Just watched the video.  Man, Maloney always does such a good job at contrasting fiat currency versus sound money.

That's correct.  

If SatoshiDICE sends you a payout for a wager transaction, that transaction needs to eventually confirm.  If it was a double spend, it will not confirm and eventually disappear, as if it never happened.


If these are payouts to you and they ended up getting double spent, then in another 12 or so hours, they will disappear.

If they disappear and you are still due a payout from a confirmed wager transaction, SatoshiDICE will send a new payout so that every wager that has confirmed will get a payout.  That is provable, and periodically an independent person will double check that SatoshiDICE has made payouts on all transactions (... except for the most recent ones in the past day or so that might still be waiting for confirmations or whatever).


The BItcoin-Qt client doesn't tell you everything it could.  Blockchain.info gives a little more detail if it knows about the transaction.

The Bitcoin.org client is open source.   That means the source code in the Bitcoin-Qt client that you run is visible to anyone and everyone.  There are "super hackers" looking at this code as well.  And at other clients as well, BitcoinJ, etc.  There's $300+ million worth of bitcoin funds there for the taking to the first person to figure out some exploit (actually, that's not true ... if there were an exploit the value would plummet, or else a fix is made and losses were only incurred by those who exchanged value for certain bitcoins that ultimately were made worthless due to the fix of the exploit.)


There's a saying that "no one of us is smarter than all of us".  There may be a super hacker smarter out there smarter than the most skilled person working on Bitcoin.  But there isn't a super hacker that is smarter than all the people working on bitcoin collectively.
 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_knowledge

I see.  Here's the 0.00000001 BTC spend from February 14th that has not yet confirmed anywhere:
 - https://blockchain.info/tx/1064fedccbb1225d6879c79a58e59cda795d4023da140f2ad0bc4c189e5e373f

That's what needs to get confirmed first, as you mentiond.

It still doesn't show that it has propogated to any nodes since Feb 14th.

I don't know the exact solution.  

I would think that if today no other nodes know of 1064fedccbb1225d6879c79a58e59cda795d4023da140f2ad0bc4c189e5e373f then you can simply create a new transaction that spends that transaction's input (include a fee though) and then both 1064fedccbb1225d6879c79a58e59cda795d4023da140f2ad0bc4c189e5e373f and bfe3df19956eabd8c1b87bf1cde1a1526abb80a9bf3320ee838c05edd4a1138f will end up getting marked as being double-spends and will eventually drop out.  You can create that transaction manually using Brainwallet:
 - http://brainwallet.org/#tx   <--  (Be very careful to spend every bit of the inputs, otherwise anything unspent goes to the miner as fee.)

I've posted this in the Blockchain.info thread to see what resolution is possible:
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=40264.msg1567025#msg1567025

Here is a transaction that was one Satoshi for input, one Satoshi output and obviously then, no fee.
 - https://blockchain.info/tx/1064fedccbb1225d6879c79a58e59cda795d4023da140f2ad0bc4c189e5e373f

It never made it into a block.  It was sent via Blockchain.info/wallet I'm told.  It doesn't have an invalid input (double spend), so I would presume the Blockchain.info back-end bitcoin daemon would keep trying to re-broadcast the transaction with it not being included in any blocks.  

Then recently that transaction output was used in a new spend transaction:
 - https://blockchain.info/tx/bfe3df19956eabd8c1b87bf1cde1a1526abb80a9bf3320ee838c05edd4a1138f

Of course, this new transaction won't confirm because one of the inputs hasn't confirmed.   But since that earlier transaction isn't still being re-broadcast (persumably, maybe it is but no nodes it is connected to will relay it) then no miners will ever include the earlier transaction and this transaction will never confirm as well.  But that leaves the Blockchain.info/wallet user stuck -- the Blockchain.info/wallet see those 512+ BTC as being spent and won't let the user spend them in a new transaction.

What methods to resolve this are available?

[Edit: Here's the thread with the request for assistance:

512 btc in a transaction that will never confirm, need help
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=147519.0 ]

I believe you did.

Using BitInstant for that, it can happen in minutes.  When a problem occurs, whether on your end, MoneyGram's end, or BitInstant's end, it may take hours or a day or so.


BitInstant is only moving USDs currently, apparently.  So you would need to use those USDs to buy bitcoins at Mt. Gox.   From there you withdraw to the Bitcoin address you provide (from your Blockchain.info/wallet if that is what you use) and that withdrawal is generally processed in minutes.

Then from Blockchain.info/wallet you would Send money to a Bitcoin address of wherever you are sending funds.

There are many options for cash out with SEPA withdrawal:

BITSTAMP.net is one of the more widely used methods (going by their exchange volume):
 - http://www.BITSTAMP.net

There is also the market exchanges Bitcoin-Central.net, Bitcoin-24.com, and BTC-e.com.

