There are rumors about the MMM ponzi scheme being somewhat responsible for the current rallye. After the recent price rise we may experience an unexpected dynamic that works like this: Many newcomers to the ponzi scheme learn about Bitcoin and how to buy them in order to enter MMM - and they do this while the bitcoin price is rising very quickly.

Now put yourself into the position of such a person: You have bought Bitcoin that gain 10% in value each day. Would you still "invest" into MMM or would you rather hold the coins, as you already see crazy profits that are even higher than what the ponzi has promised? We might currently see MMM inadvertently recruit bitcoin users instead of ponzi victims, which would be a very nice thing on many levels.

What do you think?

Bitcoin can be used as currency but also as just a payment protocol. Many shops interface with Bitpay or Coinbase in order to accept Bitcoin-as-a-protocol: The payments are instantly converted to fiat and the shop neither holds Bitcoin at any moment nor is it exposed to exchange rate fluctuations.

On the other side of the deal, i.e. if I as a customer want to pay by Bitcoin-as-a-protocol without currency exchange risk, there is no service I can use, is there? Of course I can keep fiat at an exchange, then trade the needed amount into Bitcoin and send it to pay for my order. But it seems quite cumbersome.

I imagine a wallet provider where people could deposit fiat into their Fiat Wallet and use a browser-plugin (or something) to easily pay with Bitcoin-as-a-protocol. Like with KryptoKit you could pay a Bitcoin invoice with two clicks and the sent amount of Bitcoin is deducted from your fiat balance by current exchange rate.

This concept has been on my mind for quite some time, but so far I haven't even seen anyone talk about it. Does a service like this exist? Is it a reasonable idea in the first place?

[1JALGZ8PJgPNp7hjuN4abDpnmLUjgSGkSq]

Howdy.

With the current ask hovering above 3.4 on BTCTC, I've decided to offer five of my remaining twenty shares of ASICMINER. They are associated with address 1JALGZ8PJgPNp7hjuN4abDpnmLUjgSGkSq (Blockchain.info). To prove my ownership I will take the URI of this thread as a message to sign with the above address and post the signature in a few minutes.

You can only buy all 5 shares at once. No bidding. First come, first served. This week's dividends are included and will be forwarded to the buyer. John K. will do escrow, paid by me.

1. Buyer accepts the offer and posts a receiving address for the shares
2. John K. supplies an escrow address
3. Buyer pays 3.5 * 5 = 17.5 BTC to John K. within 24 hours
4. I initiate transfer of shares to your address
5. Friedcat confirms transfer in this thread
6. John K. keeps 0.35 BTC (17.5*0.02)
7. John K. releases 17.15 BTC (17.5-0.35) to my address mentioned above