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1  Bitcoin / Meetups / Re: Omaha, Nebraska First Meetup on: September 19, 2013, 08:34:39 AM
Trying to get this meetup going tonight! New location, if you're in the area sign up and join us.

http://www.meetup.com/Omaha-Bitcoin-Meetup-Group/events/139798042/
2  Bitcoin / Meetups / Omaha, Nebraska First Meetup on: August 11, 2013, 04:40:28 AM
Just started an Omaha Bitcoin Meetup Group. First meetup is this Tuesday, August 13th 2013 at 6:00pm at the Crescent Moon Ale House on 35th and Farnham. 2, maybe 3 of us attending so far. Come out and join us!

We're going to try to focus on business networking through using and accepting bitcoin.
And of course everything else about bitcoin as well.

http://www.meetup.com/Omaha-Bitcoin-Meetup-Group/

3  Bitcoin / Project Development / Re: How could I promote Bitcoin in Haiti? on: May 30, 2013, 09:27:23 PM
Have seen a couple of sites that say you can buy bitcoins with western union, which they have in Haiti so I think my next step is to try those. Btctree.net and a couple of others. Anyone use western union to buy bitcoins yet?
4  Bitcoin / Bitcoin Discussion / Re: Bill Barhydt of m-Via will be giving TED talk on Bitcoin on: May 11, 2013, 03:35:20 AM
Ok, here's a second Bitcoin TED Talk, but its from 2011:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gzrp5xxXl_0
5  Bitcoin / Bitcoin Discussion / Re: Bill Barhydt of m-Via will be giving TED talk on Bitcoin on: May 11, 2013, 03:33:48 AM
Bump.


Did this ever happen?

I found this other TED bitcoin talk, but the sound quality is pretty poor:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=98-GJvuwPHw
6  Economy / Service Discussion / Re: Is there a website I can buy groceries at? on: May 10, 2013, 02:45:30 AM
I haven't done it yet myself, but here's an online grocer, which you could order from with bitspend.net:


http://shop.netgrocer.com/shop.aspx

https://bitspend.net/


Pretty sure I saw a post on someone doing this here about a month ago.
7  Bitcoin / Bitcoin Discussion / Re: thought experiment: wars could be ended by BTC on: April 20, 2013, 03:02:23 AM
also you are never going to end war while there are still nations. The only way bitcoin could save us from war is by ending the nation state entirely.

Good news! You're already free to go live in the paradise that is anarchy. Somalia. Enjoy!


Somalia's progress since the fall of its violent state in 1991:
http://mises.org/daily/5418
8  Other / Off-topic / Re: Amazon accepting Bitcoin? on: April 14, 2013, 10:26:25 PM
Hopefully bitcoinstore.com will do another half million in April/May and then the dominoes start to fall. Maybe once Tiger Direct or another electronics retailer sees the light it will force Amazon's hand.
9  Bitcoin / Bitcoin Discussion / Re: Need your help! HUGE german television station got a Voting about Bitcoin on: April 13, 2013, 07:44:43 PM
Voted.

Thanks for posting, good to let the general public know there are so many of us out here supporting bitcoins.

Have the results been shown on TV yet?
10  Economy / Marketplace / Re: Is there anyway to buy alcohol online with bitcoin? on: April 13, 2013, 07:41:04 PM
This website lets you buy literally anything from any website with bitcoins:
https://bitspend.net/
11  Bitcoin / Project Development / Re: How could I promote Bitcoin in Haiti? on: April 11, 2013, 07:05:31 PM

Target local NGOs and community businesses.  We're working with a community in Kenya now.

Very hard work.  We would be interested in hearing what you achieve in 8 days.

hello@pikapay.com if you want to discuss more.



Thanks, yes maybe I'll try to go into some stores and see if they are interested. Would need a way for them to deposit cash though, although I guess I can sell them a few directly to get them started, but it would be better to try to get a more long term exchange I think.

I looked at your site and emailed, looks interesting. Would be curious to hear what you've been able to do in Kenya so far.
12  Economy / Economics / Re: new article"How the looming bitcoin crash will be exploited by globalist" on: April 10, 2013, 02:01:07 PM
here is the article if you dont wanna click link.
======================================================================================================
How the looming bitcoin crash will be exploited by globalists

There’s a bigger agenda happening with bitcoin that needs to be publicly stated, and this goes far beyond the issue of the financial harm that will be caused when the bitcoin bubble finally implodes.

Central banks hate bitcoin. They hate it because it doesn’t allow them to loot bank accounts (Cyprus) and control the movement of capital around the globe. Bitcoin, in fact, threatens the very foundation of monetary control that underlies all the corrupt governments of the world. As such, bitcoin is a huge threat to the status quo, making it an obvious target for the globalists to attempt to destroy.

