as title says, looking to buy a google play gift card purchased in the usa (the android play store thing) around 100, maybe 200 dollars. pm me if you have it and your rate (ideally would want something like 80%). only dealing with full members and up, no neg trust, wont be sending first unless youve got solid rep.

just the fact that the government is involved does not necessarily result in decentralization;  the very nature and structure of bitcoin keeps it from being centralized without massive resources being dedicated towards control, for example, the 51% attack. unless a government specifically aims to control bitcoin and is willing to dedicate ample resources to this effort, this will never happen.

most major countries are starting to however. we can see major countries and nations that are leading in technology coming forth with their decisions on bitcoin in the recent weeks (china, korea, japan), and it can reasonably be expected that others will soon follow. i dont expect it to be long before we see which countries will come forth and we should be able to judge where bitcoin will develop and be adopted.

it's definitely well received by the japanese; i was over in tokyo the other week and many of the department stores (excluding restaurants) had signs at checkout counters indicating that bitcoin payments were accepted there. I didn't happen to have access to my private keys at the time, so I unfortunately couldn't try it out myself, but it was pretty interesting to see.

just controlling volume doesn't mean anything, for all we know they could just be holding that bitcoin to prevent circulation and use. personally, i believe widespread use is much more indicative of being the forefront of bitcoin use in this case; the more use it sees, the more commonplace it becomes, and will eventually become general knowledge to the people. at that point, the people and the government will look the further the possibilities of use, and develop the technology further as they become more involved with bitcoin than any other nation.

people use dollars for the exact same thing; i dont think the neighborhood weed dealer is really going to ask for bitcoin over a good 20 dollar (or whatever currency you use) bill. same thing with larger deals, in fact, its probably much harder to trace a suitcase full of paper money (assuming there isnt a tracer on it or anything) over a pseudoanonymous transaction made with bitcoin. there is no possible way to trace that suitcase, aside from reading individual serial numbers of the bills, and even then you would have to know what serial numbers are contained in that suitcase full of money. with bitcoin, the transaction is right there o the network for everyone to see. you would know exactly which address sent exactly how much money to another exact address. its just a matter of linking those addresses to a person and the transaction to what deal was made.

nowadays? bitcoin has been used for illegal purchases for years now, the first known major case being the silk road, followed by other deep web marketplaces. it still sees use in criminal trades to this day, in an even more widespread fashion now more than ever. and as for saying bitcoin is anonymous, that's a step off from the truth. bitcoin is only pseudoanonymous, as long as you can connect an address to an identity / a person, you can reasonably link all purchases from that address, and possibly the other addresses of the wallet that the address belongs to, to a single person. additionally, with knowledge on which transactions were used for what specific purposes, you can determine if that individual or group has used bitcoin for a transaction for illegal goods or services. it's just gathering that information that allows bitcoin to remain somewhat anonymous. however, people have had addresses linked to their real life identities before, and have been arrested for their involvement in illegal activities related to bitcoin.

lack of infrastructure, education, and a willingness to invest effort into secondary needs. it's a fact, africa isnt exactly the forefront of technology in our world, not just in development or anything, but the infrastructure just isnt there. usage of modern technology isnt widespread, and there isnt even a sufficient economy to support development of technological infrastructure. even setting the economy aside, i dont think a sufficient part of the african population can even set aside time from the basic necessities (work, survival) to educate themselves or familiarize themselves with modern technology. it's just not a suitable environment for progress.

i try to use multiple addresses for trades where i receive bitcoin, the 1subsik... address that ive been using for a while can be signed at anytime i have access to my wallet though, if necessary.

even if you've got money to spare, that doesn't mean you should feel free to throw it away on a table, you could use that money for a plethora of other things that would actually benefit you. even with money to spare, gambling is something that one should partake in only occasionally. even just playing small amounts regularly can easily and quickly lead to a downward spiral.

that's not true at all, I think most people understand the inherent risks with gambling. of course, they did gain some money without much effort, but they understand they could've lost that money as well. I think it's more about actually playing than the money for people that do end up becoming addicted.

sorry, won't be dealing with -trust members.

full members and up. I don't even use skrill.

bitcoin was the first, yes, but that alone can't keep bitcoin on top forever. altcoins constantly seek to improve and include features that bitcoin do not have. it's a large part of their appeal. I'm off the opinion that eventually, an altcoin will come along that offers everything from security to a high market cap, fit for mainstream adoption and large scale use. just look at ethereum, it's boomed since its release due to the popularity and desirability of its features.

