Bitcoin Forum

I'm sure everyone knows what I'm referring to when I say the "recent surge" in Bitcoin prices, although now they have somewhat leveled out. A couple weeks ago they were about $17 and like overnight they didn't drop again below $20.
My question is this: I feel like people are hoarding their BTC. I frequent the marketplace and there is no where near the type of commerce going on that there usually is-except for expensive items like ounces of gold (another testament to the recent surge). Obviously, this is a contributing factor to the surge. So what happens next? Will prices go back down? I know Butterfly Labs is sending their mining rig out soon-how drastically will that affect the supply of bitcoins? Also, is it true that there are about 6 million in circulation and 21 to ever be in circulation?
Obviously bitcoins are ultimately a deflationary currency. But will we see inflation at all in the near future, with the release of new mining rigs? My final question is a tough one that probably can't conclusively be answered now. As mentioned, bitcoins are a deflationary currency. That means I should get as many of them as I can before they are gone. But-is the bitcoin truly too big to fail? Should I spend my bitcoins now and take advantage of this surge, or continue on my pursuit to acquire and not spend as much as possible?

How did you end up with over 400 posts here without learning what you'd need to know in order to answer those questions yourself?

muthafucka talk too much.

Do you have numbers for me?

ASIC mining should have little to no impact on the supply of Bitcoins or the price.  The system automatically adjusts difficulty to hashrate to keep the block generation rate nearly constant.

The supply is the same regardless of Butterfail Labias. Difficulty adjusts accordingly.

Now go read the white paper.

I realize supply is the same regardless of Butterfly labs. But how will they affect the number of bitcoins in circulation at any given point-say in the near future? Basically my question is as easy is this: The value of bitcoins is relatively linear with time. Will this continue at about the same constant rate?

Labias :)

Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

The future value of Bitcoins is unknown. Anybody who knows better is currently busy getting very rich and has no time nor interest to answer forum posts about it.

Speculation is hard. If you like Bitcoin just for its limited supply, keeping a few in case they appreciate in value may be a good idea. But we don't know for certain, and weak speculation is worse than no speculation. That's right, speculating newbies fare worse than a random bot, they systematically help one another to burn their money.

The best estimate for average expected (inflation-corrected) future price we have is current price. That aside, the future may be a doomsday-, niche- or great-success-scenario. Try to do things such that you're OK regardless which one it is in the end.

did you copy my thread or something? ???

"Bitcoin's first major deflation event, and its consequences"
vs
"Recent BTC Surge and its Implications"

it's alright, i just got flamed, too. :P

although it may have helped if you had done a little more research before posting...

No,  I didn't see it. I rarely venture to the "Economics" threads on here. I woulldn't say either of us got flamed. Yes, people like to be critical more than they do engage in regular debate/conversation. But I am happy with the above reply I got. Its not necessarily a new idea to me-it just reinforces the fact that a modest policy in regards to most things is best, because it is hard to speculate on what the future holds.

+1