I'd say its "internet money".

A gross oversimplification, to be sure, but still has the right core pieces. Or maybe "Cash without the mass." (I suppose you could add up all the electrons mass that a single bitcoin needs to be represented in binary, but I'm not about to take that on )

I think the main reason people either split into "I love bitcoin" or "bitcoin isn't money" is because of the entire way we've been raised to think about currency. It takes some effort to educate and research the topic, which prevents some from realizing the full potential of a new system. It is easier to mock and deconstruct, rather than seriously examine and criticize with facts.

The initial resistance we're seeing to adoption by a small quarter doesn't bother me at all - in fact, I'd prefer it this way than suddenly the whole world being ga-ga over the idea. It means bitcoin has to prove itself, and that is just fine. It is doing that every single day. When we wake up and the mainstream press is finally praising it, then we'll know we have arrived.

The best part is we don't have to wait for anyone to confirm what we already know. That is why we're early adopters, not followers.

Those that take the risks stand to win everything, and you can be damned sure our collective interest will go far in preserving this new financial freedom.

You may find my post here useful for debunking "bitcoin isn't a currency" type arguments.

http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=12978.0

Any invention that allows people to be free while using it is worth everything to humanity.

Any kind of exchange can be started if you are willing to be first.

I would suggest a meeting in a public place, with a small netbook to verify on-the-spot that the USB drive you are exchanging for AUD currency does in fact contain the proper bitcoin balance. In a way, anyone can provide this service face-to-face. The harder part is setting up something that is only internet accessible.

I'm sorry if that wasn't quite the solution you wanted, but it could be a good start. Bitcoin User Groups? BUGs? Heh.

Thank you for posting this, I enjoy little mental games like these. It doesn't matter if there is no direct applicable use, just for 'fun' is enough of a reason

I appreciate good satire, but this site really doesn't run as far as it could with the concept. Comedy is hard, I guess.

He also fails to mention the cycle of new ideas/products that end up as world-changing events. They are first told it is impossible, then they are mocked and ridiculed, and finally given reluctant credit as the obvious implications unfold. Short-sighted people always find it easier to deconstruct something than do their own research into the plausible applications of something new.

As others have said, bitcoin as a first attempt may not succeed - but the fundamental idea of a crypto-currency will. I have a hunch it will be the right combination the first time, with successive refinements to the core idea as time goes on.

Parent poster, if you get raptured - can I have your wallet? Just set up a 'deadman switch' algorithm that needs input from you at least once a week. Once you are spirited away, the algo will send your balance to my address below.

Thanks!

As I said in my openmarket.org post here:

http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=12978.0


The "what if bitcoin is used for <insert bad behavior>" argument or hypothetical scenario exists for any action that can be financed by cash. The reason of course, is that bitcoin is the same as cash - with some nice crypto improvements, for starters.

Keep in mind that you are talking about the same group that when presented with the idea for the iPod, said it was impractical and nobody would want to own one.

They aren't the best prognosticators of future technology trends, even if they do regard themselves as "uber geeks".

I'm putting this here so it will be indexed by search engines and come up in relation to the article posted here:
(Also, I suspect there is some kind of moderation that may result in my response not being posted.)

http://www.openmarket.org/2011/06/06/bitcoins-four-objections

I really enjoy articles like these, because they mirror similar objections people have had about
groundbreaking inventions or advancing technology. The main flaw here of course, is that "A" can't
possibly supplant "B" because it is "too different" (or insert similar anchored-assumption here.)

Web commerce was "too different" for many companies before they had to scramble to keep up, now it is an
accepted method of doing business.

Bit-torrent was a technology that many companies couldn't get their heads around, so instead of adapting,
they wasted millions trying to 'stop' it.

What you are witnessing with bitcoin is a fundamentally new and "too different" technology that is very
appealing to those who have lived their lives online, know how complex technologies work, and have no
problem adopting disruptive ideas.

After all, that is what the internet is. Why should it be so surprising that some of the biggest changes
in the world start there?

Circling back to bitcoin, I submit to you that any objection you can come up with equally applies to
cash, since both exist in digital and physical form (bitbills) and have the same problems (used for legal
and illegal transactions).

