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The wall hasn't done much, despite the effort.
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Its there anything like a btc auction site out there? Call it Vanilla Road if you like. Speaking of roads, how does SR deal with dishonest merchants? Do they hold coins in escrow? Are there chargebacks in case of disputes? Would any of you here buy from this hypothetical btc-bay over Ebay if you had a choice?
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You want to chargeback honest merchants ?
You want to freeze customer accounts without explanation?
You want to refuse them donating to companies your government doesnt like ?
Im sure you get the idea.
You know what peer-to-peer means, right? |
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So, which one is more likely -
1. Bitcoin payment processors growing, Paypal market share shrinking, Paypal attacking and losing battles, btc processors successfully lobbying, Paypal going titsup, Bitcoin dominating, OR
2. Bitcoin payment processors growing, Paypal market share shrinking, Paypal adopting btc, Bitcoin dominating
I know, I know- there are other, more likely scenarios, but my point is that big businesses might actually embrace btc, especially if we quit bashing them. Not sure if I'd prefer that, but just putting that option on the table.
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I take "destroy" to mean a near-zero market-cap and no real use of Bitcoin. Legislation and other forms of suppression can't achieve that, though they would drive the price down.
1. The most likely way Bitcoin could be destroyed would be the release and adoption of a superior protocol that serves the same purposes as Bitcoin. I'd put the probability of this happening in the next five years at over 10%.
2. Some emergent behavior of mining incentives makes it easier for some entity to control the block chain. Maybe mining pools get huge. Maybe mining gets taken over by specialized hardware.
3. Some cryptographic flaw in the protocol is discovered. (Seems very unlikely at this point.)
History shows making things illegal makes their price go up, not down. That's a bit of an ignorant observation to the demand side of the supply/demand equation that determines a price. It's a hell of a lot different to make something illegal that it being illegal likely isn't going to diminish it's demand than it is to make something illegal that it being illegal is very likely to severely diminish it's demand. I find it unlikely demand will be diminished long term. It may take time for everyone to move to TOR/I2P/Etc., but its usefulness won't be damaged, just the barrier to entry. Alcohol has exactly the same effect on your brain, regardless of its legal status. The usefulness of bitcoin can and will be damaged if bitcoin businesses are having legal problems. That is an important distinction. You might be using btc over tor/i2p to trade on SR, but bitcoin can and currently does much more. |
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This thread smells funny. Just saying.
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Do you sniff glue, man? Obviously the best way would be to just do whatever.
For whatever reason.
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But I like all these theories... keep them coming!
Something tells me that Erik might already have an answer... |
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I am starting a list of the most bizarre / improbable addresses found in the blockchain.
Any particular address you listed as as probable as any other one. The bizarreness is in our heads. |
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Large billboards around europe/greece that say
BITCOIN IS BETTER THAN EUROS
Nothing else.
I've been writing "bitcoin is better" on banknotes for a while now. |
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Remember that the government is nothing but a group of individuals, each guarding their own interests. Those who are more invested in the current monetary system, and have more access to inside information, will certainly want to protect themselves from the looming collapse. It wouldn't surprise me to hear that some members of the political class are already investing in bitcoins.
+1 |
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You're bypassing the very channels the government uses to track finances. If they can't track or observe the money, they can't impose their rules and regulations on it, which is a threat to their tax base. One person doing this isn't an issue, but if everyone started to do this, there would be trouble, to say the least.
While I personally think what you're doing is great, I would also advise you to stay diligent in using caution.
I think the only reason I'm bypassing the usual channels is simply because of obscurity and novelty of bitcoin today. If and when it becomes significant, it will also be regulated. I will most likely keep using it. Those who embraced bitcoin with the hope of avoiding taxation or fighting the government will move on to something else. In my opinion they should really stop trying to solve their problem by running away from it. |
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There is no threat to bitcoin. The very aim of Bitcoin is to undermine the entities who control the world by controlling money. To say that there is no threat to Bitcoin is optimistic. I've been using Bitcoin to transfer and exchange government money between Canada and the US. I'm also cautiosly using Bitcoin as a store of value. I spend significant ammount of time on this forum. I used to mine back in the days (sic!). I fail to see how my usage of btc is undermining anyone or anything significantly. |
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My two bit-cents:
The beauty is that bitcoin doesn't really have to gain any more acceptance in order for it to be useful. As long as it maintains a steady value I could care less what the "masses" think or if they ever adopt it. I can use it as a "store of value" and "offshore bank account" in its current state. This is similar to gold and silver - the masses don't own it, don't spend it, and don't have a clue of its value. Meanwhile, gold and silver still shine and deliver.
Interesting point. Perhaps it's best if it never gets "big"...? |
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This is distracted thinking that fails to notice the obvious source of the problem. All the money "we spent on illegal immigrants" has not burned in fire, and it was definitely not burned in fire by the illegal immigrants themselves: the money simply changed hands. Public funds mostly ended up in private pockets of for-profit insurance companies, hospitals, law enforcement, bureaucrats, and so forth. Illegal immigrants, Iraq, health care, war on drugs, are simply excuses. Even if someone eliminated illegal immigrants, big capital and investors would simply find another excuse and another way to maximize their profits - especially by sucking off public funds. The problem are not illegal immigrants, the problem is ideological. It is amusing to see how many Americans are being fucked hard by their own, all while blaming foreigners for the pain...
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There is nothing unique about federal reserve when it comes to financing armed conflicts. It is my understanding that almost every major conflict in the past 300 years has resulted in increased public debt. The idea of (city)government issuing bonds to finance battles was evident in medieval Italy.
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Defamation through association. That's an effective way to kill an idea.
Mark my words, that's how special interest's will attack decentralized crypto-currency.
The thing is, the public has learned by now to some extent, and has grown rather cynical (well, apathetic, too) - so defamation might not be as effective as before. My outlook has become very jaded, as every time I've come to expect some higher cognitive behavior from "the public" they always disappoint whenever an idea of such scale is presented. The macro scale of Bitcoin is simply too extreme for most people to accept. As with all things, time will tell. Alright, what is the best way for bitcoin users to defuse defamation attacks? I'd say the best way is by using btc, and being outspoken about it. Also, I find the Wiki PR page rather sensible - https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Public_relations |
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It's fair to say it's been working out better than that: they will send you a one-time address if requested. |
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