Contemporary art is one of the biggest money laundery tool. You can speculate as you wish with the value of crap, buy it and behold! you have your money clean thanks to "art".
There are many ways people use to do money laundery, many. The Blockchain technology, as well as BTC, has many uses, as money and all stuff with value. But it isn't is the only way to clean the dirty money, there are several others, better and easier to use, I'm afraid.
Besides, how do you change your dirty money into Bitcoin and then into cash again? It is not so easy. In many countries, like Spain, for instance, make you pay taxes when your bitcoin selling is above 1.000 euros. So, there is not, for sure a great way of getting your money clean.
I believe one of the most used ways, as I said, is the art market. It is easy to declare, and, since you are buying "art", there are some taxes you can avoid.

I understand, but giving people negative trust is a serious issue, and this is better to stay away for it, unless you have actual proofs of illegal activities from this person, as scamming, robbery, and really serious matter. The trust in this forum is taken seriously. It is always better to report first to moderators in order for them to check out what's actually going on. Be aware that sometimes, our point of view can be mistaken.

Many people in Nigeria is actually trying to do so, but it is not as easy as we think. First of all, they need enough money in order to pay all the corrupted border-agents they will find. Second, they probably get killed if they try to cross a border.
Issues in Africa are huge. We can't even imagine how dark and hard the life is in there (I can because I was..., but... I can't even describe the painful situation Africa is living...).
Sometimes we think something is easy, just because we can achieve it at no cost. But in Africa, the usual cost is your life and your relatives one. Not a joke.

Can't agree more. Both presidents are a joke and the reason of the suffer of many. Nevertheless, I believe maybe petro has a chance, not because it is done by Venezuela, not even because it is based on oil (which is not, or not for the moment), but because it is the first cryptocurrencie made by a government and launched into the world by some good publicity managers. This is a fu.... joke, and, like you said, this is not going to help the people, victims of a corrupted-shameless government.
The point the US is going to make is the usual: we can say to the world what we like and what we are not going to accept. And they spect the world to kneel down, for the great master has spoken. And behold!!! Maybe this time they are wrong, and just because there are many countries who actually are sick of the US petro has its chance!!
I don't like Petro, I despise the complete idea of a centralized crypto, even more, if it achieved the goal to be based on oil, as the Venezuelan government is always showing off. I also see petro as a scam, but who knows?? The tiny rebel-coin maybe becomes a master just because the US hate it!!

Awesome, dude, thanks for sharing this.
No doubt, at least it will set a precedent, as you well said, just because it is being observed!!
I want the moment to come when people can get their BTC back if they are stolen somehow. I believe it is going to be just the punch the crypto world needs to become what deserves. The moment people feel confident with cryptocurrencies, it will mean cryptos are here to stay and to make a revolution in the global economic system.
But, step by step. And that is a big one!

Decentralized Bank, two opposite words, is like talk about cold fire... Let's define a bank:

A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates credit. Lending activities can be performed either directly or indirectly through capital markets. Due to their importance in the financial stability of a country, banks are highly regulated in most countries. Most nations have institutionalized a system known as fractional reserve banking under which banks hold liquid assets equal to only a portion of their current liabilities. In addition to other regulations intended to ensure liquidity, banks are generally subject to minimum capital requirements based on an international set of capital standards, known as the Basel Accords.

So, a bank can't be decentralized while it's regulated by authorities.

And Talking about the capital you need to open a bank, from this article https://www.huffingtonpost.com.mx/entry/how-to-start-your-own-ban_n_497261 you can find:


So, while 382btc is equal to $3.2M then the answer is "Not Now". For that you need bitcoin at $32,000 to open a bank with that amount.

The good news is you can run other big projects with that amount, like an exchanger or a casino.  

Instead of getting revenge by doing the same to the person who sent you the negative, it is better to write him/her a private message asking maybe why, and if it is the case, just saying "I'm sorry".
Begging for merits is something we all are tired of. Every day (every one!!) there are new topics related to "How I can earn merits?", or "I need merits badly...", etc.
Honestly, if you are a newbie, ok, let's forget they didn't even stop and read the users manuals from this forum. Ok. But regarding a member, this is too much.
I don't think this is enough for giving a bad reputation to someone, but your answer was even worst, for you made the same instead of asking him why and proposing solutions.
Just erase your negative trust to the other user and write him, make a dialog. Try to understand why is he/she so upset and to make it right.

