Following a storm in late-June extended power blackouts hit the east coast. Then this week were the enormous back-to-back power blackouts in India affecting over half a billion people, Last year there was a notable blackout in southern California.
In a power blackout scenario, isn't bitcoin about the only payment method other than cash-in-your pocket that still remains functional? Most mobile towers have battery backup for a period of time, many with generators as well, I presume.
So even if cablemodem, dsl, and telephone lines have battery backup and are still online, most people don't have battery backup at home and couldn't use it. Most ATMs would still be without power, and most retailers would close or even they stayed open on emergency lighting they might not have sufficient battery backup to keep their point-of-sale systems on.
Some people might have a smartphone that is still online, but at the store they are used to swiping their card, so even though a mobile app might be available for P2P payments, at the retailer they are unable to be served. That phone connection doesn't give them much with present-day payment systems in a blackout.
Two people with a bitcoin app on mobile are already prepared for this blackout scenario though.
The bitcoiners who are prepared could end up being among the few people with the ability to make electronic payments in such a scenario.
When merchants who no longer accept credit or debit cards absorb all the cash and no ATMs operating, an individual with a fat bitcoin wallet could act as a local exchange to the merchant, trading that cash for bitcoins, and then the individual is able to use cash to purchase supplies and other needs with that scarce fiat.
Decentralized P2P likely does disasters better than centralized systems, such as our electronic payment and banking networks.
Am I painting bitcoin to favorably here, or is a bitcoin mobile wallet (and a solar charger for your mobile) just one more thing to add to the emergency planning checklist?
If that whole Bitcoincard meshnet thing works out, then local blackouts be damned. Of course, an electronics destroying solar flare could pose a problem. |
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Bitcoin is going to crash to a couple dollars again a few time as the high rollers realise they are in competition to cash out first. Not cash out completely mind you, just so much to make them a few million in 'stable' money.
This. Assuming bitcoin ever does become a stable currency, it's going to take decades because all the big profit seekers will, at some point, feel compelled to sell their coins and take cash profit and, thus, more widely distribute their coins. I'm still holding to the prediction under the dancing bear. We'll see single digits plenty in the years to come. |
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perhaps someone should make a steamgroup? I probably have time for some dayz in about a week or so, will be back then.
edit: also, one vote for Nameplates: ON, I personally like them
The only reason I don't like them is that it makes it easier to snipe because you can scan a hillside or horizon and the name will appear even if the player is behind some bushes or trees. Where was this located?
//DeaDTerra I actually don't know. I don't have a map yet and I haven't been using an online one this go around. I found a two busted ATVs atop that big mountain between Elektro and Cherno and spent the morning carelessly riding my bicycle around Cherno and Elektro looking for parts to fix one of them up (the other is still up there if you want it; the engine needs to be fixed and it needs a new tire and fuel). After I got the one ATV working I set out to the North. I haven't gone in a straight line. I stopped at a couple places looking for more fuel, and I managed to find two helicopter crashes. I've got an M1911, FN FAL, DMR, and Mk 48 Mod 0; and plenty of ammo for all of them. I've also got lots of supplies and fuel. |
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I'm gonna buy a ton of Steam games now.
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TLDR:   |
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I found a little camp with three tents, a bus, a jeep, and a van. Sorry to the previous owners, I took the jeep.  |
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We have found 1 Bus, 1 Truck, 1 ATV, 1 Motorbike and 1 Bike  Our base looks awesome  //DeaDTerra I'm going to find your base and raid it. Just wait. I'm coming for you. Haha, we have spread them out over two bases now  and good luck finding it  //DeaDTerra Just so you know how badass I am, right now I'm riding a bicycle down a mountain in the dark. Look out!!! |
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We have found 1 Bus, 1 Truck, 1 ATV, 1 Motorbike and 1 Bike Our base looks awesome //DeaDTerra I'm going to find your base and raid it. Just wait. I'm coming for you. |
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Wow. One of your buddies shot me in cold blood while I was eating in a barn.
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I'm on your server creeping in the bushes.
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I think a web-library should be made to help assist those who want to integrate Bitcoin into their website but don't know what kind of security measures needed to be taken.
Something like that has been brought up before: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=93115.0Yep. It's been suggested before. I think Matthew was one of the first to suggest it. Basically, I think the most successful and secure bitcoin businesses should form a bitcoin security forum, maybe include a security expert/crypto guy or two (and pay them a little bit), and publish best practices. Even better, but probably much more difficult to implement, and it comes with its own trust issues, would be for something like that to perform audits and companies could get some sort of certification and be included in a list of companies complying with best practices. |
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Who would have guessed that BTC-E was more secure than Bitcoinica?
