And the decentralization.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=35812.0

by Eli Sklar

Imagine, if you will, a really dark pool.

Bitcoin are easily traded inside the block-chain going from one address to another. Bitcoins are not stored anywhere, some addresses simply have coins associated with them.

If you're following the bitcoin scene, you've probably heard about BitBills - an idea that allows people to trade Bitcoin offline, without going through the block-chain. Instead of bitcoin exchanging addresses we have people exchanging bitcoin addresses.

BitBill are small plastic cards, the size of a credit card, that have a public address fully visible on them, and you could for example verify their value by checking block explorer. And if you brake one of those, you'll find the private key hidden inside. This private key is what used to open the address and send bitcoins from it to some other address.

BitBill is basically the really dark pool where bitcoins change hands.

If bitcoin is adopted and becomes a major currency, people will trade bitcoin addresses and not just bitcoins. Millions of dollars, or coin, could exchange hands and no one will ever hear about it, it won't register on block explorer or any other bitcoin monitor.

The business for BitBill seems very, very promising.

Remember folks, it gottach be a small project but useful! That's what I choose. Even if you have a crazy ideas, let them loose! I might pick up potential in a similar idea but doable project.

It was the original Silk Road article that got me into BTC.  Let the news play that up.  Smart people will read between the lines.

QFT. Personal responsibility is a lost art here in the "first world" which is probably the primary reason why so many people get scammed, lose their coins, etc. But in the "third world" it's the difference between life and death, literally. I suspect Bitcoin's introduction into Africa will be much smoother for this reason alone.

1. Spread FUD about bitcoin
2. buy bitcoins while they're cheap again
3. wait for people to realize it was only FUD
4. sell the bitcoins high

Much like Amazon, SilkRoad offers a broad array of items for sale and buyers and sellers are ranked by the quality of their products and transactions. But instead of books, MP3s and video games, SilkRoad offers drugs ranging from prescription pills like Adderall, to marijuana and black tar heroin.

But to access the site, you'll need to download TOR; an Internet engine that few people have heard of and even fewer have the technical expertise to configure.

One Bitcoin is worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 to $12, and the prices fluctuate rapidly, but most customers seem happy to pay a premium for the convenience and privacy of the transactions. The currency rate fluctuates - just like the value of a U.S. dollar.

Some have said that there are scammers on SilkRoad, but most customers seem pleased by the products they receive.

"Three hits and one of my friends (urinated in) his pants. I'm pretty sure it's good," said one customer.

Zachary Lewis, a video game developer from Huntsville, AL, said it was a quick, simple process to download the software enabling him to take Bitcoin in payment for his services.

"Thinking of Bitcoins as an alternative to cash is like thinking of euros as an alternative to cash," he said. "Yes, it only exists digitally, but it isn't another form of the dollar like PayPal and credit cards are."

"The security in place is very strong," he said. "It is much harder for someone to steal your identity, since each user has an encrypted, public-private key pair for each transaction, specific to that transaction."

It is hard to create – so counterfeiting is unlikely if not impossible. It is decentralized and not backed by any commodity, such as gold, whose price could fluctuate. There will not be more than 21 million units at any time, no new units would ever be created, which gives the currency more stability than national currencies.

"I would ask those that allege Bitcoin is only an outlaw currency how they feel about U.S. dollars being used to buy drugs, murder, child prostitutes and more all over the world every day," said  Michael Boyd, who owns and operates BitVapes.com, a website that sells e-cigarettes and accepts Bitcoin.

"The problem you face with monopolized payment systems, PayPal and credit card companies can shut you down whenever they want," he said. "If they don't like what you are selling due to political pressure, they will not allow you to conduct business."

When you combine the aspects that bitcoins are tied to the fate of the U.S. economy and that they've been on a downward plunge even sharper than the U.S. economy, the outlook is not pretty for bitcoins as a serious investment bid.  Even amid the stock market's huge losses (with today's $300+ USD decline, the New York Stock Exchange is at its lowest level since December 2010), bitcoins are still not a solid alternative to guaranteed securities like treasury bonds, or a diverse portfolio.

With difficulty soaring, it's now impossible for most video cards to break even.  The fastest graphics cards by Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) still stand a chance to break even, but they require more than a year of work.

Fans of bitcoin may react negatively to this analysis, but it's hard to argue the hard facts.  Bitcoin is a terrific concept, and one worth supporting.  But when it comes to your money, an investment in bitcoins today, is essentially throwing away a chunk of your money, or perhaps breaking even in the case of mining (given hardware depreciation).

Why on earth are they not considering Bitcoin?

Bitcoin helps solve many of the existing problems with current methods of sending money home. Money transfer services are efficient, but expensive. Bank transfers can also be expensive whilst suffering a general lack of immediacy and at the same time useless to the millions of Africans without bank accounts. And, sending cash through regular postal services is almost unthinkable.

Bitcoin enables its users to bypass the exorbitant fees charged by banks and wiring services whilst providing a secure, anonymous and most importantly instantaneous service. These factors are clearly positive for the economic and developmental impact of remittance payments as senders freed from the shackles of high administration fees can deliver more money to their loved ones.

Also, the currency could bring heightened security for citizens of countries where poor economic and financial practices have rendered their currencies overly volatile or worse still worthless, such as Zimbabwe.