Discrediting bitcoin isn’t enough, however. To really be effective, they need to make bitcoin illegal.


The plot to criminalize bitcoin

How do you criminalize bitcoin? The same way you get guns banned: Plan an attack, make sure lots of people get hurt, roll out all the victims in front of the cameras, then use the sob stories as moral justification to crack down with oppressive new laws.

This is the agenda being planned right now with bitcoin. The recipe works like this:

Step 1) Central banks buy up massive quantities of bitcoin currency, driving the prices into the stratosphere and encouraging millions of people around the world to jump on board the “get rich” bandwagon.

Step 2) Once bitcoin valuations reach a sufficient level of insanity, start a massive selloff by dumping the bitcoins you already bought onto the market, offering them for sale at any price (i.e. sell into falling prices, accelerating the loss in valuations).

Step 3) Watch panic take hold as the bitcoin crash accelerates, ending in a catastrophic wipeout of “valuation” of all bitcoins.

Step 4) Find “victims” of the bitcoin crash who can tell a good sob story for the mainstream media about how they invested little Johnny’s college money in bitcoin and lost it all. Roll them out on CNN and MSNBC where they cry on camera and talk about how they were ripped off by bitcoin and now they only trust the government from now on.

Step 5) Demonize bitcoin by characterizing it as a “libertarian pyramid scheme.” Lash out against both decentralized currencies and libertarians.

Step 6) Once the demonization gains traction, have traitors in the U.S. Congress announce a “Consumer Currency Protection Act” that outlaws non-central bank currencies such as bitcoin. It’s all “for your safety,” of course. Shut down all online bitcoin wallets and exchanges, calling them “criminal pyramid schemes” and arrest a few people using bitcoin to send a warning message to the rest.

Mission accomplished! You’ve now made bitcoin look like a “pyramid scheme,” you’ve scared the public into being wary of “anti-government currencies,” and you’ve criminalized their use by consumers.

That’s the goal the central banks are trying to achieve right now. It’s all be set in motion by the bitcoin bubble which will inevitably lead to a bitcoin crash.

That’s the goal the central banks are trying to achieve right now. It’s all be set in motion by the bitcoin bubble which will inevitably lead to a bitcoin crash.

Bitcoin is being manipulated as a pawn in the globalist scheme to destroy freedom

The bitcoin bubble is to currency freedom as the Sandy Hook shooting was to firearms freedom. In both cases, governments will use a crisis to destroy freedom while claiming to be “saving” the people.

The government WANTS bitcoin to be a disaster, and the mainstream media, which has so far refused to give bitcoin much attention, will leap all over the story like vultures once it crashes.

For the record, I’m a proponent of bitcoin and I want it to succeed in the long run, but the mania speculation happening with bitcoin right now is going to be disastrous for its reputation. It is the worst thing that could happen to bitcoin.

What we would prefer to see is a slow, steady rise that reflects stability with low volatility. Instead, we see extremely high volatility, wild price ranges, desperate purchasing patterns and even purchase queues at some exchanges where the demand for bitcoins is so high that it exceeds the limits of the services (such as Coinbase, where you now have to stand in line to buy bitcoins two days later at whatever “market” prices are offered that day).

Why the bitcoin craze is the modern-day equivalent of tulip bulb mania

Bitcoin has become a casino. It is almost a perfect reflection of the tulip bulb mania of 1637 in these two ways: 1) Most people buying bitcoins have no use for bitcoins (just like tulip bulbs), and 2) The rapid increase in bitcoin valuations cannot be substantiated in any way that reflects reality.

In other words, there is no fundamental reason why bitcoins should be 2000% more valuable today than four months ago. Nothing has changed other than the craze / mania of people buying in.

Mark my words: A bitcoin crash will occur, and a lot of people are going to be financially hurt by it. More and more, this bitcoin craze is looking like a “pump and dump” operation, where the only winners are those who are the first to sell.

When bitcoins were in the sub-$20 range, I was not concerned about any of this. I actually encouraged people to buy bitcoins and support the bitcoin movement. But alarm bells went off in my mind when it skyrocketed past $150 and headed to $200+ virtually overnight. These are not the signs of rational markets. These are warning signs of bad things yet to occur.

By the way, the simple way to prove to yourself that everything I’m saying here is true is to ask yourself this simple question: What do the people who are buying bitcoins plan to spend them on?

The answer is NOTHING! They don’t plan to spend bitcoins on anything. They have no use for bitcoins. Their only play (for 90+% of those buying them) is to buy low and sell high. That’s it! For them, bitcoin is nothing more than a speculative vehicle for gambling with some of their money.

Every speculative bubble market that goes up must come down. And it will usually come down at a multiple of the speed at which it went up.

