And, again, the protocol wasn't design to address that concern.  The decentralization of bitcoin doesn't have to do with value.  There is no way to address the concern your raising.  Want to know why?  Because it has to do with the economics of supply and demand and that some people simply have enough wealth to influence the value of any financial instrument.  There is no solution to this "problem".

Don't post shit like that or I might turn more bullish.

Mind blown!

I actually regret joining the dog pile to the extent I have in the past, and my sympathy for Amir and friends' position has grown over the weeks.  My main frustration was the lack of communication.  When I finally received an email response, even though it was extremely brief, it was enough.  Lots of us aren't asking for much in the way of communication.  So, that's my main criticism - that there's been an real lack of communication.  Most level headed people are willing to be patient as long as they don't get the sense that they're being completely ignored.  Though, on the other hand, I understand that the backlog and workload is pretty heavy and that time responding to emails and posting on the forum is time away from processing claims.  But then, perhaps a post with a bit more detail about all that would have helped.  In any event, my gratitude to the work Amir and the rest of them have been doing.  I have no doubt this is stressful and difficult, and you're getting a lot of shit in return.  

This. 

I don't see how that can be discounted with ASIC mining coming online and the reward drop.  I still think those are going to put major downward pressure on the price.

I'm not seeing it.  We're probably in for another multi-month slump, at best.

Just got this message this morning:


It's amazing how helpful that brief email is.

Almost half of all the bitcoins on the MtGox order book are now placed between the current price and $7.00.

+1  I've been saying this for a long time now.  It'll probably take a year or so after the block reward change before there's a distinct break from the current price level, and I think with the flood of ASICs on the horizon we could see the price move back down toward $2 over the next year, maybe even lower.  The only way I see that forecast upset is if there's a massive influx of new money and users, and I just don't see that happening for a while.

So how do you think the argument should go from this new premise that math is a universal representation of god to the conclusion that bitcoin is backed by god?

Good luck.  I've emailed them a bunch of times over the past month(s) at every address they've posted in this thread, including several emails to the email address you just mentioned, and I haven't gotten back a single response.  All I want to know is the status of my claim and whether any additional information is needed from me.  Others have reported getting responses back, and that only worries me more because it makes me wonder if there's some reason I'm being completely ignored.

Nice to hear.  I think I'll make my next bitoin purchase through CampBX.

Ok, sure.  If God is math, and bitcoin is backed by math, then bitcoin is backed by God.  Just as if a bachelor is an unmarried man, and John is an unmarried man, then John is a bachelor.  Your argument is certainly valid, but it's definitely not sound; at least not until you offer a compelling argument why anyone ought to believe that God is math, which, BTW, is going to entail you making an argument for why people ought to believe there is such a thing as God*.  Good luck.

*This is assuming that you really are trying to get to the conclusion that bitcoin is backed by God.

Bitcoin's decentralization was never intended to apply to how fairly and evenly its units were destributed.  Rather, bitcoin's decentralization is that transfers happen without a single service provider maintaining and verifying a ledger of transactions and in that it can be made practically impossible for third parties to gain control over users' units of exchange.  The value of a bitcoin is a function of market forces and the protocol simply doesn't have anything say about it.  Frankly, I think you've completely misunderstood the meaning of 'decentralized' in this context.

The trouble I'm having is that for lack of any specific communication over the course of weeks, despite several emails sent, I'm unable to assess whether I need to offer any more evidence of any kind.  I don't know if information I've offered is verified, not verified, if I'm untrusted for some reason, or not.  I just don't know what my status is.  That's what I, and I'm sure others, would like to know.

We'll be lucky to see the price above $6.80 between now and the end of the year.  I think my prediction of single digit prices for the next year is solidly on track.

Is there anything special I need to include in my emails to you guys.  I've emailed several times over the weeks and haven't gotten a response back.  Do I need a special subject line or something?

On, we're on track all right.