Others that cash-out bitcoins for EUR include:

 - http://bitcoinsinberlin.com
 - http://www.Bitcoin.de

There may even be a local buyer to find someone with coins to sell:
 - https://localbitcoins.com/country/DE/

And a few others as well:
 - http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Selling_bitcoins

What's great is that the SEPA transfer is fairly inexpensive, and with Coinbase it is a flat 1% fee, so a test can be performed on a smaller amount (e.g., $50 or $100) at little cost.

One drawback to using Coinbase, however, is that the price is locked in at the time of purchase but the bitcoins aren't delivered for several days.  This means that you would be exposing yourself to the bitcoin exchange rate risk during that period of time.   Also, for the first 30 days, a Coinbase customer has a probationary period where the buying limit is $100 worth of coins per day.

There is another option available -- and that is to use Dwolla.  With Dwolla you link a bank account, much like you do with Coinbase, except that after you have USD funds at Dwolla you can then send from Dwolla to an exchange (e.g., Camp BX or Mt. Gox), and the transfer is credited to your exchange account promptly.   Then coins can be bought and the bitcoins transferred and cashed out all occurring within minutes.

That won't do you any good right away because nearly all nodes see those transactions as having been spent.   So you can try to broadcast the transaction but they won't get relayed.

Eventually this transaction that won't confirm will drop out of the memory pool of the nodes and you can then spend.  But that will take a day or more.

When you do spend, use the blockchain.info/wallet "Custom" and just send the larger amounts one at a time.  Then if you want to experiment with raw transactions you aren't putting any amounts of significance at risk of getting held up.

Ironically, they are likely having to buy coins to meet demand and thus most Coinbase business probably is transacted through Mt. Gox anyway.

Um ...   "halving" (50 BTC per block to 25, occurred in November).   Those who sell their mined proceeds shortly after they are earned didn't sell them at $31, they sold coins at $11, and $15, and $18, etc as it rose.   So they are just now doing better than the level of profitability they were at right before the halving.  But this 20% difficulty increase will cut their REVENUE 20%, which decimates their profits if their margins (revenue minus expenses) wasn't that great.

In the UK you have several methods.

Blockchain.info has "Faster Payments". The daily limit isn't too high though ("New users are limited to a maximum purchase of £100 per 7 days and a maximum single transaction size of £100.")
 - https://blockchain.info/wallet/deposit-bank-transfer

Then there's BitBargain:
 - https://bitbargain.co.uk/buy

You can also send cash (GBP) in the mail to Bitcoin Nordic (in Denmark):
 - http://www.BitcoinNordic.com

For larger amounts you can send an International wire transfer to an exchange (e.g., Mt. Gox, or Bitcoin-24.com, etc.)

One approach that is recommended is to use a currency conversion service to exchange your GBPs to EUR and then send the EUR to an exchange.    The conversion services would be TransferWise and CurrencyFair.  Then withdraw to an exchange like BITSTAMP.net.
 - http://transferwise.com
 - http://www.BITSTAMP.net

For smaller amounts, you can buy a UKash voucher and redeem that at:
 - http://mercabit.eu
 - http://www.VirWoX.com
 - http://www.BitcoinNordic.com (through a CashU account)

And there are many many local traders in the UK, buying and selling frequently.  Here's for London:
 - https://localbitcoins.com/postal_code/UK/london/

And there are individuals who trade frequently.  Here are a couple:

BTC for sale for cash in Central London BTC --> GBP Pounds Sterling £££  [Tenakha]
  - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=147320.0

Buying Bitcoins in bulk (UK)  [AlexNeto]
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=130949.0

A fairly comprehensive list of exchange methods is on the Bitcoin.it wiki:
 - http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Buying_bitcoins

I see.

Those are called redeemable codes.   You are talking about specifically USD redeemable codes (or other fiat, like EUR).
 - http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Redeemable_code

Mt. Gox sells them for 0.6% fee (or less, if you trade frequently).  Then it is another 0.6% when you want to use the redeemable code to buy bitcoins.  You can print the data out and call each a Voucher if you want.

Now selling these vouchers to someone else is probably a regulated activity.    That's expensive.  That's probably why nobody else offers this type of service.

AurumXChange will sell these codes as well, they are called VouchX.  They don't charge anything it seems to trade your bitcoins for a VouchX (i.e., they sell at spot).   To go the other way (VouchX and then buy bitcoins) is a 3% fee.   Some exchanges accept VouchX, which might result in a lesser cost.

I don't remember if BitSTAMP still has their "Coupons" / redeemable codes.

When you say your wallet "is a different address", ... but a wallet has many addresses, probably means you have an empty wallet with only one address.

That you have a client that has synced but shows no transactions kind of confirms that.


That is unfortunate.  You never made any backups of your wallet anywhere?

I don't know that it is a problem with Coinlab specifically versus a change where accounts that people had at Mt. Gox in Japan are being "transitioned" to some exchange operator operating from the U.S.   That's a change many had not planned on occurring.

So does this cause people to buy at Mt. Gox and then sell on other exchanges to move their fiat out, prior to the upcoming event?

If that is what this rally was (e..g, traders with large balances having learned of this earlier) then that trading activity has already occurred and the volumes and prices will recede.

