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Title: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: kasperov on July 10, 2012, 07:41:24 AM Is this like a ponzi scheme to try and make people rich? I was told this by several people and not to trust anyone.
Title: Re: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: John (John K.) on July 10, 2012, 07:43:57 AM Is this like a ponzi scheme to try and make people rich? I was told this by several people and not to trust anyone. What are you referring as a ponzi scheme?Title: Re: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: pekv2 on July 10, 2012, 07:44:31 AM I think he might be referring it to bitcoin.
Title: Re: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: Yuhfhrh on July 10, 2012, 07:44:40 AM Is this like a ponzi scheme to try and make people rich? I was told this by several people and not to trust anyone. You are right about not trusting anyone, but you are wrong about bitcoin being a ponzi scheme. Title: Re: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: pekv2 on July 10, 2012, 07:46:58 AM Is this like a ponzi scheme to try and make people rich? I was told this by several people and not to trust anyone. You are right about not trusting anyone, but you are wrong about bitcoin being a ponzi scheme. Ionno, they say that, but there are a few here that I trust like PatrickHarnett, Theymos, psy, MatthewM, Kluge and a few others, a few select actually have my real name, home address and phone number. Title: Re: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: the joint on July 10, 2012, 07:47:55 AM Is this like a ponzi scheme to try and make people rich? I was told this by several people and not to trust anyone. You mean Bitcoin? Bitcoin is legit, but it may come off as a ponzi to those who have not done their research. The first people who invested in Bitcoin (e.g. those who were among the first miners, those who started the first Bitcoin businesses and exchanges, etc.) took a significant risk in terms of time and/or money to set everything in motion, and they deserve the rewards they have gotten. Bitcoin is revolutionary, and if you take the time to build a good reputation and see what Bitcoin and this forum has to offer, you can be part of that revolution. But, be extremely weary of scammers and others who will try to take advantage of you. That being said, welcome! There are a lot of incredibly bright people here from whom you can learn a lot. You can also make a lot of money if you take advantage of the numerous opportunities here :) Title: Re: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: kasperov on July 10, 2012, 07:48:10 AM Bitcoin was created and is run by people I cant trust, so how can I trust bitcoin?
Title: Re: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: pekv2 on July 10, 2012, 07:49:20 AM Is this like a ponzi scheme to try and make people rich? I was told this by several people and not to trust anyone. You mean Bitcoin? Bitcoin is legit, but it may come off as a ponzi to those who have not done their research. The first people who invested in Bitcoin (e.g. those who were among the first miners, those who started the first Bitcoin businesses and exchanges, etc.) took a significant risk in terms of time and/or money to set everything in motion, and they deserve the rewards they have gotten. Bitcoin is revolutionary, and if you take the time to build a good reputation and see what Bitcoin and this forum has to offer, you can be part of that revolution. But, be extremely weary of scammers and others who will try to take advantage of you. That being said, welcome! There are a lot of incredibly bright people here from whom you can learn a lot. You can also make a lot of money if you take advantage of the numerous opportunities here :) ^ Title: Re: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: John (John K.) on July 10, 2012, 07:49:47 AM Please do a readup on ponzi schemes first: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponzi_scheme
Bitcoin is an P2P based commodity, and there is no guarantees on any returns or profit. It's just another commodity. The prices are determined by the rates people are willing to buy and sell at. Title: Re: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: NothinG on July 10, 2012, 07:51:26 AM Bitcoin was created and is run by people I cant trust, so how can I trust bitcoin? Bitcoin is created so you don't have to trust anyone.Title: Re: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: John (John K.) on July 10, 2012, 07:52:09 AM Bitcoin was created and is run by people I cant trust, so how can I trust bitcoin? No one 'runs' bitcoin, much like the fact that no one 'runs' torrents as everyone taking part is one of those who are running it. Bitcoin is completely open source and distributed with the MIT license, so anyone is free to dissect the code to see why should you trust it. Title: Re: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: the joint on July 10, 2012, 07:53:10 AM Bitcoin was created and is run by people I cant trust, so how can I trust bitcoin? Bitcoin is an open-source program and anyone can review the code. There are a lot of programmers here and if Bitcoin were a scam, people would become aware of it quite quickly. Also, Bitcoin is 'run' by its users, not its developers. It's a peer-to-peer currency, and there is no centralized authority that controls it. We, the people, control it. Title: Re: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: John (John K.) on July 10, 2012, 07:56:43 AM OP, I know you're mystery2048 https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=31266 .
