So if SegWit doesn't get adopted, what are the chances of someone starting another coin that does include all the advantages of SegWit?

I've had posts deleted, and I put it down to the fact that not everyone understands the subtlety of English humour. It hasn't been the same since the Americans took the "u" out of it.

Well with my limited knowledge, I think SegWit is a good thing, I've upgraded my node to 0.13.2, and I block classic and unlimited nodes. Do I need to do anything else?

I'm holding back on my use of Bitcoin at the moment, but I want to use it for domain name sales payments in the future, and I want to use the multi-sig option to perform Escrow functions. This has become more urgent now that Escrow.com has started to support PayPal.

So when is it going to be safe to start using SegWit transactions?

I've tried to think of a way to make an exchange or sale without a third party, and the only method I can see as viable is a face to face exchange.

The best alternative in my opinion is the use of multi-sigs in Bitcoin, That involves 3 parties - a buyer, a seller, and an arbitrator. You submit the transaction with a retriction that it needs at least two of the three sigs to be spent.

Well I checked the list, and I'm pleased to confirm that I'm not the richest, and I'm not the poorest.

I don't think Bitcoin will be THE reserve currency, but it is certainly beoming a reserve currency. I'd include it with gold, silver and the emergent copper holdings of physical metal. Also, I'm starting to think that domain names may also become a reserve currency, however, the centralisation of registries, and the difficulties in valuation make this a bit of a specialist investment.

I had the reverse of this. I wanted to buy Bitcoin for cash, but couldn't find anyone to do it. Actually that isn't completely true, there are a few local dealers with massive spreads, but I decided they were far to expensive.

btw. by cash, I mean folding notes or a bank transfer during a face-to-face meeting.

I can see a government using this idea. Whilst they wouldn't be able to block the spending of coins on their blacklist. They could taint them in their records, and log all forward transactions. Whether a mixer could avoid this, or just create more "tainted" coins would be a matter for government policy. Obviously if all output from a mixer is tainted, then that would reduce the utility of the mixer.

Does anyone else see the contradiction in this post?

Bitcoin has great potential as collateral for a loan. Putting a transaction with suitable signature restrictions on the blockchain could be a great base for a fiat loan.

Why would people want to borrow Bitcoin in the hope that the price will increase. If it goes up, then they have to repay the loan at the higher price, so they haven't gained anything.

Store of value, and utility are not dependent on each other. Did gold drop in value because gold coins ceased to be used as a payment method? Increased value may well reduce use as a payment system. The current UK £100 gold coin will cost you getting on for £1,000 to buy, so who would use that for a £100 purchase. I can see Bitcoin being used as a proof of stake for an alternative currency in the future. How will that affect Bitcoin? I believe it will reduce pressure on the blockchain, and stabilise the price, this could lead to a gradual increase in value.

I'm always surprised that Russia isn't more active in mining Bitcoin.

The name is terrible - it's not a coin, and it has little to do with bits. It's only a good name because it is the name given to a brilliant system

What's the best way to monetise it?

Spend 5 hours a day, and make 5 times as much money. If you can't do that, then why would anybody want to buy a copy of your system?

If the Chinese are buying Bitcoin to move capital out of China, then surely the greatest holdings of Bitcoin will be outside China.

On the face of it, it sounds like good news. Even if Bitcoin isn't regulated, it's still a good idea to regulate the exchanges imho.

Are the Chinese dumping Bitcoin? I thought the drop was just a market correction following the new year rush into alternative capital investments. Aren't there tax advantages associated with investment purchases at the start of the year in China.

You mention your credit score, so I guess your credit rating is important to you. Are you aware that to maintain a good credit rating, you should avoid letting your purchases total go above 25% of your credit limit. I make early partial payments to keep below this.

That's the wrong way round - governments are fully controlled by the banks - that's why we need Trump, Brexit and Bitcoin

I see Bitcoin becoming an alternative reserve currency as its value continues to increase.

I can also see governments trying to regain the creation of fiat virtual currencies, and stopping the banks from doing it.

Credit cards are some of the most expensive ways to borrow money. I always pay mine before the due date, and even overpay sometimes. Using PayPal and another service is just introducing more fees. Add that to the cost of buying Bitcoin, and you are down quite a bit. If you are doing it to speculate on the price of Bitcoin, my advice is to find some other way of doing it. Now is a bad time to go into/increase debt. With interest rates certain to increase, and economic difficulties on the horizon, the banks are going to take a hard line to try to reduce toxic debt.

It would be better to sell some items for Bitcoin, rather than lose money and wait for the banks to take them away.

Of course this advice comes from someone who believes that debt is slavery, and who wants to remain a free spirit.

Just a point with regards to ip banning. I use public WiFi most of the time (it's a project of mine). There must be at least 5 different IPs associated with my account here.