That can work with a minority of believers.

It really needs to get to a point where it's a no brainer for a consumer for it to be widely adopted. It also needs to be demonstrably better than existing options to nudge people into making the change.

Discounts would easily do it but margins are usually too tight for that to be sustainable or offer a big enough discount for a casual user to bother. 1-3% isn't going to be enough.

I guess brighter minds than mine will come up with something.

Whoever the seller is is a fuckin' amateur.

Here's the real deal - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Casascius-5BTC-Series-1-coin-fully-loaded-w-CoA-and-coin-capsule-not-Lealana-/221836951357?hash=item33a6833f3d

It's been pretty consistently up for sale for over 18 months. What the hell is wrong with people? Don't they recognise a bargain when they see it?

Something to do with Chartbuddy's hosting occasionally goes tits up. That's the most regular issue.

Yup. That drives me batty. The page twitches all over the place.

I wonder. Many would've been around from the earliest days and might already be a bit too comfortable for their own good. I would've thought a bit more hunger would be of benefit.

I believe Itbit have a banking charter which is a different type of regulation and a much higher level than the bitlicence and one that already existed.

Not sure how long it took but it would've been a rigourous process and one that allows them to operate in all states. Maybe Gemini is going for something similar.

Whether we like or not, there is a relatively select few who have a good amount of influence over the direction Bitcoin is taking.

Aside from consensus of course, what do you feel such folks could do with more of?

Blockchain.info and dropbox? I think it's very cool that they've done it but that's a very retro and vulnerable bit of advice.

Coinbase and Bitpay are happily processing away payments in Europe. The EU probably has more friendly banking options than the US too. I don't get why so many companies haven't implemented payments there yet.

NY is the home of financial heavyweights and that's what they want to attract and retain. If the bitlicence only leaves well-funded players then that'll probably warm the cockles of their hearts.

Bans look uncool. If a country wasn't into the idea all they have to do is strangle the fiat gateways. There'd still be a bit of activity but it would be greatly reduced.

They make fees whatever the price is doing. Why would you deny yourself the best part of a year's business? No doubt they're burning up a lot of cash and would like to get some back.

And whatever your wage is and wherever you are the cost of living will balance out to eat up what you make in an average job. A friend went to Norway once and was so sickened by the prices for everything that they left in protest. The locals didn't seem to notice.

Being a hero member doesn't mean anything other than having stuck around and posted regularly for 18 months or more. Lots of broke ones out there who were either wiped out back in the day by varying scams, had a better developed gambling problem than the newcomers or didn't take it seriously.

You gotta buy some POS coins and stake them. You might not make all that much though. There are occasionally giveaways of new coins and their faucets can be generous but don't plan on getting rich any time soon.

There is no mining. That's the whole point. With most POS coins you earn fees from the transactions which is often linked to how many of the coins you hold.

Yup. I get it pretty regularly. Sometimes it's back with the next refresh, other times it'll take a few minutes or hours. This is nothing new. It's happened consistently since I've been lurking here.

The sun is likely to burn out before that occurs.

Well, quelle surprise. 

I think BTC has a pretty narrow window of opportunity to address its problems before it becomes a dinosaur. There are plenty of very bright people busy learning what it's doing wrong and how to improve it while this community is frozen in bickering.

Many people involved in it have a wee perspective problem. They rarely realise that very few beyond their little puddle would give the slightest shit if it was usurped and died.

If the small blockers/ settlement network believers think that the rest of the world will be enchanted by a monetary system that costs them 0.1 BTC to send a smudge of change to another wallet then they need to leave their computers and go talk to real humans.