Bitcoin Forum

We've seen the growth of Bitcoin and the news reports of Deep Web marketplaces being shut down.

What does this mean for Bitcoin and are the shutdowns an attempt to get rid of the cryptocurrency?

If there are economies out there, both underground and public - that are driving the growth of Bitcoin beyond the illicit drug and firearms trade, let them be listed here:



Original question was posted below but thought this forum was a better place for responses!
http://tor.stackexchange.com/questions/874/what-are-the-economies-driving-the-growth-of-bitcoin

BitPay one of the payment processor has 10,000 merchants that accept Bitcoin payments.

You don't really need an economy built specifically for bitcoin. All you need is some exchanges. When bitcoin can be exchanged to local currency at any place on the planet, the economy is already there

And, from merchant point of view, they just need to simply specify that they accept bitcoin payment, and the world economy will back bitcoin overnight. It does not take too much effort for them to start to accept bitcoin, but they indeed need lots of training regarding security of their bitcoins :)

Bitcoin has grown because it has less rules and thus easier to set up and use than credit and debit cards.

The shutdowns are to stop dangerous activities.

Banks and governments have the most to gain from transactions that are difficult to track...where do you think the big criminals go to work every day?

Bitpay's recently updated merchant list mentions over 12,000 merchants empanelled now

Yeah, it can parasitize on any currency... oh, I mean host. All you need are places known in common parlance as exchanges where it can be easily transmitted, and when it's already there it can contaminate the whole planet... Will we get a response of the immune system or it can provide some beneficial effects to the host and ultimately evolve into a symbiont?

Prognosis-  Wall Street is coming in 3....2....1...

Desperate for their fix. That's why I am here, I am a few months ahead of them more often than not. I don't think they will fight it. I think they will embrace it and they will hype the hell out of it. It's possibly the reflation they cannot get from lending for lack of loans.

All that has to happen is JPM and friends accept them, offer to pay interest on the accounts (in USD of course), store them in a cryptovault right beside the gold vaults below Maiden Lane. and launch the derivatives market. Who wouldn't want a great bank like JPM protecting them, and paying them interest to boot? No need to cash your bitcoin if you can pay your bills with dollars drawn off of them. No shortage of dollars ever either.

Bitcoin goes high enough it could recapitalize the banking system all by its lonesome.

hooray.

 

That's way I like it! So the system will devour it in one sweep without much ado and wouldn't have even a burp, lol... Though I don't think this is exactly what most Bitcoin advocates and addicts would love to happen to their favorite toy. So there will be no Bitcoin ban, no raids for illegal possession of bitcoins and all that underground shit...

Hmmm.  While that would be nice for those who hold BTC, I wonder what bankers really think about BTC.  Join BTC or (attempt to) destroy it?

Why would they want to destroy it if they can just contrive a multitude of ways how to profit from it? There is hardly anything else to add beyond what trader jballs has already said (though I disagree with him strongly on most other matters)

Wow. Great bank like JPM?
Even the simplest man knows banks charge you interest cause they are allowed to gamble with your deposits.
Would you let JPM control your private keys? That implies a lot of faith in the financial system and if you do so, I wish you the best of luck

I don't understand , people want PP, WU, banks to die but they have wet dreams about those guys adopting bitcoin.
Well , you lost me here..

People lost money on the inputs.io  scam. And they did that with a shaddy character.
They will trust JPM , it's human nature to get more stupid by the minute.

Much remains to be seen. I think not all can be gleaned from history. But yes if there is a huge build of wealth in btc a bunch of people will hand it over to wall street, that is why most of the world's gold is under Manhattan. All traded for paper.

The great bank comment was /sarc but I probably should have said that.

This is very well explained, and used very easily understood analogies. Thinking of the fact that, Bitcoins are valued by supply and demand that there is still a relatively fair demand for it.

I buy all my hardware and pro audio gear from www.scan.co.uk with Bitcoin - Biggest retailer in the UK who accepts it.

Hmm, yes and no. Whilst some folks might have bad credit history, the actual process of getting a credit card is not surprisingly very easy.

What would surprise me is if the big credit card co's e.g Visa, Mastercard etc embrace Bitcoin - it's a direct threat to their business not to mention i-banks.

Sidechains
Increasing Retail Usage
Increasing uses for Bitcoin
Rising adoption

Seem like the core ones right now missing any?

people become more attuned to the usage. You focus on the individual values of digital currency when flipping short-term. understanding external dynamics that work towards bitcoins success

Ah External Dynamics is a good driver in that case your right should have added
Contingent Effects