Not looked at Gemini and if it is just for the US only then it's not for me.

There are so many things going on, lots of retailers are starting to accept bitcoin and lots of others are talking about the blockchain technology, there is the halving coming up also.  I don't think one thing can take credit for the inceease but whatever is causing it is okay by me.

Why not.  It is an altcoin and as such is allowed to be spoken about as long as it is in the relevant section.

Thanks, will get a copy and pass it to a few people hopefully it will explain it to them as they don't appear to be too excited when I have tried.

What comes to mind is big potential to lose and also win, there are many people that have lost everything because of the search for that big win.  I'm sure you've heard it here before but only gamble what you are happy / prepared to lose.

I would say it does work, myself I have clicked through a few out of curiosity to see what they are all about.  It creates awareness for sure.

Maybe a little Christmas bonus up to $500, at least it is moving up and not in the opposite direction, guess it's just a waiting game and see what happens.

Think BTC is still gaining momentum, the blockchain is being adopted and thought about by some of the large banks and company so there will be a knock-on effect of bitcoin being talked about more and more and in turn should be picked up by a lot more people.

Looks like they are doing some upgrades, will be back online around 1am GMT.

One step closer to people taking it seriously and reaching the massive, this indeed is fantastic news!

Eventually we will all live in a cashless society, as soon as online banking became a thing and the ability to pay using your bank card became the thing to do we entered into the beginnings of a cashless society.

It is as you say one step closer to a big brother 1984 type deal but even cash is not safe if it at some point it is deemed worthless.
Bitcoin at least is a start to another means, another way to exist outside of the control of any one body, the only way it will fail is if they switch the internet off in which case would probably mean we have been hit by a solar flare from the sun and the power grid has been wiped out

Yeah it means that there is no value added tax put upon purchases which is pretty good, good news but not amazing enough I suppose to be hitting the headlines.

You just never know, just before Christmas.  I wonder at what point will we see kids sending a letter to Santa asking for a BTC

Think maybe you are talking about altcoins which you can set a coin supply at any level you wish.  As everyone has said bitcoin is 21 and pretty sure if it wasn't this would have been flagged up a long time ago.

They will still be taking fees and the whole offline transactions to be merged at a later date sounds like it will open to a whole load of abuse.  Can't blame him for thinking like a bank as that's where he came from but i don't see this really taking off.

Tipping would make the most sense and would be easiest to impliment?

Blockchain is only good for the banks to save and streamline their operations, they may create their own currency but as many others have said these attempts will ultimately fail.  They are trying really hard to separate the blockchain from Bitcoin, Bitcoin is where it's at and where it will be at in the coming years.

Looks interesting, might be worth a punt for a small amount, minimum is 0.01 I see

I have been looking for horse racing also but in the UK there are many restrictions, sites need to obtain a license and there are non that offer horse racing, UK horse racing anyway.

Today is the day  now Back to the Future will only ever happen in the past.