Bitcoin Forum

will this news effect bitcoin price?

http://developer.mintchipchallenge.com/

will this news effect bitcoin price?

I'm hoping an someone will accept the challenge, and build an app that accepts MintChips for BTC, and verse-vica.

I'm sure it can't win that competition, but it could make news, and maybe even be useful.

I read this today on TechCrunch which also mentions bitcoin in passing.

... its totally opposite to bitcoin though, its not a currency, its not decentralized and its not anonymous.

Cash is to Gold as MintChip is to Bitcoin?

right but it promises p2p micro transactions

Read the docs. Value can be transferred offline, provided your device has a microSD slot or a USB socket. However, iPhone users will need to be online.

There's a central issuer, but there's no central transaction server. Transactions are validated between the buyer's and seller's device.

If they intend this to repalce currency and more than a payment processor, it will require massive internet connections. So what happens when the Mint Coin servers get DoS attacked?

I'm hoping an someone will accept the challenge, and build an app that accepts MintChips for BTC, and verse-vica.

I'm sure it can't win that competition, but it could make news, and maybe even be useful.

No.  MintChip is just another inflationary currency dressed up like Bitcoin.  It's like Bitcoin only without all the things that make Bitcoin great.

Thanks, good to know it's that simple ;)

“If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
- Albert Einstein

 ;)

LOL. I'm sure that's a real feel good for a lot of folks  ;)

Odd coincidence, I'm on another message board right now discussing why being ignorant, superstitious, and unacquainted with logic or reason has now become a mark of virtue amongst so many Americans.

I know that I know very little, so I am ignorant.  I believe there are forces I don't understand, so I am superstitious.  But, I only give up logic and reason when I deal with women or when infuriated.

Anyway, the first two are just part of being humble, and thus virtues.  Logic and reason however, are a crucial part of living in a sane world.

No.  MintChip is just another inflationary currency dressed up like Bitcoin.  It's like Bitcoin only without all the things that make Bitcoin great.

Read the docs. Value can be transferred offline, provided your device has a microSD slot or a USB socket. However, iPhone users will need to be online.

There's a central issuer, but there's no central transaction server. Transactions are validated between the buyer's and seller's device.

So how good can that kind of validation be currently? I'm no expert by far, but it sounds like either they're trusting the users not to double spend (unlikely) or they're trusting whatever DRM scheme (essentially) their chip implements not to get cracked. 

Early adopters of Bitcoin made lots of bitcoins at a low cost.

Early adopters of Mint Chip will get first dibs at cracking the protocol so they can print (steal) money.

Read the docs. Value can be transferred offline, provided your device has a microSD slot or a USB socket. However, iPhone users will need to be online.

There's a central issuer, but there's no central transaction server. Transactions are validated between the buyer's and seller's device.

Hmm, they dont necessarily have to steal it: Remember ixcoin, s0lidcoin, etc.. Those forks had a large deflation shortly after released, leading to some quick bucks for the innovators (those commonly miscalled "early adoptors", because the adoption in terms of actual use had not even begun).
With all that media attention attributed to Bitcoin, having the canadian GOVERNMENT launching a similar project, could create a (short?) hype with huge deflation as in the early days of Bitcoin.
Ill watch closely! ;)

P.S.: Does anybody know when the first MintChips will be available and can be exchanged?

this is going to be so funny when i double spend thousands of dollars. :D

What deflation?  This isn't a new currency.  It will be exchanged 1:1 with physical Canadian dollars.

Am I wrong, does the device hold the original currencies without converting them?

Hmm, they dont necessarily have to steal it: Remember ixcoin, s0lidcoin, etc.. Those forks had a large deflation shortly after released, leading to some quick bucks for the innovators (those commonly miscalled "early adoptors", because the adoption in terms of actual use had not even begun).
With all that media attention attributed to Bitcoin, having the canadian GOVERNMENT launching a similar project, could create a (short?) hype with huge deflation as in the early days of Bitcoin.
Ill watch closely! ;)

P.S.: Does anybody know when the first MintChips will be available and can be exchanged?

What deflation?  This isn't a new currency.  It will be exchanged 1:1 with physical Canadian dollars.

Let's have a go at analysing this MintChip idea a bit further...

What I don't understand is: why couldn't they mimic the Bitcoin system and put themselves in the position of a monopoly miner? That way they would avoid that whole problem with hardware security. They could run decentralised copies of a ledger (blockchain) on server farms. They could make it multi-tiered so, unlike Bitcoin, they'd be less likely to run into networking bottlenecks. The user experience could (in theory) be quite similar to Bitcoin -- fast, anonymous transactions, low costs... Users would have a range of online tools available... The proof-of-work would probably be far weaker, but still practically unbreakable...

Come to think of it, that is probably not too different from the way regular currencies operate. However, a few questions remain unanswered:

• Why would a central authority bother? What's in it for them?
• Who regulates the money supply?
• Could transactions really be anonymous?

In attempting to answer these questions, it becomes obvious that the RCM simply couldn't mimic Bitcoin, even if they were crazy enough to try. The need for control over society is too strong in their DNA. Transactions would have to be profitable enough to pay for all the infrastructure. They would "self-regulate", or, at best, convince a government that inflation must be never-ending. And there would likely be strict restrictions on the anonymity of such a system.[/list]

I think you got it quite wrong: there's no central ledger here. As I understand it, the mintchip devices are trusted to keep the balance themselves, on the device. Therefore, security relies on the "fact" that you can't get read a mintchips key off of the device. Why can you trust a given mintchip? because there's some PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) in place verifying the public key of a supposed mintchip is trusted by the mint and therefore that "mintchip wallet" was issued by the royal mint.

Also: there is not "money supply" because mintchip is not a currency of its own right: mintchips are more like banknotes backed by traditional FIAT (or maybe gold/bitcoin?). The mint promises to redeem them for whatever FIAT they're backed with (potential for fractional reserve banking here)

Someone more knowledgable correct me if I'm wrong.

You might've misinterpreted the intent of my post.

No.  MintChip is just another inflationary currency dressed up like Bitcoin.  It's like Bitcoin only without all the things that make Bitcoin great.

Naked Mortal Kombat

Bitcoy VS Mintchick -- Fight!!! ;D


Edit: who's good at making Youtube videos?

me

what do you have in mind?

Bitcoy VS Mintchick -- Fight!!!  k ill get started tomorrow  :D

By the way. The title of this thread describes a "war" between the electronic currencies. Bitcoin should welcome the challenge of any new currencies. In the meritocracy of an open and free market, bitcoin compares very favorably. I can't see how a proprietary system could compete with it. Many of the strongest elements of BTC, such as being open-source, private and almost free, cannot be implemented in a fee for service environment. 

mintchip has the backing of the goverment, so they'll try to spread as much FUD to say bitcoin is worthless/insecure.

MintChip looks like a government sanctioned digital currency.

Bitcoin is not.

If Bitcoin in ANY way negatively effects MintChip (which they will accuse it of doing) the Government will then have grounds to outlaw all other digital currencies.

This is what Government does best, taking control out of the hands of the people and selling it to special interest groups.

The only thing it is really good for is to sell and buy bitcoins for it. I'd say it is a very useful thing. Thanks Canadian mint.

You can't outlaw Bitcoin, but that doesn't mean the idiots won't try.