Trust comes from satisfied customers, but the only way to prove it is provide some kind of documentation - and in the process you'd have to trust the source of that data. Its a tricky subject, honestly - because at some point trust does enter the picture.

Not really sure how to tackle that other than someone you'd actually believe is an impartial intermediary.... but how do you vet that? Its like we need some kind of global karma/rating system that doesn't fall prey to vote-stuffing or other "gaming" behaviors. Periodic purchases that are published online with full information, to trap the scammers?

I don't know...

Nice, and Bitcoin exchanges become "book stores".

This virus is pretty nasty. And Satoshi help you if you've got networked drives mapped, because it will encrypt those for ransom too. Like others have said, you need to vigilant about internet usage, and have some kind of protection in the way of antivirus, although those aren't perfect. Beats having nothing though.

I'm getting to the point where I'm just going to spawn a Virtual Machine for any internet-facing business, and airgap the rest. Its getting pretty damned messed up out there. Or perhaps use a technique from the real world, and "quarantine" any recent downloads/programs for a given length of time to make sure they're not trying to 'phone home' or do other shady things. If they pass some checks after that, then incorporate them into your outer-tier backups.

Gizmodo lost me a long time ago with their breathless-haha-tryhard-to-be-funny style of writing articles. Also, early on they were staunch critics of Bitcoin, and that just sealed the deal with me - never to return to their juvenile site network.

I mean, only they could have a server named "ganja", where I imagine the brogrammer that chose that name had his cap backwards and was tweeting his friends the moment he booted it up in the datacenter. "Check it out duuuuuuuuuuuude, lollerz". That's the kind of people you're dealing with.

Anyway, I'm glad the "crazy hacker" is doing something like this, because having a network of these in orbit would mean global coverage without relying on the corrupt systems below. One cubesat is a great start, and I hope there are others to follow. Great work Garzik!

Goldbugs foaming at the mouth and falling over backwards about Bitcoin really amuse me. Its as if they are realizing the horrifying truth, that perhaps something can be considered valuable that you don't hold in your hand. And the best part is, why project that insecurity? If they're so goddamned convinced that Gold is "the one", why even bother fighting about it? Shouldn't they just be cackling to themselves, nodding knowingly about how BitBugs (new term, heh) are sad deluded geeks?

I find the fight fascinating, because psychologically they're projecting their own insecurities about their holdings on to Bitcoin. When someone criticizes me for holding BTC, I'll choose to respond or not, depending - but my overall belief in the math and protocol usually makes me err on the side of laughing a bit, and not engaging them at all. The mindshare battle has been fought on all fronts, and I think we're gaining momentum, even after some nasty Fear-Uncertainty-Doubt tactics from other people and organizations.

So, the best retort I can think of for these guys who sleep on gold bars every night is:

"If Bitcoin is so worthless, then why are you so angry about it?"

The answers should be comedy gold (pun intended) afterward.

Indirectly he's delaying his own verdict by doing this, I suppose. Unless they just throw it out and get on with the main issue at hand. Like everyone else, I want to know how they go about auctioning them off -- if they even do it, that is. There may be growing incentive to hold on to them for other reasons...

This is a Ripple piece, on a subscription only website.

"Ripple - Please believe we're relevant... please..."

Give me a 'effing break. Their stuff has been discussed to hell and back, and they have zero adoption by anyone. And that's without going into how much of a pile of crap it is.

If you view it in terms of converting from old to new, price IS important.

In electrical terms, its the difference between a paper clip dropped on the third rail of a subway versus a drop-forged crowbar. The larger the "bridge" or higher the price, the more money can flow into the system. This is necessary at first, because you're attempting to bootstrap an economy based on Bitcoin.

Once the shunt has served its purpose, its centralized nature and vulnerability is cast aside. Even the exchanges themselves are only needed to process non-Bitcoin denominated transactions. That will dwindle over time as Bitcoin-only supply chains form, and ultimately Exchanges will devolve back to personal exchanging services, or small 'edge' cases where you absolutely need to transact with someone who refuses to move ahead.

Thanks for the link, its a good read - and confirms what I already knew empirically. Which also further depresses me that Stross can miss something so painfully obvious. Perhaps he'll be in the "Laggard" part of the adoption curve, when all of his peers start selling books in Bitcoin. One can only hope he'll see reason.

The cost of trading. No exchange is zero-fee frictionless, there is order slippage and bid/ask spreads to consider.

Sure, large orders can temporarily halt an advance or pause a plunge, but the overall nature of the market doesn't change. Many people have been made poor by thinking they can take on the entire orderbook, even a smaller one like most Bitcoin exchanges.