It is simple: if you have a lot of activity and no merit at all, you won't be able to rank out. It was made for the purpose of making activities more useful and to stop the possibility of ranking up to those whose activity doesn't have enough quality.  Nevertheless, there are several threads here where people are offering merit to those who create a good quality post. So, maybe, you can try to improve your posting activities and apply to that kind of threads. I always give merit to the people I consider that are making a great contribution to the forum. I don't care about the rank they have, but about their opinions, the information they share and etc. So just be patient and create good texts.

Have you taken a look at the Bitcoinwiki? In it, you will find a lot of useful articles related not only to the forum and how it works but also to the blockchain, technical stuff and many many other interesting information.
Here you have a link to the technical section > https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Category:Technical
Also, in there you can download "Mastering Bitcoin", the book that wisely is been recommended to you.

I don't think Google banning crypto ads is bad news. To me, it is going to help people to take seriously crypto. Why? Well, because there are no ads announcing you "Buy dollars and become rich", for instance, for it will not be seen serious. Many people are skeptic about crypto just for all these spamming activities surrounding them. If you see an ad in Google praying "Buy silver and become rich", you won't probably trust it. It is not different between that and Bitcoin.
Google is just dedicated to stopping scammers and all fraudulent activities that surround the crypto world, as shit ICOs and stuff. So, in time, we will see how this is actually helping Bitcoin. The serious crypto doesn't need such kind of garbage publicity at all.
Regarding about the fall of the prices, I totally disagree as well. Cryptocurrencies are based on demand, and, even when public desitions can affect the investor's trust, they are not so important: the people who actually are inside the crypto trading and this world is not so influent by the news, for they know how this works. Of course, it has a repercussion, but not as big as many people think.
I always prefer just to relax and wait. For, sometimes, what seems to be bad is actually good.
You can read about how it can actually be good (the FB and Google banning) in here: https://www.thestreet.com/story/14525560/1/google-facebook-ban-cryptocurrency-ads-may-be-good-for-bitcoin.html
This is an article I found really interesting today and was shared in this forum in the morning. It gives another approach to the problem, a bright one, and deserves to be read.

Fernandoaleixo, thanks for making the difference. Many people are tired to see newbies just begging for merits instead of creating some good topics and helping the forum.
Good job! This is a useful topic for beginners. Nevertheless, there are many similar, I truly appreciate the effort you make and I wish for you to continue on this way.
+Merit for you, and I hope you receive more.
Do not stop writing useful stuff, we all need to read smart contributions instead of complainings, shit posts, and beggings ones!

Agree. There are so many proposals concerning to regulations, but they are just, for the moment, in the "proposal" stage. Nevertheless, I believe this present year we are going to be spectators of new regulations worldwide but is going to take a while for them to be implemented. Countries like Spain are working with crypto developers and entrepreneurs in order to make an agreement, but they are just in the phase of defining what bitcoin and cryptos, in general, mean to the economy. Are they money? Are they assets? What are they?
In the other hand, Mexico congress made a proposal last month about crypto and which of them are going to be considered as legal. But they have elections this year and the politic panorama is bloody and difficult, so I don't think they are going to put the attention on crypto.
This is a difficult political time all over the world. Of course, is time to pay attention to crypto, but regarding the implementation of useful laws... is going to be difficult to achieve in such crazy times.
However, this is going to be done eventually. I don't see countries standing behind progress as others are already riding the crypto and getting good profits.

Thank's!! It is nice to wake up and begin the day reading good news for once!!!
The airlines link seems to be broken, but it has no importance, due to the one related to travel agencies, which works perfectly and includes airlines.
About the news related to Google banning BTC, I totally agree: to see on the internet everywhere ads like "Buy Bitcoin to become rich"... and so, gave BTC an incorrect and not very serious image. It was like a support for those who defended bitcoin was just a scam. I'm glad google and fb stopped all those insane ads.

