4 failures < 9 successes, no?

Need I say... POP!

I used to have a paid ad in my sid. It's pretty obvious. It looks something like this:

Disclaimer: I love Jon Matonis's writings. I believe he is the right man for the job.

However, if a vote is called for then a vote must be called. Even if most expect it to be unanimous. History has proven that democracy falls whenever elections are cancelled because of immense popularity. Benito Mussolini is a striking example. Even if it is merely a formality, it is an important formality.

...but I thought Bitcoin had Expired?

Sorry if I did not make my point clear. I'll elaborate.

We are talking about the sum of a geometric series. However, this sum is not strictly exponential. The formula is proportional to (1−qⁿ)/(1−q), where q is the growth factor in average block size and n is the number of blocks. When n is large, the formula can then be approximated as qⁿ⁻¹. When n is small, however, this approximation is not successful.

Consequently, to predict future block sizes, we must take into account the fact that the future approximation does not currently hold. A better prediction is to use the ratios of q itself, which is the growth factor in average block size.

The good news is that that method never fails.

When measuring exponential growth, average block size is more useful than total block size. Since 2011, average block size is doubling only once per year.

And indeed, that's the reason most use it .

I recently read about Africa's coming population explosion. What's more, the generation that will soon become the working force was mostly raised in relative poverty and high child mortality. They will consequently be the "cream of the crop". Many of them will lack proper education but have great intelligence nonetheless. A poor and uneducated, but intelligent demographic seems like the perfect Bitcoin success story.

There are, unfortunately, problems. Internal unrest, totalitarian governments, and militant groups are active in many parts of the continent. Even in Equatorial Guinea, Africa's richest country, violence is common and governments are corrupt. The risk of excessive government regulation seems almost inevitable. Moreover, Internet access remains sparse in Africa, especially in slums and rural areas.

But Africa has great potential. The African Union, following its European counterpart, has gained traction recently and will soon create the world's second-largest democracy, after India. With universal suffrage comes greater freedom and peace. Religious and ethnic feuds, although still rampant, are also set to decrease to acceptable levels. In 1990, a massive genocide in Rwanda claimed almost a million lives. Twenty-three years later, most are confident such an event will never again occur.

African governments likely do not worry about Bitcoin now, as it is still small. But as it gains traction, it cannot be ignored. If a democratic African Union votes to embrace Bitcoin, thereby bringing its low management costs, transaction fees, and reduced waste, both Africa and Bitcoin stand to benefit. The daily lives of what will eventually be 22% of the world will be improved.

Many claim that the demographic explosion helps Africa none, and will only fuel conflict, war, and totalitarianism. Indeed, recent losses for democracy in Egypt seem to cement this position. But perhaps there is a saviour in Bitcoin. In this time of change and challenge, Bitcoin will not only nullify the boom's demerits but also bring out the boom's benefits. With Bitcoin's help, Africa's coming population explosion will recall the Baby Boom: affluence and prosperity.

For someone named BitcoinAshley, this is quite sexist.


Many good things have happened to Bitcoin. Some are better than others. Their ETF, although certainly a good thing, is in my opinion a far cry from the best thing. That honour would go to Gavin, Mt. Gox, Bitcoinica, "The Good Wife", WordPress, or any of the other important events.

If people would expend 32 GB for a simple tool for entertaining oneself, I find 10 GB for a revolutionary financial transmission technology perfectly acceptable.

Of course, I don't deny that reducing blockchain size would be useful. However, I do find it very low priority and believe the project would be better served with security, usability, and internationalization updates.

10 GB can be stored on a 2007 low-end Zune, so I see no issue with the blockchain size. If you can't hold it, either get some better software or use a lite client.

Sorry, meant despite rather than with. But I guess it still holds!

Or perhaps they sold and are trying to push the price down even further to buy back?

This of course needs to be done per capita.

Rank	Country	Miss Universe winners (ppm)
1.	Trinidad & Tobago	1.51
2.	Puerto Rico	1.36
3.	Botswana	0.494
4.	Namibia	0.473
5.	Finland	0.368
6.	Sweden	0.313
7.	Panama	0.294
8.	New Zealand	0.224
9.	Lebanon	0.207
10.	Venezuela	0.207
11.	Norway	0.197
12.	Israel	0.125
13.	Dominican Republic	0.106
14.	Greece	0.0925
15.	Australia	0.0867
16.	Chile	0.0601
17.	Netherlands	0.0596
18.	Canada	0.0569
19.	Angola	0.0485
20.	Peru	0.0328
21.	Thailand	0.0303
22.	USA	0.0253
23.	Argentina	0.0249
24.	Spain	0.0212
25.	Colombia	0.0212
26.	Philippines	0.0204
27.	South Africa	0.0189
28.	Mexico	0.017
29.	Japan	0.0157
30.	France	0.0152
31.	Germany	0.0124
32.	Brazil	0.0103
33.	India	0.00165

It's a real shame Italy isn't on there. Despite all their political and economic problems, their women are quite attractive.

If this isn't a bubble, I don't know what it is. The price is dropping for no apparent reason, and the drop is intensely accelerating. When will it pop?

NB: This is a log scale chart.

ASICs being pumped into the market means increased profitability, with revenue in BTC. Basic economics indicates that with higher profitability comes inflation, so currently some inflation is expected. This is a consequence of a healthy economy.