also should note that it is possible to make a consistent profit with poker, while the exact opposite holds true for slots.

you might prefer physical slot machines, but keep in mind you don't know what the edge on those machines are, or how they're programmed to work. for all you know, those things might be sitting on a 10% edge. in fact, I remember reading an article featuring an interview with a casino manager some time ago; relative to the money spent, the manager disclosed that the slot machines made the house the most money.

it wouldnt be a distraction if it were to be introduced as a class in an academic setting. with a large number of companies now starting to look into bitcoin and even integrating it into their existing business (not to mention all the bitcoin affiliated startups), just having some formal education on bitcoin and blockchain technology could be a huge plus for those looking for jobs with these companies. with this, all of the downsides you've listed in your post shouldn't matter. besides, there are plenty of university level students that disregard their studies and fail out anyways, i've seen it happen at my old school often. if want to be there, theyll study, nothing can change that.

why not? the idea of currency is an ever evolving one, and the fiat currencies that we're familiar with today are just the current iteration. it's not as if we've always used dollars and euros; the human race has used various things and currency all throughout history, ranging from salt to precious metals. There's absolutely no reason that bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general can't be the next iteration in the idea of currency, after all, we are moving towards a digital era, it's only fitting we have a digital currency to match.

it's not the volatility of bitcoin that's the big risk here, it's the complete lack of diversification. putting everything into one asset means you accept the risk of a crash; if your asset drops 10% overnight (which has happened before with bitcoin, and there have been larger dips in price), you just lost 10% of your net value overnight. if anything, diversifying your holdings into several cryptocurrencies would be a much better move in my opinion. if one drops, you're going to take a smaller hit, and another currency could have risen to compensate.

there is still plenty of influence that China holds over bitcoin, directly and indirectly. like it or not, future regulations and legislation that China passes on bitcoin could hold massive sway in bitcoin's price. let's say for example China lifts their bans and in place, imposes fair regulations on exchanges and usage. we might see bitcoin benefit from this as the Chinese users are given legal access to bitcoin on safe, regulated exchanges. however, imagine if the ban was lifted, but it was mandatory that all citizens disclose their used addresses and transactions. people might not even bother with bitcoin at that point, and would limit usage by billions of people residing in China.

I don't think there's any sort of mathematical explanation that exists that could justify the statement that changing lines or adding them could result in a higher ev. you add lines, it costs more to play and you win less, although you have a higher chance of winning. outside of that, you've zero control over the game. I don't know how this person cab justify saying that there's even the smallest factor where 'skill' can come into play. they might even be delusional.

similarly, it's an asset you can use to secure some of your liquidity. since bitcoin isn't necessarily tied to another currency, it can be a relatively safe way to hold your funds in case of a financial crisis. iirc, the Greeks rushed to buy bitcoin in hopes of retaining some financial value when their economy crashed in 2015.

bitcoin is pseudo anonymous. every transaction ever made can be publicly seen on the blockchain, it's just a matter of finding it.

only with the appropriate amount of regulation. with too much regulation, usage might be harshly restricted, and legal use might not be possible in many cases. however, if a government regulated bitcoin in order to create a safer environment for users, people would take it on themselves to become knowledgeable on bitcoin and use it, knowing it has the government's support.

id think it more to be than just a few, it's just that very few people can make money off of gambling consistently. poker and counting in blackjack are namely the two exceptions that come to mind, and with enough skill and experience, these two games can result in consistent profits for the player (i wouldn't recommend the latter, you're still playing against the house and it won't be fun if you get caught by the casino). however, id think that some of the small time players, especially ones that only play a few rounds and never bother coming back, could very well have made a small profit in their short time.

i'd disagree with this statement, i think for most newcomers, the money is secondary, and are mostly after the experience / some fun of trying it out.

you've contradicted your own statement; if anything, the 'random' and 'surprise' factor that exists in csgo more so than in dota adds more variance, and therefore a higher degree in uncertainty in predictions. i'll confess, im not the most familiar with dota, but it would seem to me the moba genre has more consistent outcomes as far as teams, general skill level, and win chances go. with csgo, there's too many chances for something to go wrong, and result in an underdog taking the unlikely victory; aim is slightly off, huge picks that lead to a team going bankrupt and costing 3, even 4 rounds, or even just one player having a good or bad day. thats not to say predictions are impossible or even unlikely, just may not go as you might think more often compared to dota.