I was a trader for a long time, but I get tired because you need to spend too much time (all day and night ) in front of your computer if you want to succeed. Also, to me, trade is like gambling, you can lose everything in a minute or win big profits, but you can become an addict too.
So, for now, I prefer to hold, even when the profits are so much lower to me. But, I don't know, to me trading is just not healthy, if you get what I mean, so, holding, relaxing, and earning step by step is better to me.

I read the article you shared and it seems to be a big "if". The even use this expression too many times, as well as "seems" and others like that. So it is difficult to look at it in a serious manner, for they even don't really explain what is this about.
This is the clearest part: “Today’s proposal will make it easier for these platforms to offer their services EU-wide and improve access to this innovative form of finance for businesses in need of funding. Once adopted by the European Parliament and the Council, the proposed Regulation will allow platforms to apply for an EU label based on a single set of rules.”, but, as you can see, this is only a proposal for the moment, and this is not near to be clear yet.

So do not rush into making an opinion. When I read those kinds of "maybe" news, I always prefer to wait before taking a side. Just for now. Wait and see.

Your question is too vague. How is the US going to control something decentralized? Why the US and not Russia, China, or Taiwan?
I see you know nothing about bitcoin. Let me explain: BTC is based on the blockchain, a decentralized system. Even if the US (or whatever country you can imagine) took the control of all the internet, it will be impossible to control Bitcoin, for many of the "parts" of it are stored offline. Furthermore, this is impossible for one country to take the control of all the internet, isn't it?
So, this is impossible for one country to take control of BTC. If you were talking about the legal activities, in what sense it is even possible for one country to take control of it? Us is not the center of the world, my friend. Even when it is a powerful nation, there are not powerful enough to take control of something ruled bu the wide people. This is just impossible.
So relax.

I agree with you and the link you share was truly enlightening, thanks!!
One of the biggest problems I've seen in trading is the rush. There are too many traders addicted to it, I mean: trading is, somehow, as gambling, so there are implied equals pathologies as in gambling.
Now, as you see, always in trading there is a time where it is better to stop (at least for a while), for the market is going to be influenced by politics, media, etc. It is easy to see if you are not an addict.
I believe too many people lose their money in trading because of their pathology, instead of for the usual risk. They just can't stop when they need to.
So, thanks again for your post. I hope it will bring light to some addicts here and, furthermore maybe save a bunch of btc whose destiny is to be lost in trading.

Well, man, if you really want to make your point, then you at least can try to correctly explain yourself, to make an argument, and to write it properly. I mean: you are talking about how Bitcoin is a pyramidal system when the most of the people are losing their money in order to others to get profits. But, how do you prove it? can you show us some statistics, something besides your word?
Also, you say you have been trading for a year, that's not a lot, but, maybe you have learned a lot, ok. How can you explain to us how much you have learned? Which experiences did you have? With which cryptocoins did you trade? Your earns were in dollar, euros or what? Which exchanger/exchangers did you use? ...

So, I see a person here trying to advice other about ... what? Because this is not even clear!!
You suggest we all need to stop trading/investing/whatever we are doing with bitcoin right now? Imagine someone tells you the same last year with no further explanation, would you listen? I don't think so.
So, please, mate, if you are trying to make a point (such a big one) please, make an effort if you truly believe in it (if you re not a troll), and explain carefully why, ok?

Great article. "Bubble...fear..." Well, this is how it is going to be seen for a while, I'm afraid. But do not let them fool us. I believe behind those all critical thoughts about bitcoin they should be some ideas about how to control it. I don't know, but, surrounding the cryptoworld there is too much money, so it is difficult for me to believe banks are not interested in them.
If they don't climb to the crypto mountain, they don't have any future, so I am sure they have some counsellors around telling them so. What are the banks going to do? Their own crypto? Their own exchangers? I do not know yet, but, for sure they are into something. The rest: just smoke, air, and stupid opinions trying to get the people far from the crypto world  'till they can just take a bite of it.

The same here. Life without Facebook has taught me a lot:
- How the people deposit too much into their cyber lives instead of the real one.
- How much time you can spend just reading shit-facebook-publications.
- How a lie can become a truth, and even viral, without constatation, and how people is willing to believe anything that sounds convincing.
- How free I feel without those annoying alerts.
And the last... how few truly remember mi birthday date!!!