For now, yes, given that most cashless system networks are fully dependent on the workings on the internet. Should there be a problem on the internet, say the infrastructure has somewhat crumbled due to an unforeseen event, the data for cashless systems would still be intact, however the whole protocol wouldn't be operational given that it relies on the internet to produce or mint new coins and continue the chains of transactions coming in on their network. Good thing though that the internet isn't in a single data center that can be a hotspot for nefarious attackers and such, so it's kinda tricky to take down the whole internet using a single attack.

Yea right, coming from the same mouths who mentioned back then that bitcoin and blockchain is nothing but mere tools for money laundering and really no technological advancement involved in its creation. I don't quite get the idea of a shardy blockchain yet, but it could potentially offer something for payment networks, and yes, anything other than what Visa currently offers is an upgrade, really, though we can't deny the fact that it's still doing its thing even after a couple of decades now. Scalability sure is one thing that needs addressing should the world go fully-digital, and it will certainly attract innovations that could potentially lead to more solutions to a problem, so I guess it's a win-win for everyone.

$3000 still seems to be a shallow trench that bitcoin could easily recover from. Perhaps a trip back to the 3-digit lair would somewhat prove difficult for bitcoin to return to its former glory, seeing that most businesses and people by then would start losing interest and will just be investing their energy and money somewhere else. I'm still optimistic though that 2019 will bring some form of turnaround for the trend, as many services and institutional investors are eyeing bitcoin for this year.

The service has been around for quite some time now, and I think it's doing its job albeit quite slowly, or discreetly, as not a lot of people know about this. For places that doesn't have internet connection, or have weak connections, this is actually a good thing to enable them to use bitcoin. There had also been a proposition to use SMS networks for sending and receiving bitcoin transactions, though I think that one may have been scrapped or haven't developed into something useful for mass adoption. Nevertheless, it's good that we're slowly inching from the internet and finding other alternatives to get bitcoin out there in the wild.

If so, this will be a boost for bitcoin, not necessarily in price but perhaps in usability and fundamentals. Rakuten would probably just sell the bitcoins anyway after they have received it from users, kinda like what Bitpay does but we'll never know. They can have a crypto exchange of their own but they can still dump the bitcoins they received on their store immediately, so there's that. All in all though it's good that a huge player in the e-commerce business is ready and willing to accept bitcoin for a form of payment, unlike most of their competitors nowadays.

That is only if the Indian government lifts the ban on cryptocurrency. Though some politicians and other important figures on India already expressed their positive opinions regarding the matter, still it will remain as such only if someone started to act on it. Likewise, the RBI should reconsider the ban and probably study the positive effects of accepting the cryptocurrency industry to thrive within their soil. It's not just all about fraud and money laundering; imagine how many jobs would be opened should investors started their own company in India due to a friendly crypto-policy.

This is entirely true, and perhaps it's the main reason why we have forks in the first place. Using bitcoin, and the concept of it certainly unites people in a way, but other people still believes that their version of bitcoin is somewhat more superior than the other, resulting into clashes of ideas and politics. I guess this will never be removed from Man as long as he lives, for this is embedded within his psyche, no matter how uniting an idea may be.

The very essence of cryptocurrency could be at stake by means of centralization and capitalism, so I wouldn't call cryptocurrencies as indestructible as this is still subject to such schemes that can ultimately result to the destruction of bitcoin. Perhaps right now people are still making money out of bitcoin, but once there's a new fad in which people could also make money from, see everyone lose interest on bitcoin and die. Speculation is what drives bitcoin for now, but once that's over, idk what will, given that almost all people in here are now profit-centric unlike the old days.

Everyone can be as enthusiastic as you, but not everyone can really spend money for advertisements and such just to get the word out there. The internet alone is already an enough resource for people to learn more about bitcoin, if they so do wish. As for the trend you're referring to, given that there isn't a central figure that controls the ins and outs for bitcoin, anyone are free to enter the market, and any government can create regulations and laws centered for their own nation regarding the use of bitcoin. No matter how many rich guys from bitcoin step in and make the move, that simply wouldn't change a thing as again, this is a free market, and they don't have the authority to do drastic changes for bitcoin and surely, not everyone would listen to them too.

The figures are staggeringly high, and still we have people that doesn't want ICOs to be regulated stating that it is against the freedom for cryptocurrencies. I don't see any reason why freedom would be affected for cryptocurrencies as it's clear that ICOs are just money-grabs hiding behind a somewhat formal and creative term. Knowing how easy it is to lure people into buying your worthless shares and promising them fortunes, it's very alarming that this is still happening on the regular, even with regulations put into place.

