It may be worth noting that Satoshi is thought to own certain coins. No one really knows if she has any bitcoin at all.

Nailed it Duck!  

There are other places that take bitcoin for real estate if you prefer. The prices may actually be in Australian dollars? But in any case it is listed this way so that the prospective buyer can easily understand the price. Denominating it in BTC would make the price a constantly changing 12 digit float point number.

Bottom line. This is one of many places you can buy a home or land for bitcoin. It has been this way for years now. It's just not at all weird to me and I will certainly be accepting bitcoin when I sell my house. Why wouldn't I?

I guess I get that. But most places, like here in the US it can be used for whatever trading you like. It is legal to use tennis shoes as money if you want. Illegal is very different and I am not sure if there is any place where it is illegal.

I keep hearing about "legalization" of bitcoin. 

Where is it that you think bitcoin is illegal?

I ask "Why is it worth anything?"

Considering it's the fastest, cheapest, and most secure currency ever, I would think it's future market cap is in the trillion USD range.

Sure, the bigger problem that I am concerned about is net neutrality. Bitcoin is built on the idea of a free and open internet. A loss of the free internet would put your ISP in the position of making your internet choices for you. They could not only meter your network connection speed, but could demand extra fees for anything they like. So you may pay for "basic internet", but if you want to go to facebook you will have to pay a facebook charge. Want to use bitcoin? No problem, just add bitcoin to your plan and pay a separate transaction fee to your provider each time you buy. This also requires knowing who is making each transaction, so we lose the privacy of bTC in the process.

There really is no end to what charges could be added.  History shows that money is never left on the table. If they can screw you they will. Remember the promise of cable TV? "Never watch a commercial again!" They convinced the government to change the laws in their favor because it would be good for consumers. Then they proceeded to change the law further to show more commercials than regular TV.

In an information society control of the internet is control of the society.  Do you trust Comcast to take control of your life?

Nice work! This is how you get bitcoin. You see that it is money and will require trading something of value.

And again, you clearly have some talent.   

I use it all the time and have not found a problem with that. In fact credit cards DO NOT WORK on small charges. When you pay for something like fast food with your CC the processor incurs a risk of fraud because they can not confirm the transaction cost effectively. In the past that meant CCs could only be used for larger purchases. Some years ago MasterCard wised up by realizing that committing credit card fraud for a hamburger is not cost effective. Now they simply do no security and completely take the risk.

The same can and is being done with bitcoin. If I pick up my morning coffee and pay with bitcoin they are not going to make me wait for confirmation. The coffee shop knows that it would be a big hassle and legal risk for me to just steal coffee. It makes no sense to wait for confirmation for a small amount. If I were buying a car or something then I would expect to wait for 5-6 confirmations. But what's an hour or so when buying a car?

On the consumer side there is a huge advantage in security because you maintain your privacy. Say you are at the store buying an expensive camera. If you pay with a CC you are really paying with your identity and demonstrated ability to pay.  Since the seller does not know you, he/she will need your identity to follow up should you not pay. With bitcoin the seller can wait for some confirmation and then has the money. Not a promise of money like a CC, THE ACTUAL MONEY.  No need to know who you are or store your financial info. The sale is over.

I think you stumped the contest on the first try. Love can not be bought with BTC. You could find a gold-digging companion or some such simulation but not real love. As far as local groceries go, you may want to ask them to try it out. I have convinced several businesses to accept bitcoin. If they use a payment processor they face no price volatility and really have no costs.   

I keep seeing "slow confirmation". There is NO FASTER SYSTEM than bitcoin. Cards take days, weeks, sometimes months to confirm. 

I see no evidence of this happening and no one has ever even come up with a way for it to happen.  There are bigger problems than this to worry about.

Thanks for your kind comments. I am a bit bummed out that nobody claimed it. When the new year comes I will move the funds to a new cache in Africa and it all starts over. I plan on doing this until it's gone, even if the value of the prize goes to silly heights.

I convert my bitcoin into goods and services. 

We see it every day. Someone asks "Can I buy a _ _ _ _ with bitcoin?"

Then come the confident ignorant to boldly say things like "No you cant buy a house because..." "No cars can't be bought with bitcoin because..." " No way it's illegal to buy guns with bitcoin because...".  in fact you can buy about anything that can be bought with cash or cards and more. Retail adoption is upon us and while you have to hunt much more to find items, they are there.

Let's test this! Post an item that you want to buy or find an item someone else posted.

I'm sure we'll find some things that can't currently be bought for bitcoin. But my guess is that most things can be found.

Here are examples of the items listed above:
Real estate = http://bitcoin-realestate.com/
Cars = https://cars.overstock.com/
Firearms = http://shop.centraltexasgunworks.com/

Agreed. I have been using it internationally since 2011. Much easier than paying to convert fiat then paying to convert it back. 

If you really have 5 big to invest and you are asking people here... You should just keep your cash.

Many (most?) "investors" in bitcoin do not know what they are doing. The fact that they are relying on it as an investment is a good example. If you want to try bitcoin (highly recommended before buying a bunch) then buy one, and spend it online the way God and Satoshi intended. Find out why bitcoin is superior to cash, not just more valuable.  

Oh, and TRUST NO ONE!!!

There is no payment system that is faster, cheaper, or more secure.

If you only pay with credit cards then you may not know this, but it takes a card 2-60 days to clear. The business will factor in the 3% or so that they pay for your "free" transaction. And you will have to risk sending your personal banking information to the seller, the payment processor, and whoever else.

When I buy with bitcoin (it is all I use online) I expect to pay less for items. I do not give out my identity, unless buying firearms or something. And I know that my end of the deal is completed in an hour, so I expect immediate shipping. I can shop most anywhere in the world and choose from over a hundred thousand locations. I travel a lot and love that whatever city I show up in I can use the money on my phone without exchange fees for local fiat or getting stuck with a bunch of foreign cash. 

Then there is the part about how my money grows the whole time. My $0.74 bitcoins go a long way these days.

Why on Earth would I trade BTC for dollars? Bitcoin IS cash and trading with me means using bitcoin.

The only real mistake you made was thinking pounds are more valuable than bitcoin. If you want to use bitcoin then cut the cord and use them. Don't sell them for lesser money, spend them and get the full value out of them. I think we can now say that Bitcoin is here to stay. You no longer need pound sterling.