Why start the trolling with a new account? Title: Re: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: kasperov on July 10, 2012, 07:58:16 AM who is mystery2048 ?
Title: Re: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: pekv2 on July 10, 2012, 07:59:11 AM who is mystery2048 ? A troll? https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=31266 Title: Re: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: drakahn on July 10, 2012, 07:59:49 AM splirow/crushroyal have come to the forums? oh joy
Don't feed the soiledcoin trolls Title: Re: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: Meni Rosenfeld on July 10, 2012, 08:39:54 AM Is this ... to try and make people rich? Bitcoin was created to allow people to more efficiently exchange goods and services they are capable of supplying for goods and services they value, thus increasing the effective wealth of everyone in the world (on average). So in a way, yes.I was told this by several people and not to trust anyone. Trust me on this, don't trust anyone. Especially people telling you not to trust anyone.Title: Re: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: CodesInChaos on July 10, 2012, 09:09:01 AM Bitcoin is certainly a somewhat risky investment. If it fails those who get out too late will lose most of their investment.
If bitcoin succeeds, early investors will profit a lot. But that's not that different from investments in startup. Both the risks and the potential gains are large. The bitcoin protocol itself is designed to minimize the required trust. Unlike a ponzi there is no party that can simply run away with all the money. The relatively fair scheme of coin distribution is one of bitcoins strongest points. I'm sure if the scheme were designed in a way that the inventor held all coins in the beginning, it would have failed. Still there are some parties who can do *a lot* of damage. For example MtGox or those who can upload new versions of the official client. But they have much to lose from bitcoin going down, so it's unlikely that they deliberately do something evil. Them getting hacked or legally compelled to do something destructive is one of the significant risks bitcoin faces. So lets hope for more diversity in both clients and exchanges. Title: Re: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: kasperov on July 10, 2012, 11:16:11 AM http://www.quora.com/Bitcoin/Is-the-cryptocurrency-Bitcoin-a-good-idea
Interesting read... Title: Re: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: Taz on July 10, 2012, 11:38:05 AM http://www.quora.com/Bitcoin/Is-the-cryptocurrency-Bitcoin-a-good-idea interesting how?Interesting read... It just says bitcoin is bad because it's stupid and stupid because it's bad. Some vague mention of new world order and concludes that if it run by the banks it would be worthwhile. Doesn't seem like it was thought out from an unbiased point of view. Title: Re: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: Al the Alpaca on July 10, 2012, 11:47:13 AM http://www.quora.com/Bitcoin/Is-the-cryptocurrency-Bitcoin-a-good-idea Interesting read... Sure is! The chart there (below) got me excited. http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-07ac9cb94858a01bea56e1813d729c8e OP, I know you're mystery2048 https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=31266 . Why start the trolling with a new account? If the above is true, can I fuck the guy in the ass? In fact, if any other trolls come to light on this forum, would others be so kind as to let them know about me, Al the Alpaca, then PM me so that I can post on their viled threads of how I would love to fuck them in their ass. BTW, thanks John for letting me in the zoo. ~Al the Alpaca~ Title: Re: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: Blazr on July 10, 2012, 11:52:25 AM http://www.quora.com/Bitcoin/Is-the-cryptocurrency-Bitcoin-a-good-idea Interesting read... Yes, very interesting: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2612237 And: Factual Errors in Adam's Article: Bitcoin is not a ponzi scheme. Bitcoin does not pay interest on deposits. Adam seems to be using a "very unique definition" of ponzi scheme, which includes any asset which is appreciating in value. Bitcoin is not a scam. "Calling Bitcoin a scam demonstrates your limited knowledge of the protocol and underlying system. In order for something to be a 'scam' there has to be someone who benefits." Adam later publicly retracted his statement that Bitcoin was a scam, "I regret using the word 'scam' in my answer" ( http://news.ycombinator.com/item... ). He however has not edited his answer to reflect his retraction. Adam describes a bank run scenario on Bitcoin. Bitcoin does not have a bank or any counterparty. Bitcoin floats and therefore Adam's bank run scenario is a misunderstanding of how Bitcoin works. Adam wrote his article when Bitcoin was experiencing a bubble driven by increased media attention. The bubble lasted two weeks. Adams predicted that Bitcoin would collapse from panic selling when the Bubble collapsed. Adam was completely wrong. See the graphs below. We now actual data and no opinions, about how the Bitcoin market reacts to adverse events. Adam states that Bitcoin has no mechanism to deal with fluctuations in demand. Bitcoin floats and the price of Bitcoin reflects the balance between supply and demand. Bitcoin deals with fluctuations in demand through a market. His statement is a