The velocity of bitcoins is a huge red alert

Now, if most bitcoin buyers were actually using the currency on a day-to-day basis, purchasing things online, sending bitcoins to pay off debts, exchanging bitcoins for services, etc., then that would be different. The circulation of a currency is classically known as its velocity. The higher the velocity, the more frequently the currency is being routinely used for transactions.

But the velocity of bitcoins after the initial purchase is shockingly low. What this indicates is that people are buying lots of bitcoins but then sitting on them. Once bitcoins are purchased, in other words, they basically just sit around and aren’t used for any practical purpose.

Amazon.com, for example, doesn’t accept bitcoins. You can’t buy gas for your truck with bitcoins. You can’t shop with bitcoins at the local grocery store. Until bitcoins are more widely accepted and the velocity rises, there is no fundamental reason why their value should suddenly skyrocket.

Of course, those who are deep into bitcoins right now will call me a doom and gloomer. Sure, it’s okay for them to talk about how the dollar is going to crash, or how the Fed is a criminal operation, but the minute I start invoking mathematical reality with bitcoins, suddenly I become the bad guy.

Well, my answer to the critics is that I have more faith in the laws of mathematics than the self-deluded logic of people who own millions of dollars worth of bitcoins and who therefore have a strong self-interest in promoting the bitcoin mania.

They are blinded by their own positions in bitcoins and cannot see through the fog of self delusion. In contrast to that, I own only two bitcoins worth approximately $400 or so, meaning that I have no substantial position in bitcoins to speak of. Whether bitcoins go up or down does not impact me in any meaningful way. My sole motivation in writing this is to warn others away from the extreme risks that are now clearly associated with buying bitcoins at present-day prices.

There is nothing new under the sun

As always, there will be people (we call them “noobs” or “suckers”) who think they have stumbled upon the one exception in the universe to the laws of mathematics and that bitcoin somehow represents a galactic shortcut to universal wealth where everyone can become billionaires by trading each other electronic chunks of data with higher and higher numbers encoded in them. These people are fools, and history will prove them so.

After the bitcoin crash takes place, people will ask me, “Mike, how did you know bitcoin was going to crash when everybody else thought it was going to keep going up forever?” And my answer will be, “Because I believe that 2 + 2 = 4.”

If you understand mathematics, you know that the bitcoin bubble is doomed. Sell while you still can and be happy with the profits you’ve made so far. Importantly, remember that the only reason you can sell is because there’s a “greater fool” on the other side of that transaction who is buying your bitcoins.

The problem with all bubbles is that sooner or later the world runs out of greater fools.

Final notes: Why 95% have no clue what I’m writing about

Frustratingly, perhaps 95% of the people who will comment on this article in social media websites have no understanding of high-level mathematics, no understanding of economics, no understanding of free markets, no understanding of greed vs. fear psychology and no historical context through which they might understand what’s happening with bitcoin. Almost no one buying bitcoins has any clue what they are. They don’t even understand the meaning of the phrase “decentralized peer-to-peer crypto currency” and they have absolutely no working knowledge of public / private key cryptography. They have no idea what they are buying and they have no qualifications whatsoever to even discuss the topic.

This is a case where 95% of the people talking about bitcoin need to be told, simply, “Shut the hell up!” because they literally have no clue what they are talking about.

If you are going to talk about bitcoin, make sure you understand the fundamentals of mathematics, cryptography, free markets, economics and human psychology before opening your mouth. Otherwise, you are only announcing to the world that you’re a complete fool who will soon be parted from his money.

And to all those who think they are going to “get rich” by buying bitcoin today and selling it off when bitcoin goes higher, let me offer you a piece of practical advice: After the bitcoin crash, when you are screaming bloody murder and selling your bitcoins at perhaps 1% of what you paid for them, it will be people like me who will buy them and thus receive a 99% discount on the bitcoins you once bought at a hundred times the price. That discount is called the “IQ discount.”

You know how lotteries are called a “tax on people who can’t do math?” The bitcoin crash will be a massive global wealth transfer from people who can’t understand the dynamics of decentralized crypto-currencies to those who do understand.

If you don’t follow what I’m saying here, then don’t buy bitcoins. You will only be led to the mathematical slaughter.

Can you elaborate on the math that tells you bitcoin MUST crash? I've got a decent background in math and I disagree.

There's been a runup in price that wouldn't be considered extreme with network effects (2^n) and new adoption rates considered. But even if you consider the current run-up extreme, there's a limit to the total number of bitcoins, and consistent increases in human productivity over time almost guarantee increasing purchasing power of bitcoins, even after we reach 100% market saturation, which I think everyone agrees we are no where near currently. And even if we "overshoot" the saturation point, where people realize they bought bitcoins that they never plan to use, the bitcoins don't lose their utility as a store of value, gold being the main example of this.

