All he has to do is send me a few hundred bitcoin from one of his large accounts and that will be proof enough for me....

I think bitcoin is not being implemented more quickly because it is still somewhat complex to use it. Once software and platforms become as easy as using a dollar or credit card, the reduction in transaction costs will attract more users, especially for international transactions where costs are high. The execution of a simple to use multisig trustless transaction will make international purchases a reality but these things take time...always longer than you think. Until then the speculators will make this a roller coaster ride.

If you took half the miners out and the other half generate twice the bitcoin per hash then that would mean they did it much more cheaply so  they wouldn't have to sell as much bitcoin to pay the bills and the market would stablize.

Bitcoin is in a downward spiral like any commodity crash....miners have to pay their debts by selling bitcoin....as bitcoin goes down it takes more bitcoin to satisfy their debtors so they sell more bitcoin reinforcing the loop. Once the weak miners are washed out of the system and there is a supply shortage the price will go up...rinse and repeat.

Forgot to mention I have an interest in some unreleased 6THz rigs if anyone wants to take my place in line...

Anyone want to buy a few slightly used video cards..... lol

You guys keep saying its just simple supply and demand.....that's like saying you just buy low and sell high.

There are a multitude of complex interactions going on.

With some numbers to compare we might have a better idea of what is happening...

What is the current global demand in bbls?
What is the Saudi output in barrels vs last year?
What is current global demand in barrels?
What is the change in total world production?
What percentage of world supply is US shale production?
What is the current rate of oil field decline globally?
And many others...

Once we have some actual numbers you can see where the changes are taking place.

Some say the Saudis are attempting a price war on US shale production since shale drilling is relatively expensive and they can't weather a price drop for long. This will allow the middle east to raise prices in the future without competition from the US.

I'm no expert but speculation without facts is no way to go if you are trying to make an investment decision.

I just wanted to mention the Technology/Gartner Hype Cycle....it fits well with the Bitcoin price chart.
As you can see there is a lot of initial interest and the hype builds the prices up beyond sustainability.
Then when the short term speculators cash out and the price dumps...the real value of the technology builds back up at a rational speed.
There are still many years of growth left in the second half of the cycle.  GO BITCOIN!

If the Yuan rises against the dollar, China will lose its only competitive advantage. All that slave labor won't be so attractive anymore.
I don't see a great drive for the Chinese oppressors to let that happen anytime soon.
Until China gets a decent intellectual base it will be stuck as a low cost producer. They are making progress and have a lot of our cash, but it takes time to build a generation of intelligentsia.

Right, my bad.

For people that don't live in a large population center Localbitcoins can be hit or miss if you are looking for a face to face transaction.
There are also people that do cash in the mail on Localbitcoins, but they either use escrow (which requires total trust with the person doing the escrow) or you have to send the cash first and hope they send you the bitcoins later.

An alternative is a 2 of 3 multi-signature transaction with an neutral arbitrator. With this type of transaction there is no trust required.
It is easy to do once you know how and the costs are negligible.

Look into it.

Just wanted to update this in case anyone else is having the same problem.
I found that when I had Armory minimize to the systray, the icon for it was hidden (an option in Windows).
I unhid the icon and it did not close down after initializing, so problem solved for me.

(This is on a Windows 7 operating system)

I just sold .25 bitcoin via cash by mail.
The buyer mailed me the cash via certified letter with signature delivery.
I used a multisig 2 of 3 transaction with a trusted member here as an arbitrator.

The multisig takes the risk of nonpayment out the system. When the cash shows up, I sign the multisig address to release the bitcoin.
If the guy doesen't mail the cash, the bitcoin does not leave the multisig address and the arbitrator is called in.
The arbitrator sees there is no proof of delivery and signs the bitcoin back to me.


Worked as smooth as butter (without the need for any arbitration).

The OP wants his bitcoins to stay at the same price he purchased them at....he doesn't understand the fundamentals of how markets work.
When you buy something it is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. That price might be higher or lower than what you paid for it. With bitcoin that price changes drastically so if you don't like the volatility (price going up or down), you might want to try a different investment.

The keyword there is trust...

Multisig is trustless as long as you have a neutral arbitrator.

What about cash by certified mail using a 2 of 3 multisig transaction with an arbitrator. Certified mail is fairly inexpensive and if you are doing larger amounts you can do registered mail with insurance.

I sold some btc and received cash via certified mail and it worked out perfectly.
If there was a problem, like the guy never sent the cash...I could just refuse to sign the multisig and the btc would not go the the buyer.
The arbitrator would be called in and then he makes a decision where the btc being held in the multisig address will go based on evidence provided by both parties.

It takes a lot of the risk out these types of transactions.

To speed things up I can do a Walmart to Walmart if you like.

Last trade went well and I would like to do another .25btc for cash in mail using 2 of 3 multisig with LouReed as arbitrator. I will knock $5 off Bitstamp rate for the price of my btc.

Those of you who are using Gmail and Facebook are just widening the massive database these companies and in turn the Govt. have for predicting your every move and probably your political affiliations. Every time your send or receive a message they are using powerful algorithms to determine as much as they can about you and those you are in contact with. Don't think that since you aren't "doing anything wrong" that there is no risk. These companies use this info to attempt to lead the public in subtle ways whether your are aware of it or not.

Gmail users are just adding to Google's coffers and widening the asymmetrical information gap between the corporate elite and  the rest of us.

Cut it out.....

OK...issue reported.

Let's see what happens.