I am not like most people. I DON"T judge the security of a website based on AWESOME WEB DESIGN.  |
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Who would have guessed that BTC-E was more secure than Bitcoinica?
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Bitcoin server is up DayZ - DE 91 (v1.7.2.4/Beta 95417) [REGULAR][GMT-8] dayzmod.com - Hosted By Gamma Bitcoin Fund Settings are Armor: On Third Person: On Tracers: Off Nameplates:On Crosshairs:On DeathMessages: On Donation address can be found in the MOTD 1ADgESaitNHWugCSAin5N3n4PJrMud6J88 //DeaDTerra Awesome. Any chance you can make it a veteran server? Leave 3rd person on and turn crosshairs off. Edit: How do I connect? I'm not seeing it through Six Launcher. What does crosshairs do? At the moment they are waiting for a whitelisting from the DayZ admin group so it's currently down. I will post once it's up and running functionally //DeaDTerra Turning crosshairs off makes it so that you have to use ironsights to aim. No firing from the hip. I guess that would be good, I will talk to the other people I play with and see what settings they would like //DeaDTerra Cool. I'll be sending some bitcoin your way as soon as I can hop on the server and try it out. |
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From the link: It is important to understand that the bitcoin value as a commodity is determined by the network properties(difficulty, size,speed) Seems rather that bitcoin's network properties tend to follow its value, not the other way around. +1. also: difficulty and speed are pretty much the same. I don't see how the size of the network would determine the value. Size of network might be influenced similarly as the exchange rate by the size of the community, but that's not "being determined by". As for "exchange rate follows difficulty", that's just been plain wrong (it's the other way around as proudhon pointed out), as has been discussed multiple times and at length on these forums last year. Right, so any TA that asserts that "Hey, difficulty has gone up, so the price will go up" is probably not one to take very seriously, because, as you said, the relationship between price and difficulty has been discussed a lot around here in the past and seem like a settled issue. |
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Bitcoin server is up DayZ - DE 91 (v1.7.2.4/Beta 95417) [REGULAR][GMT-8] dayzmod.com - Hosted By Gamma Bitcoin Fund Settings are Armor: On Third Person: On Tracers: Off Nameplates:On Crosshairs:On DeathMessages: On Donation address can be found in the MOTD 1ADgESaitNHWugCSAin5N3n4PJrMud6J88 //DeaDTerra Awesome. Any chance you can make it a veteran server? Leave 3rd person on and turn crosshairs off. Edit: How do I connect? I'm not seeing it through Six Launcher. What does crosshairs do? At the moment they are waiting for a whitelisting from the DayZ admin group so it's currently down. I will post once it's up and running functionally //DeaDTerra Turning crosshairs off makes it so that you have to use ironsights to aim. No firing from the hip. |
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Bitcoin server is up DayZ - DE 91 (v1.7.2.4/Beta 95417) [REGULAR][GMT-8] dayzmod.com - Hosted By Gamma Bitcoin Fund Settings are Armor: On Third Person: On Tracers: Off Nameplates:On Crosshairs:On DeathMessages: On Donation address can be found in the MOTD 1ADgESaitNHWugCSAin5N3n4PJrMud6J88 //DeaDTerra Awesome. Any chance you can make it a veteran server? Leave 3rd person on and turn crosshairs off. Edit: How do I connect? I'm not seeing it through Six Launcher. |
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Well, BTC-E is doing everything in the correct way. They had backups, they reverted the trades and they will pay for everything.
I know. For all the crap BTC-E gets around here, it seems like this has been handled very well and they were following a lot of the standards that have emerged around here. Keep it up BTC-E. BTW, my balances were restored. I didn't lose anything, as far as I can tell. |
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The bitcoins you have right now are also not money, if you define it that way. They are numbers on your computer.
No. Because these numbers I have on my computer are actually exchangeable for something. The numbers on btc-e.com are not. Also, BTC-E codes were accepted by companies before the hack. These people are (or were) willing to exchange BTC-E codes. I imagine that will change very quickly. But if this is the case then you are completely correct, a balance at btc-e.com is a sort of money, just not as widely accepted as bitcoins. I guess my basic point was that it is an error to view as equivalent bitcoins and a bitcoin balance on an exchange. They are not equivalent. Bitcoinica is, perhaps, a better example of this than BTC-E. runeks, I think there's a lot of confusion around here about things like securities, obligations, commodities, currency, money, etc. You're addressing a nuance that I don't think most people grasp, because a year and half ago I know I didn't. But I appreciate your effort. People like you helped me better understand these things. |
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