BTC is legal "currency" in a same way as casino chips are. That means currently its only legal because eventually you convert it to legal currency at the end, get it to your accounting, pay taxes. And therefore it do not really affects cashflows in economy, its just redistributing legal currency. Otherwise it would have been forbidden already.

because it is designed and implemented in a way that it can serve as something that can have value, and because people find useful to utilize those features and believe that other people will continue to use it in the future.

This is similar to gold - as gold has value because its chemical properties make it suitable to be useful and people did use it because of these properties and believed that other people would use it in the future.

This is a complicated question. The reason why banks exist is because they can do credit creation (by issuing loans.) This enables a bank to lend out more “money” than reserves (at the central bank and other assets.) Bitcoin is like “gold” and if it becomes more common in everyday transactions it would mean that banks would have to build up bitcoin reserves, in case they start having accounts denominated in bitcoin. This in turn enforces central banks to hold bitcoin in case banks have to be bailed out (if bitcoin becomes very common.)

However, in parallel there’s more development happening around the bitcoin network. Although the bitcoin network cannot handle much transaction volumes, there’s work that enables decentralised high speed transactions using the bitcoin network as a settlement layer. These technologies are named lightning network, lumino, sidechains, etc. This enables high capacity transfers completely outside the banking network. If peer-to-peer lending networks enables alternative ways of people getting loans, then the need for banks may almost diminish. At least how we view “banks” today, i.e. credit creation. These institutions will of course not disappear but transform into something else. Perhaps into something like investment funds.

With Bitcoin you are your own bank, so for the very essential form of banking, it would be a little weird to hand the benefits that provide the blockchain technology to a third party just because you don't want to do such simple tasks as keeping your private key safe.

No. The problem with bitcoin is that it doesn’t have enough transactions per second to handle all of the currencies of the world.

Also the way that bitcoin is governed is highly centralized. There are about a two dozen people in the world that could collude to make bitcoin do whatever they want. If you are talking about billions of dollars, then there is not enough incentive for people to get together to do strange things, but if you are talking about trillions, then there is.

Now it turns out that there are about two dozen people in the world who could collude to make the Dollar or Euro or RMB do whatever they want, but we know who they are, and people are used to them, and most people trust them more than the people that run bitcoin.

The future of the world currency system IMHO are asset-based coins. OKCoin is about to release the OKDollar which is a digital coin which is convertible one to one with the US Dollar, and there are a number of companies that are working on gold-based coins. UBS also is working on a settlement utility coin.

Once you have an asset backed coin, then you can use that for global trade settlement rather than the US dollar.

Yes it is. For a worldwide economy, it is the solution. No need for exchanges, and send funds instantly wherever. The many different cryptocurrencies, makes us have a different view of money. Till now, must of us were used to one kind of currency that we use in our everyday lives. Only financial markets traders, had a view where they could use many different currencies. With cryptocurrency, anyone can use one or more of the available cryptocurrencies, as they choose.

The price of Bitcoin would take a huge hit because the mystery of the creator would come to an end. The reason for this person or persons to hold onto their bitcoin holdings becomes much less important.I don't honestly believe Bitcoin would fail because of it, but I do think it would cause another MtGOX level crash for a period of time.

Yes I will use bitcoin ATM. And I am of the opinion that bitcoin ATM should be made popular through advertisement. Bitcoin ATMs are a tremendous way for newcomers to be exposed to Bitcoin, and easily experiment with it without the pre-requisite of setting up an online trading account. This will make bitcoin accessible to large audience.

China definitely has a plan to pass its currency into the reserve currencies basket. Some months ago the Yuan was introduced in the Special Drawing Rights basket by the IMF, which is a further step to a world reserve currency status.

However, in my opinion, a single global currency is a bad idea, and I think the world has already realized it and will come with a basket of more currencies, like Yuan, Euro, Dollar, etc. The USD is maintained only because of the US agreements with the Arab and OPEC countries to sell their oil for USD. Yet, there is nothing fair in this game, and the situation will soon change as the BRICS countries try to go apart.

For thousands of years gold and silver were considered as universal between the nations. However, some groups of people got control of it in the 19th century, and afterwards they renounced the gold standard in favor of fiat money which they also controlled.

Gold reserve is still a sign of stability, and if the government would control it, that would be great for the economic growth. This is why China tries to back its currency by gold.

No government can ever ban Bitcoin, it will keep rising, the more you try to ban it the worse it will get for the governments trying to attack it: look at Russia. Rubble volume on BTC is blowing up.

Saying that imo there will be no ban on bitcoin as they will see it is near impossible to enforce with decentralized exchanges popping up for trading coins and goods. In my mind they could only regulate and ban centralized exchanges and services.

Name: mastermold
Post count: 209+1
Rank: Full Member
BTC address: 15yni4guwAQJFvaaCcD9eN99FCY5cYYmjZ

Why is anything illegal? Normally because the government has made a law that should in principle protect the citizens or the stability of the society that they have been trusted to govern.  Moving massive economic value out of the country, has a destabilizing effect on the economy, at least in theory. And bitcoin is considered one such threat.

No - Absolutely not.
Science must adhere to the nonreligious principals of re-examination, testing, demand for evidence and repletion of a single outcome.

(2,500 different religions, 3,700 different god groups, a clear correlation between place of birth and prominent religion... that's definitely not single)

In a nut shell:
Scientific method is NOT religious as it must reject the concept of belief, of faith, in order to avoid bias.
It should serve no purpose but knowledge.
Science is objective, science is open to challenge and change, science has no dogma.