I don't think that cryptocurrency and blockchain is to blame for these hacks, as surely it is the platforms that have the problem in the first place, as they are the ones being breached and not blockchain or cryptocurrencies' code. More hacks would arise in the future if exchanges and platforms don't keep their systems in check and secure. Also, the notion that cryptocurrencies per se are not secure due to hacks is plainly wrong. Exchanges and services have their own code for their platforms which is obviously different from blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

So I guess don't place important files and your wallet on a machine that you use for torrents and download almost any file? Malware and adware are easy to avoid tbh, so long as you don't do anything stupid to a machine that you're using. I'm not an expert on cybersec and internet security but I'm proud that I haven't got a machine infected by any malware/virus for the last 10 years of me handling them. It's no surprise that these kind of malware are already being utilized to steal your crypto funds, so taking extra precaution IMO wouldn't really hurt.

I don't understand why people believe that regulation is a necessity for bitcoin to thrive. Even without regulation, bitcoin can still function as a currency as long as people believe in its value. Regulations only became necessary when speculation goes through the roof, and serious influx of cash is happening within the ecosystem. Also, we don't need a central exchange as it will be prone and susceptible to a lot of hacks, which isn't pretty for those who trade on the regular and use the said exchange. Centralization isn't always the answer, as bitcoin had been doing fine and dandy even without regulations years ago.

Current market is somewhat gloomy, with bitcoin being range-bound @ $3600 and $4000 with no signs of breaking through $4200 any time sooner. Overall demand on exchanges seem to have slumped too, albeit the occasional spikes on some exchanges which is quite normal IMO. All in all, the cryptomarket isn't ready for any sort of upward movements whatsoever as the trend still remains to be relatively bearish. I won't expect any bull run in 2019 but 2020 might be the start of yet another crazy ride.

No, I won't suggest anyone getting into these sites as these are gambling sites that has the potential of draining your pocket rather than help you in earning more. If one wants their investment to grow, they'd reinvest it in reasonable and safer ways e.g. trade or take your money on the pot for gambling sites, but not gambling directly on the said sites. One can also consider lending their crypto to other people, and of course a collateral is very much needed in case of a default.

This has been brought up countless of times already, and all people have are supposed evidence of a link between Satoshi and the feds/NSA, but no convincing proofs have been brought to the table so far. If the NSA indeed created bitcoin, for what reason and purpose? Also, why leave the code open-source and let people snoop the hell out of the code and modify it to their heart's delight? IMO, they wouldn't gain anything from this experiment, except knowing a couple developers who know something about what they're doing, and perhaps take a watchful eye on them.

Similar thing happened in the lazy months of August - November, but we didn't reach moon and have slid under $5000 which, almost everyone suggested, is an impenetrable barrier that we will never break because bitcoin has already reached its bottom. Normally when bitcoin is range bound, short stints of price increases are happening, followed by a rather swift and sharp decline . I don't really believe that we're in for a massive treat on the early months of 2019, but I could be wrong.

Well at least, Japan doesn't really closed the door and let the public anticipate for something that they don't really like in the moment, not unlike the SEC who are giving innuendos regarding ETF approvals yet constantly deny them by stating the same reasons over and over again. I think this is also good, given that the market would only be speculated hard enough and volatility would soon rise without these guys getting their feet wet on the actual market. They really are crypto-friendly and they just don't want the market to get diluted even more by capitalists.

Cryptography is the method/technique of sending and receiving secure messages over a medium, and cryptocurrency is essentially currency using cryptography to promote a secure way of sending and receiving money. We can get back on track on being decentralized and not affixed to a centralized system with the rise of atomic swaps and decentralized exchanges, but apparently some governments are not into this idea and are thinking that this is just another way of laundering money and circumventing the laws and regulations existing to prevent such nefarious activities, Also, most of the people are into the 'easy money' scheme and belief, and centralized trading platform provide them just that.

A rhetorical question, but since you seem to still be confused of what to do (or due to laziness, and albeit the tons of topics already created discussing the similar matter), here are some suggestions:

• Hide the privkey somewhere in plain sight e.g. a picture frame, a clock, whatever. Tell your family how lovely that thing is and leave innuendos that will make them curious about it.

• Safety deposit box on banks work wonders, too. Just arrange your heirloom to be distributed to your family in the event of you dying.

• Teach them how to use bitcoin and they can perhaps, in the future, access yours if you give them your privkeys.

There are tons actually but these are the easiest and safest I can come up with on an afternoon lunch in a lazy Wednesday.