I'm not saying there couldn't be a crash due to crisis of confidence, hacking or something, but as far as a mathematical bubble that dictates a crash, I don't see what you mean.

13  Bitcoin / Project Development / Re: How could I promote Bitcoin in Haiti? on: April 09, 2013, 03:36:56 PM
I'm going to Haiti next month for 8 days, wondering if anyone had suggestions for how I might promote bitcoin to the locals? Maybe find a currency exchange place and try to sell them on it?

I would love to know what kind of mobile phones the average middle-class Haitian is using (I know, there aren't many middle-class Haitians).  Smart phone?  Feature phone?  I've always thought that Bitcoin is going to need some type of JavaCard SIM Card light client to really spread to the developing world.  However, with cheap Chinese android phones starting to flood the market, I may have been wrong.

That's a good thought. I'd guess those that have them aren't using smartphones but I could be wrong. And it may be that bitcoin needs to start with a few of the wealthier Haitians before it gets into the middle class.

I'm assuming a decent percentage have Internet access at least. If think they could setup accounts and buy stuff if they had a way to deposit their cash into it. I know someone suggested Wordpress or reddit accounts and set themselves up for tips.
14  Bitcoin / Project Development / How could I promote Bitcoin in Haiti? on: April 09, 2013, 03:03:20 PM
I'm going to Haiti next month for 8 days, wondering if anyone had suggestions for how I might promote bitcoin to the locals? Maybe find a currency exchange place and try to sell them on it?
15  Economy / Service Discussion / Way for Bitcoinstore to promote bitcoin on: April 09, 2013, 01:23:24 PM
After reading their press release it sounds like bitcoinstore's main goal is just to promote bitcoin acceptance online. To that end I wonder if they could make a 4 party offer to amazon, best buy, newegg.com and tiger direct where they'd sell their domain name/setup a redirect to the first one of the 4 that agreed to accept bitcoins?

$500,000 in sales in basically a month and a half would be pretty valuable to one of those I'd think.
16  Bitcoin / Press / Re: 2013-04-04 Bloomberg 'Sorry, Libertarians, History Shows Bitcoin Isn't Future' on: April 04, 2013, 05:01:50 PM
I hope we continue to get a flood of these flawed, mocking "economic" articles against bitcoin. Then 5 years from now when it's still growing and growing we'll have people abandoning the status quo in droves.
17  Economy / Economics / Re: The Money-ness of Bitcoin on: April 04, 2013, 02:36:51 PM
The "money vs currency" thing is basically semantics. Whatever you want to call it, he defined his terms and then explained why bitcoin qualifies.


The larger point is that the much-respected Von Mises institute has basically endorsed the concept of bitcoin.
18  Economy / Economics / The Money-ness of Bitcoin on: April 04, 2013, 01:53:44 PM
Prima facie, bitcoins possess all the qualities required from a money (a generally-used medium of exchange). They are perfectly homogeneous, easily cognizable, conveniently divisible, storable at practically no cost, and imperishable. Also, they seem to be fully shielded from counterfeiting. In addition, because they exist as a consumption and investment good, they are appraised on their own, thereby satisfying the Misesian regression criterion for the free-market inception of a medium of exchange. However, in order to become a viable alternative to existing monies, bitcoins must generate a sufficiently large demand so that their usage becomes generalized. Without the certainty that they can be transacted for any other good in the economy, a demand to hold them as money could not develop. It is with respect to their capacity to become and remain commonly used that bitcoins suffer from a relative disadvantage.

http://mises.org/daily/6399/The-Moneyness-of-Bitcoins

Von Mises always has informative articles. Glad to see they recognize the strength of bitcoin as money.
19  Other / Beginners & Help / Re: Serious Question about investment on: April 03, 2013, 12:35:59 PM
I'm very bullish on bitcoin over the next 3-10 years and Ill just put in a plug for tradehill.com as a good place for that much cash. Sounds to me like they've got a very good cold storage strategy.

You might also consider going 50/50 between them and mtgox.
20  Bitcoin / Bitcoin Discussion / Re: Best service for small business to direct new customers to? on: March 31, 2013, 11:14:59 PM
Set up a bitpay.com account and put $10, $20 and $100 items as payments to the business.  Customer pays in BTC and gets an invoice with the payment.  They take that in with ID to redeem in merchandise.  The business does need to log into bitpay or check email to make sure invoice is real.



That's interesting, hadnt heard of that before. Seems maybe a little less than ideal if they're trying to estimate the cost ahead of time but I guess it's no different than paying in cash, just give them change.
Thanks for that, like i said we're signed up with bitpay so ill check it out.
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