Hmm. Yeah - most people with brokerage accounts, and managing liquid assets in multiple asset classes, have credit ratings that are in the toilet </sarc> eta: a deserved buncha eyerolly smilies: 


A Bitcoiner that believes in the future of Bitcoin might plausibly put the bulk of their highly liquid (i.e. cash equivalent) funds in Bitcoin rather than in cash. This way, the price appreciation that he expects for his underlying asset works to increase his liquid funds, in the time when the funds are sitting awaiting spending. Putting off the conversion to USD at the last moment is advantageous in a bull market.

But hey - if you're too damn cheap to spend $10 in order to make many many times more, that's your bidnez.


I don't recall you actually asking that question, but whatevs. Why are you so fascinated with what I do with my money? That said, I have indeed bought bitcoin. I buy some from time to time. Would seem to me to be pretty odd for me to participate in this forum if I didn't have any connection to bitcoin.

<<This text is meant to serve as a standin for the semi-obligatory Nicholas Cage 'You Don't Say" meme>>

Are you starting your own corporation? Because if not, it's just an extra step in the most convoluted way to buy shit: Buy bonds with USD, pay trading fee; Buy Visa card from brokerage, pay for card; Have brokerage convert the bonds you just bought back into USD, pay merchant.

A well balanced liquid asset portfolio is likely to contain more than just cash. A bitcoiner's liquid asset portfolio might even contain some (*gasp!*) bitcoin. What makes you think I'd need to buy bitcoin in order to fund the card to spend on a single transaction?


Guess which steps don't need to be cut out?
You can have that day and hint to do your own thinking on the matter.

Thereby making two transactions -- one of them fairly heavy-weight -- and a wait time in between, out of each transaction. My time in a single such transaction is worth the $10 one time fee.


And providing you with a nice tidy statement capturing the taxable event which is automatically imported into my accounting software.

I think maybe you're too dug in on hating this idea to open your mind to the benefits.

It's not something I'd use daily. Hell - it's not even available yet in my jurisdiction. But any option is another option. In this crypto world, more options are only a good thing.

At the instant of purchase. So what? It is still an effortless means of converting bitcoin to stuff.

I'll take that as a 'no' then.

No problem at all. I guess in a world where you will never ever never part with your bitcoins, then the ability to spend them without any pain, strain, fuss, muss, bother, wear, or tear might not matter to you.

But to me -- and, I would assume, to most of the populace -- money is not and end in itself, but rather a tool with which to achieve one's goals. Money unspent upon one's death is money that has served you no purpose. I plan on spending some of my bitcoin before I die. You gonna croak with all of yours as unrealized potential?

Plus, it neatly solves the repeated dilemma of the conversation with the bitcoin skeptic:

Skeptic: "Well, what good is your magic internet money when nobody accepts it? I mean really, where can you spend that shit?"

Shift Card holder: "Anywhere that takes Visa"

Skeptic: "Oooooohhhh...."

Well, you were the one slinging out allegations of 'stupid'. Ya rude fuck.


Yup, in comparison to the Shift card, which started the convo...


Whatevs. Use a service, pay for the privilege. Not a problem. You got a better way to spend bitcoin at 'Every Where You Want To Be', as it says in the tagline?

...aaand can I get another 'stupid' for good measure?


Ah! There is is. My day is complete.

Well, the Shift card is $10 for the card itself and zero-point-zero to use, but why let the truth get in the way of a good bout of hyperbolic ranting?

Personally, I don't find a one-time charge of around the cost of a good hamburger to be too much to be able to convert my Bitcoin into merchandise at will, at literally every merchant that accepts Visa. But maybe I'm unique in that regard.

While I have no beef with either of you, it might be worth pointing out that some punctuation and perhaps a remedial class in English grammar might lead to you being able to express yourself in an understandable manner.

Please read this recently declassified Pentagon document: http://bit.ly/1DntmiA

It shows that the U.S. intentionally armed Al-qaeda groups in Syria for the purpose of overthrowing the Assad government.

Equally bad, government officials knew this action would lead to an Islamic State in Syria. In other words...

They knew it would cause the rise of what we now know as ISIS!

It’s long been suspected that the U.S. armed and trained ISIS forces. Now we have the smoking gun.

"The system"? I assume you mean the current smallblockian cripplecoined system? Yes. Agreed.

But I speak here of a larger truth. The world is awakening to the evils of the system we call fiat. Today, ten times the fraction of the populace understands the true nature of fractional reserve banking as did just a single digit's number of years ago. Bitcoin is merely today's most likely tool for bringing the needed change. What was it that Henry Ford said? Oh yeah -

“It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and money system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.”


I'm a patient man...


...but I don't believe in magic.

Lolitas with Nagants - points for style.

Today. If tomorrow seven billion decide that the use of bitcoin over fiat is in their best interest, it shall come to pass.

The immovable object is demolished by the unstoppable force.

... but what does the ticker tape say? Three-buck-and-a-quarter today. Honey badger be honeybadgeratin'

'zackly


Check it again. Not the day _after_ 9/11. The day _before_.

Donald Rumsfeld -- then Secretary of Defense -- an authoritative enough source for you?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU4GdHLUHwU

How soon we forget indeed. Sheesh.

How soon we forget.

Let's try Two-Point-Frickin-Three-TRILLION dollars.

Announced when? Oh, right. On a date that the following day's news would ensure that nobody noticed.

2001. September. The tenth.

Please stop automatically conflating money laundering with unethical behaviors. It may be that laws against money laundering did some net good in the first few years after their enactment. Today, however, their primary use case is to criminalize perfectly moral activities.