Nice analysis. I don't technically agree with the double-top theory, but I understand why you made that call.

What I think is significant is this - on the first run-up to all time highs, we only spent 4 days and change above 20. (Including up and down through that area.)

We're already beating that record. The longer we meander around here, I think it gives the market new "legs" for 20.00 as a basis. I'm expecting some minor retrace before we go higher, personally.

Your thoughts are sublimely excellent. Great point.

I've got 84 Billion reasons a month not to save my assets in US Dollars. Bernanke is making sure of that.

Essentially its just another one-way trapdoor token that is centralized and subject to the whim of a single corporation.

I'd run like hell away from it, personally.

My comment on a point that keeps coming up in bitcoin articles - how hashing isn't "useful".

Makes you wonder how fast it will be exploited for double-spending.

I think it will defy any attempt to predict its true value.

This is fucking hilarious.

I assure you, I have more than 5 BTC.

How much? None of your fucking business, thanks

Having stayed out of the ASIC kerfuffle so far, I have to comment and say I really respect Avalon for shipping. The hashing performance amazes me, the same way it did when I compared GPU to the then going-out-of-style CPU miners.

Exciting times for bitcoin, that's for sure.

What I like about this is not just that it utilizes bitcoin, but the other payment processors and banks are having a collective "WHAT THE HELL" moment. They're slowly realizing that there's a way to route AROUND them. I wish I could see their faces, it must be a combination of rage and shock.

So richly deserved, too. Go bitcoin, go!

Ah I get it --- haha, can't believe I missed that. Thanks guys - guess you learn something every day My mistake.

 Just putting this here for the eventual contradiction.

 

Though in all fairness, even a modest rise puts us over the all-time high by the end of the year.

I don't get it Gabi - the wiki says a 51% attack is more than 50% of the network's computing power.

https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Weaknesses#Attacker_has_a_lot_of_computing_power

Bitcoin Charts says the Network total hashing power is ~ 29.773 TeraHashes/sec

51% = 15.18423 TeraHashes/sec, not 29.773 + 15.18423...

Anyway, I think it is pretty apparent the logistics aren't exactly trivial.

Elux is correct, this is a big deal. If it wasn't on a wealth-manager's radar before, it sure is now.

That is so completely awesome I can't stop smiling.

Thanks for being jerks, PayPal! Hahahaha.

At least this action will shut up the idiots starting "We'll never get to < insert price > ever again."

Amazing to behold.

I think bitcoin will do what it usually does - take anyone saying "never" and make them look like a fool

Marcus is right, the government never does anything quickly. Ever. Except perhaps for things related to money-grabbing.

Also, the numbers are a bit crazy. If you look at the mining hardware comparison and pull one of the higher producing cards on it you'd get the following: (https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Mining_hardware_comparison)

ATI 6990 - $772/ea - 772 Mhash/sec

Total network hashrate: 28.081 Thash/sec, which translates to 28,081 Ghash/sec, or 28,081,000 Mhash/sec

Fifty one percent of the network hashrate is then approx ~ 14,321,310 Mhash/sec

To hit this target, you'd need (14,321,310 / 772) = 18,550 ATI 6990 Video cards at a cost (just for the GPUs) of:

$14,320,600

If you factor in other costs, like motherboard, CPU, and power supply at a rough cost of $1,200 - that boosts the total by:

($1,200 x 18,550) = $22,260,000 for a grand total of: ($14,320,600 + $22,260,000) = $36,580,600
(This number will be different if you factor in three video cards per motherboard... but, whatever.)

And you don't even have a facility lined up yet to house them all, in addition to cooling and electric costs.

That is one expensive attack. That is why this will never happen at the current network hashrate.

The overlooked part of the 51% attack is you have to continually expand to maintain your advantage, making sure your blockchain is the longest verified one, and you can only do evil things with your own coins. It seems to me that between buying 10 million dollars worth of equipment or buying outright, you're probably better off sinking it into the system and getting the attendant yields.

There hasn't been an attack because it is really useless to do so right now. I imagine in some extreme scenario where someone is running an attack to punish bitcoin, most users would probably decide to upgrade their clients to patch out the offending actors if needed - assuming that the attackers could even maintain their majority, which I highly doubt.

You have to accept that bitcoin can be used for bad things as well as good. It comes with the territory, just like cash. Except in bitcoin's case its global and doesn't have any central meddling built in.

As far as governments adopting it, perhaps if they get sick of IMF and Central Bank loans shackling their country they may decide to try something else. Hard to say, they may be the last to attempt it, outside of global citizens.