misunderstanding about Bitcoin. Adam states that Bitcoin has extremely high volatility and low liquidity. This was true when he wrote his answer, but is no longer true. High volatility seems to have been a transitory artifact of the media driven Bitcoin bubble. Bitcoin is now relatively stable compared to other currencies. As Bitcoin matured, liquidity has increase substantially, with a corresponding decrease in volatility. See graphs below. Differences of Opinion: Adam's economic opinion are unorthodox and do not reflect the mainstream of the economists profession. Adam States "The economic assumptions underpinning the Bitcoin ecosystem are laughable, and ignore hundreds of years of accumulated understanding of how currencies work with each other", Adam goes on to claim that a viable currency must suffer from an increase in the monetary base. Nobel Laureate in economics, Friedrich Hayek has argued at length in seminal work on Competing Private Currencies that debase of the monetary base is undesirable. What Adam criticizes as a weakness of Bitcoin, Hayek would praise as one of its advantages over government issued currencies. Nobel laureate F. A. Hayek makes a powerful case that government involvement in providing a medium of exchange (money) is neither necessary nor beneficial. In fact, government provision of currency is a threat to both liberty and financial stability. Hayek points out that governments have everywhere and always undermined the value of their currencies to reap revenue through inflation. He argues, convincingly, that the best hope for sound money lies in competition amongst privately issued currencies. Title: Re: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: drakahn on July 10, 2012, 11:53:04 AM Is this like a ponzi scheme to try and make people rich? I was told this by several people and not to trust anyone. Several people that are over invested in the ponzi known as fiat currency?Saying Bitcoin is a ponzi is like saying the internet is terrorism. Title: Re: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: KajiMaster on July 10, 2012, 05:10:45 PM Is this like a ponzi scheme to try and make people rich? I was told this by several people and not to trust anyone. Several people that are over invested in the ponzi known as fiat currency?Saying Bitcoin is a ponzi is like saying the internet is terrorism. Awesome! I love this analogy. Title: Re: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: John (John K.) on July 12, 2012, 01:43:44 PM http://www.quora.com/Bitcoin/Is-the-cryptocurrency-Bitcoin-a-good-idea Interesting read... Sure is! The chart there (below) got me excited. http://qph.cf.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-07ac9cb94858a01bea56e1813d729c8e OP, I know you're mystery2048 https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=31266 . Why start the trolling with a new account? If the above is true, can I fuck the guy in the ass? In fact, if any other trolls come to light on this forum, would others be so kind as to let them know about me, Al the Alpaca, then PM me so that I can post on their viled threads of how I would love to fuck them in their ass. BTW, thanks John for letting me in the zoo. ~Al the Alpaca~ The reason why he's trolling this forum is : https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=89619.0 See his bitcoin-otc profile too: http://bitcoin-otc.com/viewratingdetail.php?nick=MysteryBanshee&sign=ANY&type=RECV I did give an explanation here: I think my comment here just silenced him altogether: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=92518.msg1020620#msg1020620 Obvious troll is obvious. I lost a huge load of coins in Bitcoinica, I wouldnt trust them or most bitcoin services (even MtGox) .... Out of nowhere, he claim he wouln't trust MtGox, WTF ?Title: Re: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: mentalove on July 12, 2012, 02:11:22 PM Is this like a ponzi scheme to try and make people rich? I was told this by several people and not to trust anyone. troll ? Bitcoins do not require new investors to work. It should be entirely stable on it's own. The magic ingredient is confidence, as will all non backed currencies. Bitcoin is a powerful idea many people are interested in. Title: Re: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: Lobstertorch on July 12, 2012, 02:49:55 PM I hadn't seen that Quora posting before, interesting... Bitcoin is still running more than a year from that date though! So that has to count for something lol.
Title: Re: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: RodeoX on July 12, 2012, 06:05:04 PM The reason people say bitcoin is a ponzi is because they don't know what a ponzi is, but they have heard the word.
Title: Re: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: Universal on July 13, 2012, 02:57:40 AM bitcoin has been running for almost 2 years, thats pretty solid imo
Title: Re: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: John (John K.) on July 13, 2012, 02:59:47 AM bitcoin has been running for almost 2 years, thats pretty solid imo Almost four years now - https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Genesis_blockTitle: Re: Hey, this is a scam right? Post by: Universal on July 13, 2012, 03:06:24 AM bitcoin has been running for almost 2 years, thats pretty solid imo Almost four years now - https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Genesis_blockdid not know that! cool thanks |