Gun free zones? Like NYC or LA? Like schools or movie theaters? No thanks, gun free are good place to get shot. I would not set foot in such unsafe places.

Murder rate in New York (The most restrictive gun laws):                                    Homicide:    6.4
Murder rate in Madison   (Guns are carried by anyone with a background check)   Homicide:    0.08
2010 per 100,000

If you leave out places where guns are not allowed then America does not have a gun death problem.

The thing is that a gut feeling about the price going up or down may have some merit. But when you assign a dollar value you are just wildly guessing. It looks like math, there are numbers and everything, but it is not math. It is a completely baseless guess. Which you are welcome to do. 

Hi and welcome.  

Ha ha ha. I knew you would be all over this thread bro. 

I think many of the things you say aren't happening in the bitcoin economy are happening. Bitcoin is becoming huge with the investor set. It does have great utility and intrinsic value. I love that I can buy something with confidence from an untrusted source on the other side of the planet. And with negligible fees.
To say that bitcoin has no real value is going to be an uphill argument when speaking to people at these forums who have made tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. I save some money every time I buy with bitcoin.
No value? How come I can buy gold bars and real estate with no value?

I hope not. Remember the "mintchip challenge"? they asked what the best use for mintchip digital currency was and people voter for using it to buy bitcoins. They threw out that winning choice and picked their own contest "winner".

That sucks man. Just before the 2008 collapse I drained my accounts. At the bank they were horrified and almost literally begged me t keep my accounts full. I went with my gut and took it all out anyway. Now we know that America was "within hours of shutting down the ATM networks". The people at the bank were the least qualified to see it coming because they have so much invested in the system.

 

Well... in his defense he is disclosing that he is a fool. And posting at fool.com.
I think his foolishness is spot on. 

That may be true now because there are still many needed items you can't buy with bitcoin. In the future I think most people will just spend bitcoins to buy, and not turn them into local currency.
I do that now. I do not "cash out" ever. Instead when I want to take some profits I go shopping. After the hassle of getting bitcoins why would I trade them for less useful money? I find that some people want bitcoins badly enough to sell for a great price, thus maximizing my buying power and profitability.

I thought i already ended this thread. 

This question was asked to a panel of lawyers at bitcoin2013. They said Malta is their best guess about the best jurisdiction to start an exchange. Followed, I believe, by Iceland. 
They also mentioned places seeking to be financial hubs, such as Hong Kong, Dubai, etc. 

Google scholar could help?

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=bitcoin&btnG=&as_sdt=1%2C50&as_sdtp=

I see what your saying. But a few things. The speculation is a relatively recent phenomena in bitcoin. There were always speculators, however since the new year it has exploded. You hear less about people producing items, starting online stores, or engaging in a more tangible economy. They are there and will continue to come into the fold (In my opinion).
To my mind speculation is just another iteration of the bitcoin story. It shows that btc is expanding into new markets and mindsets. Next could be the remittance market. That will bring a new subset of peers and new challenges. This experiment is just getting started.   

There is a built in incentive to keep mining.
Let's say mining costs rise above profitability. Any slowing in production this causes means a relative increase in demand. That triggers an increase in BTC prices and makes mining profitable again.
There are scenarios where this doesn't work. But as long as the demand is there it will be met.

I do agree with you (if I understand you correctly) that speculation is currently driving the bitcoin economy, and she is a bad driver. However if bitcoin requires us to use it in a certain way and requires our pampering, then it is not going to work.
What I have seen in the past two years is an endless stream haters and attackers. Despite their efforts bitcoin is stronger now than ever, and still growing stronger.    

Good thing you made this important discovery that we all missed. Crap, well... Go ahead and send me all your worthless coins and I will see to it that they are disposed of. 

here. http://pijamacafe.weebly.com/

That is an interesting case. If the amount is less than 10k$USD and done in person, it might be legal?? Of course the person selling must pay capitol gains on any increase in price since they bought the coins.

Malta. For the win! 

I agree with you. Exchanging with fiat money means playing by fiat rules. If you want to maintain some privacy then buy with bitcoin. If you want to use your bitcoins to buy fiat, then you will be audited and taxes will be levied. Their is nothing unfair about this, you are choosing to use fiat that you do not own.

I am not going to bash you because a lot of people think this from all the sensational articles about bitcoin and illegal markets. If you stick around you will find that the serious money in the bitcoin economy is currently in the hands of speculators and venture capitalists. It may be more interesting to talk about black market guns and drugs, but it is not representative. U.S. dollars are the currency of choice for criminals.