Or will the rest of the unwashed masses feel the need to do the same thing, spurring another buying spurt as people do the "transition" to another exchange all on their own.

MoneyPak is an excellent way to cash out of bitcoin where you then use that MP to reload a debit card or PayPal, for instance.

But MoneyPak is a horrible way to try to buy bitcoins. Here's why:

The problem is no commercial service can accept MoneyPak as payment for the purchase of bitcoins. Green Dot doesn't want that happening. They only allow you using the MoneyPak codes with authorized merchants or for loading funds to your own debit card. So the only ones where trading MoneyPak for bitcoins is happening is with individuals who accept MoneyPak for payment when selling bitcoins person-to-person and are small enough to operate below Green Dot's radar. The person that accepts MoneyPak then uses it to load a PayPal account or to add funds to a reloadable debit card.
Cashing out your bitcoins to MoneyPak is not a problem, and there are a couple of commercial services which offer this:

 - http://www.BTCPak.com
 - http:///FastCash4Bitcoins.com

MoneyPak is a bearer instrument -- anyone who knows the code can spend it.

There are a few ways these MoneyPak codes can end up in the hands of thieves and criminal hackers who then trade them for bitcoins.

The theif might even provide what seems to be a valid MoneyPak code and the person selling bitcoins might see the funds loaded into the PayPal account or wherever the code were used but then later the funds are reversed after the rightful owner of the code reports theft.

To regain access to the funds, the person that accepted the MoneyPak needs to provide to Green Dot a copy of the receipt used to purchase the MoneyPak, using cash. Even with that, if there is someone else with the same receipt reporting the theft, that person would likely lose the dispute as another person was actually the party that bought the MoneyPak from the store.

So it comes down to ... you are offering a payment method that is reversible and is frequently used to defraud. If you had a trust history, then you might find sellers willing to trust you for smaller amounts. But trying to start out of the gate selling MoneyPak without months of good prior trading history is not likely going to get you many trades.

In the U.S. there are cash deposit methods that are available to you.

 - http://BitMe.com (accepts cash at Chase)
 - http://BitFloor.com (accepts cash at Bank of America)
 - http://ZigGap.com (accepts cash at Western Union)
 - http://BitInstant.com (accepts cash deposit at 7-11, Walmart, CVS, Moneygram locations, etc.)

Outside the U.S. there are cash deposit methods in Canada, Brazil, Russia, New Zealand, Australia, and more.

Or you might find a local trade (paying cash):
  - http://www.localbitcoins.com

When will you have SSL (https)?

Just to be clear ...

- https://bitfunder.com/asset/ZigGap

ACH is a reversible payment method.  (Harder to reverse than credit card, but still an ACH payment can be reversed, such as the account owner claiming the transfer was not authorized.)

As such, there is currently only one exchange that accepts ACH transfer, Coinbase.  They are able to do so because they believe they can automate the risk calculation to where that payment method can be accepted profitably.


Nope. That's not how ACH works.  There are some online banking services which allow person-to-person transfers, but none of them work with any bitcoin exchanges [Edit: Except for CapitalOne 360 /ING, which you can use with BitFloor, but that's still not going through the ACH network].

Instead you log into Coinbase and link your bank account.  One way is to give them the username and password to your bank account (for "instant" verification) and they have a process that does a look see and if all checks out, you enter their "probationary period" where you are allowed to buy up to $100 USD worth of bitcoins per day.    [Though your transaction could still get cancelled at any time before delivery of your coins.]   If you instead choose to do "deposit" verification, they send a couple deposits and a few days later after that happens you then tell Coinbase the amounts that they sent you, and that verifies that you own the account.  Still only gets you the probationary amount of $100 per day.   After 30 more days you exit probation and can buy up to 100 BTC at a time.


You are dealing directly with Coinbase, there are no other parties involved.

If you are wondering about other exchanges, almost none are person-to-person markets.  The problem with those, as you can imagine, is that the seller doesn't know if the buyer can be trusted.

Incidentally, the difficulty increase will be the biggest ever in terms of size of the increase in the number from one level to another.  With block 133,056 is increased from 877,227 to 1,379,223, or 501,997 in one adjustment.    This one will be over 700,000.
 - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmcTCtjBoRWUdHVRMHpqWUJValI1RlZiaEtCT1RrQmc

The impact of what miners do with their they earn each day anymore (or do when no longer earning coins from mining) is becoming a smaller and smaller part of the bitcoin ecosystem.   It's not a trivial amount, but at the same time it is not something that would impact the exchange rate a whole lot, at least not that I can see.

But a 25% rise in the difficulty just offsets a 25% gain in the exchange rate that already occurred.  If it were temporary, that wouldn't be that significant.  Because ASICs will only be coming faster and stronger, that's probably going to be the death-knell for those who stuck with GPU mining since the halving (and pay average rates or higher for electricity).  

In other words, this is a significant jump in the difficulty for you as a struggling GPU miner.  It is insignificant to everyone else.