its rules are set pretty hard in stone and perhaps more importantly it's secure in the sense that a sort of public ledger file records every bitcoin transaction ever (in an anonymous way) for the sake of protecting against things like double spending a single bitcoin (kinda like you'd expect your bank to make sure someone doesn't write you a check with no funds behind it, but this does it in a decentralized way so it can't be hacked all while keeping it anonymous).

So far - the people who have gotten into it are the geek/nerd types who like it from a math/computer standpoint, drug/illicit people who like it from the anonymity standpoint, and libertarian types who like it from the standpoint that they're upset about the monetary policies going on here and around the world (I.e. Fed. printing billions and billions of new dolalrs).
As of late with all the media attention due to price rises, Wall Street has started to get interested along with more 'regular' people looking to make some cash on it.

Not sure if it will tank to oblivion, serve as a demo of future currencies (and then crash to oblivion), or last as an alternate currency.

--- ONE LAST way to get in on bitcoin that's still upcoming are investment companies that buy bitcoin and you can buy shares of that company's fund (like a mutual fund that invests in oil and you buy that fund - but not the oil directly). This is what the Winkelvoss twins are doing (those douchy-looking guys that claimed they actually came up with Facebook if you ever saw that movie the Social Network).

[JLHarper]

[QUOTE=mikediaz;5087665]JLHarper- all very interesting things you're mentioning. I've heard of most of those but I mus correct you on this one:


Are you talking about the Tor network that annonymizes you? If so I know the site was only accessible through Tor but that isn't anything he paid for.

Not Tor, that's a network software. He was hosting his site on servers, like this one but his bounced around..... two in Iceland, Russia and another country, cant recall which.

This was an interesting story when it came out wasn't it?

He11s Angles and for hire "hits"

Could the "Gov" who has the 33 mil in BC from Ulbri[cht arrest crash the BC system if they "destroyed" (removed) their 33 million?

[mikediaz]

[QUOTE=JLHarper;5087905]

Originally Posted by mikediaz

JLHarper- all very interesting things you're mentioning. I've heard of most of those but I mus correct you on this one:


Are you talking about the Tor network that annonymizes you? If so I know the site was only accessible through Tor but that isn't anything he paid for.

Not Tor, that's a network software. He was hosting his site on servers, like this one but his bounced around..... two in Iceland, Russia and another country, cant recall which.

This was an interesting story when it came out wasn't it?

He11s Angles and for hire "hits"

Could the "Gov" who has the 33 mil in BC from Ulbri[cht arrest crash the BC system if they "destroyed" (removed) their 33 million?

Good to know! Didn't know about the server bouncing part.
Yeah I've wondered about if the govt sold the 33 million what could they do to the market. I don't know that they'd kill it but certainly perhaps more than dent it!

However - it'd be an interesting pradox -- if they sell it for the cash then they're in a way legitimizing it (like if the government outwardly sold 1,000,000 kg of cocaine from a year's worth of drug busts on the street -- it'd crash the market but what would it say about its stance on cocaine and drugs!?). And legitimizing Bitcoin like that could also work to drive the value up.
.. of course it's anonymous so maybe they will do it (or did already?) sell it quietly. I'm not sure if people know which addresses of BTC were Ulbright's. If they did then they'd be able to monitor movements in the bitcoin in his address(es).

But yes - crazy stuff. I read the affidavit submitted by the feds on the ulbright case to arrest and charge him. They say that no one was found dead from the hit that he put (even though the hitmen sent a picture as proof). Some think it might have all been a govt setup ... some go further and question Ulbright's role entirely in the hit.

Anyway all that stuff is too rich for my blood I'm hoping I can make a little change on the Bitcoin market -- if it gets more and more legitimized (unlike this week's events for bitcoin) maybe it can long term grow a bunch more.. or maybe Wall Street getting involved will boost value... I think a lot of people will get more into it when they can more easily invest in Bitcoin (i.e. not have to setup a wallet and buy on shady offline meetings / online exchanges). It's a risky bet for sure - and I'm not betting the farm - more like betting a small shed on the farm

[tekheavy]

Looks like the bottom is falling out of the bitcoin market. What's going on?

[arbys]

Originally Posted by tekheavy

Looks like the bottom is falling out of the bitcoin market. What's going on?

That's right!

[PonchoV8]

Un huh!! I just needed to post something.

[68blackbird]

remove the central bank and who's gonna get rich?

ummm... Rich

Originally Posted by andrewb70

The nice thing about bitcoin is that it can't be inflated, like the dollar or any other fiat currency. The other nice thing about it is that it allows for completely anonymous transactions.

Andrew

[necdb3]

"Interesting the comment on the first site about it being about "as long as another sucker comes in after". I think the funding plan for some of the government programs works that way too. Again not blaming any specific politicians or groups - its been happening for decades through many of them - but things like Medicare and social sec. Only work if at this point if there's a big enough next generation to fund it (no funds in the existing Medicare and SS 'fund')."

SS is a legal Ponzi scheme that the federal government came up with, that's why in going to go broke, there's not enough future investors to fund the payments going out.

Try something like that as a private individual and you'll find yourself in jail.

Bitcoin sounds the same to me. It's not an item you can hold, it's just something that you hope someone will pay you more money for later.

Eventually, we will have a cashless society so every penny can be taxed.
__________________

[PonchoV8]

Originally Posted by necdb3

Eventually, we will have a cashless society so every penny can be taxed.

Which I think will be based on Bitcoin's example.

[Alvin]

Real Estate brokerage now accepts Bitcoin
http://www.inman.com/2014/01/02/bitc...aign=newsflash

A Manhattan based RE brokerage, what could happen?

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by Alvin

Real Estate brokerage now accepts Bitcoin
http://www.inman.com/2014/01/02/bitc...aign=newsflash

A Manhattan based RE brokerage, what could happen?

RentHop accepting Bitcoin http://www.inman.com/2013/12/16/bitc...aign=newsflash