9.90 traded, cool...

Cutting off power restores order? Ah, so *that* is what they were doing over in India a few days ago, restoring ORDER.

If the US uses martial law, you've got bigger problems, like leaving the country. I think the cached block-chain in other spots in the world will allow bitcoin to survive just fine, thanks.

But don't listen to me, keep stirring that pot...

Rome was really stable too... until it wasn't.

Empire-building ends as well - ask the UK, they used to have colonies everywhere.

I think it is funny that your thesis for bitcoin to be 'easily monitored and regulated' would require most of the North American internet to be cut off. Good luck convincing businesses, or even installing the infrastructure needed to do so.

So, are you just a troll? Or do you really believe these twisted theories?

I've looked into the divisibility for another project representing people using fractions of BTC, here's my notes:


That's quite heady of a concept, and it wasn't even the minimum divisible unit!

I guess we'll find out if it is 'real' when it crosses the theoretical $99 barrier. I still think it is a hack. Bitcoin charts shows a recent spike of $80, so not long now...

http://bitcoincharts.com/charts/btceUSD#rg1ztgSzm1g10zm2g25

Damn man, we *so* don't need this. I can only guess how this is going to spread throughout the internet. My sympathies to those affected, but honestly all you can really do to mitigate risk is not hold balances. I realize that isn't a choice everyone can stick to, but it sure helps.

B.O.O.B.S. - Bitcoin Or Other Block-chain Systems

Or the dollar turning into a steaming shit-pile.

I don't disagree, at all - just putting out a projection based on a rather modest increase. It could vary quite widely from that. That is what makes it interesting, to me anyway.

If you factor in a modest gain each month of $1.00, it would take ~23 months to get there which puts in firmly in the 2015 slot. Of course, if there are other upward moves that are sustained, it could shorten the process. Consider it a more conservative projection.

I think the occam's razor view is she's a daft trollop who tries to write controversial articles for site traffic.

Bitcoin is financial freedom.

Wealth preservation.
1. Decentralized
2. Algorithmic, not politics
3. Finite supply, not endless dilution

Global mobility.
1. Transfers in an hour, anywhere
2. Account control
3. Spend freely, no restrictions

P2P Security.
1. Worldwide transaction vetting
2. Backed by math, not corporations
3. Security upgrades as needed

There's my try....

Not bad, got lumped in there with a bunch of 'alternative' currency systems. Wasn't an in-depth piece, more of a "toe-in-the-water" approach to the evolution of money.

Good catch.

I like the word getting out there, but honestly I don't want the banking dinosaur to be enraged too soon. Preferably after we've expanded some more...

I replied to the network world post - but I don't think it made it up there. Cross-posted to the UK site, so it is out there at least.

I disagree with the OP's prediction - lower support channel is in the 8.40's range. Accounting for the recent volatility and drawing channels incorporating the 'tails' of the daily bars gives a 8.00 support area - though that isn't a usual practice when determining trading trends and channels.

But that is what makes a market, I think one thing and someone is willing to come in at that price based on something else.

This really got my blood boiling, so I posted a comment (pending moderation, which means it probably won't show up) but here it is for posterity:

Ms. Korolov,

It would benefit your readers if you spent time researching your subject, instead of relying on 'expert' analysis from an academic who clearly has no business making absurd rationalizations regarding bitcoin.
         
1) "Nobody has to accept it" - While it is clearly the ability of anyone to reject or accept something, you present it here as a primary reason not to accept an encrypted and distributed currency. How quaint. While you're making 'clever' comparisons using chickens (barter, how cute and whimsical!) the real world is using bitcoin to the tune of $1.8 million USD per DAY. (Source: http://blockchain.info/stats)
         
2) "No critical mass" - We all started somewhere, Ms. Korolov. Yourself taking up some kind of journalism classes (dropping the ball on the 'due diligence' requirement), and bitcoin started in 2009 now trading over $1 million per DAY with a market capitalization of over $81 million. Instead of decrying the fact bitcoin is only three years in the making, I'd suggest looking at the trends of overall network hashing power and transaction volume.
         
3) "No switching costs" - Here you go thwacking about a thicket with a small stick, hoping to beat out some reason not to use bitcoin. In fact, all you end up doing here is showing that there are substantial costs to using government backed currencies versus bitcoin. Bitcoin has minimal fees, can transfer wealth around the globe in one hour versus days, and it cannot be tampered with by misguided monetary policy makers. What you see as weakness, the logical world sees as strengths.
         
4) "There's nobody to police it" - I think what you meant to say here is "There are no government regulatory bodies or financial institutions who can strangle this currency in its infancy." Quite right, there is no centralized authority that can stop bitcoin, prevent you from accessing your money - or stop you from spending it on precisely what you want. What you consider a lack of 'regulation' is really monetary freedom. Perhaps you've been using dollars too long.
         
5) "There's no real need for it" - At this point I had to sit and laugh a while before typing a reply. The need is patently obvious with anyone who has an internet connection and has been reading the nightmare headlines regarding the global financial system. Eurodollar? In a shambles. MFGlobal? Millions in customer accounts stolen, all the while being 'regulated' by government agencies. PFG Best? Deceived regulators with frightening ease then spirited away millions more from customer accounts. That isn't even touching upon the housing bubble and the looming deficits that every government on earth is piling up. The bottom line is - we can't trust politicians, bankers or regulators to help us manage currencies or the accounts that hold them. I'd say that we need bitcoin now, more than ever before.

6) "It's volatile" - Please. Have you looked at any other markets? Eurodollar is currently whipping around plus or minus 100 pips a day, the Dow Jones Index is enjoying a rather lovely drop of 100 plus points to only turn around and ramp 200 on a rumor of the Eurozone 'solving' something. As for bitcoin, it seems like a leisurely stroll in the park compared to those heart-attack inducing trading patterns. Also, there are methods retailers can employ like simple weighted averages to smooth out fluctuations, or simply peg to a price and change when conditions warrant it.

7) "Bitcoin is unfair" - Actually, what is unfair is when someone writes about bitcoin with no knowledge, passing off an academic source as the be-all of references. Early adopters are precisely that, they take the risks that people writing misinformed articles won't take, and understand that those risks can either induce a loss or a gain. To complain in hindsight about a system that is becoming wildly successful for having not given everyone an elevator ride to the top floor is about the most vapid statement I've ever read on the internet - and I've read YouTube comments, so that is saying something.
         
In conclusion, bitcoin is the future and anyone who doesn't learn about it now will wish they had later, believe me.
         
Helpful links:
http://www.weusecoins.com/ <-- Introductory material
http://bitcoin.org/ <-- Source, technical details
http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Main_Page <-- Wiki with a helpful FAQ to not make you look like a moron when writing articles about it
         

Not only is the 'war on drugs' an outdated concept and horribly inefficient, I'd say the same about politics and government as well. I believe we are on a longer-term cycle of change that will redefine how we participate in our society. The internet was built to route around damage, and with several technologies overlapping and mutating, the way we live is going to radically change as well.

Just watch two things - aggregate network hashing capacity (on a long-term trending basis) and average transaction volume being recorded in the blockchain. It is tempting to slap down a trendline and extrapolate, but I'm just fine with watching the above.

If anyone feels like plotting the two on a long term basis, I would be interested in seeing it.

Nice, I am looking at a dollar-wide channel that roughly corresponds to your upward sloping green-line channel. Support around 8.20's with the upper 9.20's that could become support if we break through and close above it - which has only happened once so far.

Hard to chart with a lot of volatility, but overall we're grinding upward which is really what I'd like to see, even if we do have some sudden retracements along the way.