That is actually becoming a trend now, and that worries me. At least for now some big sites have been discovered, and that means that the awareness of users is increasing, so many more reports like this will probably come, and eventually these abusive uses will stop.

I think I will do a parlay with ARsenal and AC Milan for today's games in Europa League. Both teams are not having regular performances in their home leagues, but they should do well in Europa League. I guess they know they can't really win home leagues, so I think this will be their bet for the season. They are the strongest in the group and they should win their games in my opinion.

Right now I'm more of a holder but I do like to gamble on casino and sports bets, so although that is not the same as buying things on a store, it still counts as spending bitcoins I guess. I confess I don't really like to spend bitcoin, because of what you said, but we think that maybe we must spend a little from time to time, because if we don't, then bitcoin will never be a real alternative to fiat.

Maybe those games weren't surprises, but the other game from United group was quite a surprise to me. Didn't really expect for Benfica to get such a heavy loss vs Basel. I mean they are the Portuguese Champions, and we saw Sporting doing a decent game vs Barcelona, and Porto owning Monaco in their own stadium. I think it's safe to say they are definitely passing some short at crisis at the moment.

That might be true, but although Porto got a heavy lost vs Besiktas, and seemed that they were kind of a short team, and the only reason they were winning in the Portuguese League, was because the teams they faced weren't that great, the truth is that after this game vs Monaco, they proved to actually be a solid team, and that game with Besiktas was the exception. Sporting made a decent game vs Barcelona, but right now Porto seems to be the stronger team of the two. I think it will be very hard for Porto to win away vs Sporting, but I don't think they will lose the game.
I go for a draw or away on this one.

I don't think your "points" are important or say anything about the role that bitcoin can have in the world. You think it has no role? Tell that to the people in Venezuela that are being saved by bitcoin right now, and it's ability to by pass their government when they use it. I have a problem with fees? You pay so many fees when using centralized services, how can you complain about the bitcoin fees?
And what do you have to say about government debt getting downgraded all over the world? Fiat is no longer backed in gold, is just backed in faith, and the interests of few, and that is no longer working.
Not saying bitcoin will get adopted or not, no one knows is it will succeed, and yest it has many problems to solve first. But as for a role in the real world, it already has one, by showing that there are alternatives to the current standard.

These are good news for Chinese citizens, but I don't think it will make big changes in the bitcoin price. they already did their thing, and the market already adjusted and proved that China does not own bitcoin. So although the price will probably go up, I hope it doesn't have a dramatic impact. Of course I want the price to go up, but if the market proves that it is no longer heavily influenced by a single country, it will just prove that it is more mature and stronger, and potential investors will trust it more.

I completely agree with you, that's why I went for home or draw and under 2.5. I could have lost the under but everything went well on this game, and I manage to win some coins here. No more Portuguese until next Friday, although the big game that everyone wants to see now, is on Sunday, between Sporting and Porto. Hard game to bet on, I want to see how these teams play in Champions League first.

Of course they can. Of course that they need a good offer from merchants to actually start using it, but once that is available everyone will be aable to use bitcoin, specially because crypto cards are already there, and the same thing applies to mobile wallets. Everyone has a smartphone now, so it will not be a problem.

I'm sure banks and financial institutions are already quite afraid of bitcoin. Right now I think they will only try to discredit bitcoin with the "bubble" accusation, the money laundry problem etc, like we already see from Jamie Dimon. As soon as they realize this wont be enough, they will probable try to put some pressure on governments, because they have a great influence on them. Not sure if any of this will work, because we are already seeing all over the world, that people react on the streets when they don't like what the government are doing, so if they actually go this way, they will probably have a fight they don't want to.

What do you guys think about the game between Arsenal and West Brom today? Arsenal is doing fine at home, but they are playing really bad away, and really need this win in my opinion. Right now only two wins in five games, and that is not good for a team that wants to at least get a spot for European competitions next season. I think they will win this one but it wont be easy and I expect some goals from west Brom. I will go for a win for Arsenal, both teams to score, and over 2.5 on this game.

I think the game between Setúbal and Boavista should be interesting. Not expecting great football here, since they are not very strong teams, but Boavista comes from a win vs Benfica, and Setubal last game at home, was also a win vs Braga, so I'm curious to see what these teams can do on this game. I will risk the home or draw for Setubal, because right now they are undefeated at home and Boavista does not even have a draw when playing away. Not expecting to many goals here as well, so I will also bet on the under 2.5.

Yes, this has been their problem from that past seasons, and it seems it's not solved yet as they are losing points that they can't lose if they want to fight for top positions in Serie A. I guess the decision will be between Napoli and Juve as usual, but let's see if Inter and Lazio can have a word on this.

I think it's hard to predict this one. Both teams are very balanced, and although Newcastle comes from three straight wins, and seems to be in better shape, the truth is that they are still quite similar and Brighton has the home advantage. I will go for both teams to score on this one.

I haven't joined any so far, because it's still very hard for me to distinguish what is a real ICO, with a real solution to a problem, and what is a scam. I read their white papers, and some look really good and I would like to invest on them, but I still wasn't able to do it. Also they normally ask for at least 1 ether, and I'm not rich, so it's a decent amount of money for me. I'm keeping an eye on some ICO's do, because they seem to really have great projects.

I think is is something completely different from what is happening in China. Money laundry is a problem, not just for crypto, but for fiat as well, and I think that every country should do their best to stop it. This looks like a normal concern, and it doesn't mean that they will "start a fight" against crypto.
As for Russia, from what I've read I think they favor bitcoin as well.

These are great new for bitcoin users. If this actually happens, and it looks like it should because the source looks good, it will definitely make the price go up a lot. Also it will be a great way to "promote" bitcoin, since all the users that use amazon and don't know bitcoin, will see that option and will get to know bitcoin and will probably adopt it.

Also I see no problem with this point raised in the article:

"These tech giants know this and are beginning to intertwine themselves into the blockchain process by becoming covert intermediaries that will be able to monitor and ultimately affect all digital transactions"

I mean, yes this is true, but this is just an option. People can choose to use bitcoin through amazon, or they can look for decentralized markets that allow people to buy stuff as well. I don't think this is a problem, and I really think these are great new for BTC.

Well the idea looks great but I don't know how it could work. Most people uses smartphones, but they are not that great. They don't have that much processing power, they go out of battery way to soon if you actually give them use, and internet it still to expensive unless you have access to WIFI.
I don't know how a mobile miner would make a phone completely useless from a mobility point of view (I guess that you would probably have to leave it at home, plugged to some wall and using wifi)

They seem to be really struggling right now. First half is almost over now, and not a single shot on goal. That is not normal for them, they are usually more effective and objective than this. I still think they will win, and your bet of over 1.5 still look like a good choice to me. The odds are way better now, and it's perfectly normal to expect two goals on second half.

I am a Real Madrid fan, and I really like the work Zidane is doing there, but it' true they are struggling now, and I don't remember seeing them like this. They are not scoring those many goals, and their defense is really not doing good as well. They look insecure, and if they want to win La Liga again, they can't be like that. I think they will turn things around, but they already lost way to many points, and in some other league that would be ok, but this one is just so competitive, that 7 points away from Barcelona are quite a lot, even with a long way to go.
Seeing them now, and again, I think their defense is not doing well, the equalizer Alaves got, just shouldn't happen like that.