People making up their "whale" theories about how everything is manipulated is much like the same desire to "believe" in a diety, its a mental mirage that helps them frame the chaotic nature of the world in a way that seems easier to relate to.

I don't suffer from this, because I see the market for what it is, big players and small. It is also why I know when to buy and when to sell, because my market theories aren't based on populist rumors or myths, but codified and objective observations on how markets work.

I don't mind that other people subscribe to the "whale" theory, it makes my trading just that much easier.

Well, that's the thing. I thought he was intelligent enough not to get stuck in a common "status quo" mental trap. That's for people who argue small trivialities like they matter, not for someone that has the ability to sketch out entire worlds from words, to entertain and create characters. I thought that imagination would have him revving on how Bitcoin could transform the world, not using his abilities to pick it apart.

With every passing year, I find another reason to be disappointed in humanity, I really didn't need someone that I admire as an author and general geek to join the "Idiocracy" club. Hell, why doesn't he just abandon Sci-Fi all together and just start writing political manifestos. I'm just completely aghast about his utter lack of comprehension on the subject, his pig-headed shortsightedness, and his general stick-in-the-mud closed minded attitude about one of the most important innovations in computing history.

To be fair, I don't think he has ever mentioned Bitcoin before today. He also has said that in his book "Neptune's Brood", the reference to bitcoin wasn't THE BITCOIN, but another form of digital money that fits his story. He certainly hasn't talked about owning any, that's for sure.

Don't even get me started on those guys. Here's a post that I think encapsulates pretty well what they're really all about over there:

Yeah, starting to think that these "preppers" and "stackers" don't give a shit about being prepared or hedged, they just want to lord it over everyone about how well-off they'll be when the shit hits the fan. A variation on the "keeping up with the jonses" except its played out with how big your bunker is, and how large of a walk-in vault you have for your 'stack'.

Consumerism translated over into the realm of the paranoid, but not so paranoid as not to brag about it. Witness Hedgless Horseman's lovingly photographed locally-made meals, the excess of comments about what kind of gun/ammo to buy, the recommendations of dealers in gold bars and coins. They want to share, they NEED to share, to show everyone how "right" they are and how willing they are to see the world burn.

Take the labels off and recontextualize it, it might as well be a bunch of Bentley owners talking about their deluxe concealable pop-down garages, their security systems and of course, the wall safe full of rare cigars and hunting trophies.

Its the displacement of disposable income masquerading as a somber and sensible investment. No wonder they make fun of Bitcoin, not only do they not understand it, but they don't see how they can use it to brag about their foresight and preparedness.

Like it matters to me, at all, while they're counting down eagerly, waiting for the doomsday clock to hit midnight, Bitcoiners are actually fighting the system by participating in something that has benefits that go beyond a bunker or wall safe. Something that adds up to social justice in the face of rampant corruption and wealth inequality.

But they'll keep it up, because that's all they know, much like the inmate that goes back to prison after being freed, because the real world is too much of an unknown compared to the spartan cell they lived in for 30 years.

I didn't write about Bitcoin prices here, at all. If you must know, I think we go through regular cycles of buying/selling, and I try my best to understand which is about to happen. My main point in posting this is for overall awareness and to express my sadness at a very prolific and excellent sci-fi author falling for the "status quo is fine" mindset.

He metioned "hitting the pub" after a few of the comment replies, then later he said he'd be "wielding the ban hammer". I suppose he's either too busy drinking, or ban-hammering. I haven't seen my post appear, so he is either backlogged, drunk, deleted it, or all of the above.

He's won Hugo and Nebula awards for his science fiction writing. Here's his wiki page - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Stross
I personally like his stuff, "The Atrocity Archives" are pretty fun, and "Accelerando" was a complete mind-blowing romp as well. Just the last person I expected to look at Bitcoin and say "Nah, I hope it dies."

I wonder if they could set up a Bitcoin Exchange and be exempt from any of the FINCEN or money-laundering laws. Would seem only fair, seeing how they got decimated and pillaged. Time for some payback...

Here's their Coinfunder page with donation addresses:

https://www.coinfunder.com/project/view/id/118

I started a thread in the Discussion sub-forum about it. I'm still depressed about this. He's the last person I expected to go on a anti-Bitcoin rant.

Here's my thread with my response:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=377390.0

I'm still saddened and shocked about this. He really was the last person I expected to put out a missive against Bitcoin. I'll still enjoy his stories I guess, just not so sure I'll be too interested in reading any of his newest work. If the last thing I read is "Neptune's Brood", well, so be it.

That also comes at a cost, which is never accounted for in these "Manipulation" theories. And volatility is high enough due to the limited nature of the order book depths found at the typical exchange. I don't buy this theory, at all.