Your insistence that all currency must slavishly plod along a given path to be accepted as 'legit' is
laughable and irrelevant. It's like someone who doesn't understand a car insisting that you need to
design a special place for the horse to sit.

We don't need the old system anymore, and bitcoin will readily prove the point.

You'll see...

Just thought this up.

(And it may be entirely unpractical due to lack of any real enforcement other than 'web of trust' kind of ratings.)

How about instead of mining-pools, you have loan-pools?

Miners with a given Mhash capacity point their rigs at the operator - in exchange, the operator pays out in full the week (or whatever interval) of calculated output to the miner, who goes away happy and spending coin on things. However, the 'contract' part of this is his rig has to maintain an uptime of the time interval of payout.

This may be silly for anything other than working with close friends or business partners, but could be a way to extend a 'credit' like service using mining.

I know it is full of holes, but still interesting in theory.

Your scenario assumes a government that is more competent than a free-ranging pack of internet geeks and crypto experts. Given their track record, I don't agree. More likely is they will try their 'best' to fight the fledgling currency, leading to their loss of power to do anything about personal transactions and/or overall taxation.

In a desperate attempt to find relevance, they may actually have to start producing value and cut politician salaries to keep the capitol building and other government stuctures in good repair. Perhaps it may even force fiscal responsibility, restructuring the dollar to compete. However it turns out, their days are numbered and they better not waste them by attacking the very system that could save us all.

Around 11:24am (EST) I saw a Bitcoin transaction in the block chain of 145,140. That is a notional value of $2.722 Million dollars. That, in addition to in increased frequency of 100 - 1,000 BTC transactions (and even more in the 1,000 - 10,000 range) doesn't seem to be consistent with a flash-in-the-pan kind of opportunity.

How do I know? Because I've actually traded 'pink sheets' before. You know, stocks that list at 10 cents and then spike to maybe a dollar or two? They have an extremely short half-life from their peak. They also have a pattern of 'loading up the truck' in the beginning, as volume spikes and price stays the same - right before the actual 'pump' operation puts prices high enough that the original scammers can dump their shares without killing their average execution price.

Bitcoin, as new as it is, has shown some good strength in the face of some recent doublings in value. This isn't the expected behavior from a 'transitory' currency. I expect fully that the trend will be maintained (log chart, bitcoincharts,com mtgox/USD) for some time, with momentary spikes as another round of people get involved.

So to answer the parent posters question - no, we are not 'guilty' of anything except wanting money to be as free as thought itself.

I hear you can buy that stuff with dollars green toilet paper too.

Bitcoin will share the same problems that cash has, but at least it won't suffer under the same incompetent management. (Central banks, politicians, etc..)

My reply to the article:

Okay, thanks for the replies, I just want to clarify why I'm posting about this topic.

1.) Singular exchanges represent a single point of failure in currency transfer.

2.) Distributed systems are robust against specific attacks that would take out a single exchange. (Sovereign policy, malicious hacks)

3.) Having the ability to have an exchange up and running, without much delay would be key in mitigating single point of failure risk.

Perhaps a customized linux distro with the web front end and associated tools to hook into a local bank account, automate functions of facilitating trade, charts, etc...

Just how the combined hashing power of the network secures bitcoin, I'd like a widely distributed exchange solution that acts like Mt.Gox. I know the over-the-counter market exists for this purpose, but something more approachable for the newcomers who will no doubt freak out if one of the top exchanges suddenly goes 'poof'.

What do you think? Can this be done?

Oh, I don't want a ban - just a handy label perhaps? The responses are comedy gold.

Umm.... no.

Mods, any way we can get the little-boy-who-cried-wolf here a little education in alarmist posts?

Interesting idea, maybe even use existing 'dead drops' of USB sticks mounted in walls and such? Could be a neat way to promote bitcoin, and to use dead drops as a means of exchange. Encrypt a wallet.dat file, someone comes by to solidify the deal made online. Maybe that is what a decentralized exchange will look like in 'meatspace'.

For reference:  http://deaddrops.com/