You don't use the word "believe" with regards to scientific results.
If you "believe" in science, you are doing it wrong.
Scientific research, and conclusion are to be learned and understood.
Not believed.

Scientific method begins with observation, not conclusion.
If you use "god" as part of an assertion, that - for example - is already reaching a conclusion before researching.

So - No.
There is also no way to compare or reconcile between science and religion as the former is methodological and requires testing, examination, peer review, repeating results;
and the latter is...well... wishful thinking, faith.
The 2 do not mix, and have nothing to do with each other.

The biggest way is through the use of trading bots in exchanges.  One can be setup, for instance to buy Bitcoin for nothing.  I am speaking plainly, of course, because what the exchange would do is actually credit the sellers accounts with USD balances.  Though in truth they may have no intention of ever allowing those balances to be withdrawn because in the best case scenario, they are running a fractional exchange banking model and they intend to pay for those liabilities with future profits, or in the worst case scenario they just simply intend to defraud their customers and declare a bankruptcy due to a hack.

That is really the only way you can manipulate the price of bitcoin. That is, dishonest exchanges are the only ones that can manipulate the price of bitcoin. Arguably there are enough diverse exchanges now that any one of them driving up the price would receive serious difficulty by arbitrageurs working across other exchanges. No individual no matter how large is able to single handed manipulate the price of Bitcoin anymore.  The moment when we could say that fact with confidence was the moment bitcoin successfully passed the bootstrapping stage and became a real money.

I read somewhere that There is a reason for everything in this universe. The discovered are known as science and the unknown are called religion. I'm a strong supporter of the belief that during evolution, the rapidly developing mind of humans, which was filled with curiosity regarding every undiscovered thing caused restlessness. Although this curiosity helped in further development of culture and new discoveries, some of the complex stuff that couldn't have been explained lead to the formation of an entity known as GOD! I agree that there is some superior power that controls all that is living and dead, but I'd rather believe in an atom nucleus than an unseen entity.

Bitcoin - gold will hold its purchase value if something goes wrong with the US dollar, while bit coin will skyrocket if something goes wrong with the US dollar. 

Bitcoin will probably skyrocket and gold will hold steady even if things are fine in the US due to everybody already knowing about gold, and adoption of bit coin driving prices.

These two issues are related tangentially.

Bitcoin is a mathematical construct, and math is independent of borders and governments. But its value (and especially it’s exchange rate) is based on pure supply-and-demand economics. In the long run, it’s value is likely to be buttressed by perceptions of political or economic instability or uncertainty.

To the extent that the public perceives instability or uncertainty surrounding the UK decision to exit the EU, Bitcoin may experience upward pressure. But if the EU decision ultimately leads to economic stability or confidence (on either side), then this event may exhibit little influence or even a mitigating force on the Bitcoin exchange rate.

My own hunch is that world events will gradually lead to adoption of Bitcoin for an increasing fraction of business and consumer activities—in addition to growing use as a speculative buy-and-hold investment or an investment hedge against inflation.

Here are few

1. Correct conceptual understanding of investing.
There are plenty of investment theories around. Some are valid, others are nonsense. Your ability to choose a solid investment philosophy is critical. Whatever theory you choose, make sure you understand it inside out. As Warren Buffett keeps saying ” Never invest in a business you can’t understand”. So the first step of being an exceptional investor is to know your stuff like a “master”.

2. Rationality.
Wishful thinking and psychological biases don’t do well in investing. Neither does arrogance. Rational thinking, open-mindness and humbleness are musts. At the end of the day, patience and psychology is what differentiates the big boys from the rest of the pack… Never let your ego come in between. No one is bigger than the market. Ask George Soros.

3. Patience
 Start developing the mentality of an owner, not a speculator. Most importantly start resisting the temptation to make money quickly. The ability to discipline yourself to delay gratification in the short term in order to enjoy greater rewards in the long term, is the indispensable prerequisite for success.

4. Good judgment of risk.
Start developing a solid judgment of business and investment risks and start practicing prudence. Funding hundreds of new apps and digital toys whose claims to fame are due to popularity rather than necessity is how you end up with new cycles of investment bubbles.

You can add

Fraud: Cryptocurerncies are digital and cannot be counterfeited or reversed arbitrarily by the sender, as with credit card charge-backs.

Immediate Settlement: Purchasing real property typically involves a number of third parties (Lawyers, Notary), delays, and payment of fees. In many ways, the bitcoin/cryptocurency blockchain is like a “large property rights database,” says Gallippi. Bitcoin contracts can be designed and enforced to eliminate or add third party approvals, reference external facts, or be completed at a future date or time for a fraction of the expense and time required to complete traditional asset transfers.

MOST IMPORTANT. YOU OWN IT

There is no other electronic cash system in which your account isn’t owned by someone else. Take PayPal, for example: if the company decides for some reason that your account has been misused, it has the power to freeze all of the assets held in the account, without consulting you (Trust me, this has happen to me many times) It is then up to you to jump through whatever hoops are necessary to get it cleared, so that you can access your funds. With cryptocurrency, you own the private key and the corresponding public key that makes up your cryptpcurrency address. No one can take that away from you (unless you lose it yourself, or host it with a web-based wallet service that loses it for you).

I dont think bitcoin is here for replacing fiat. Fiat will always be in use because fiat currency are easy to use in day to day transactions and most importantly physical currency will hold its importance in future as well. Bitcoin has many alternate uses. It will grow as digital currency.