Interesting interviewing reflecting the reality of selling bitcoins locally in certain jurisdictions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acnxOEp3Mzk

Do not let the state bully you and keep trading locally!

In light of the recent revelations from Olivier Janssens regarding the bankrupt foundation and need to decentralize and fund development :

https://bitcoinfoundation.org/forum/index.php?/topic/1284-the-truth-about-the-bitcoin-foundation/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/31e6jh/the_truth_about_the_bitcoin_foundation/

A special trust fund is being created and I will donate several 100k to pre-pay Gavin’s, Wladimirs and some other core devs wage for the next year (if they choose to accept). The control of this trust fund will be handed over to the core devs, who can decide who can join it. Alternatively, we can give voting power to everyone who puts money in it (pro-rata). I will also organize crowdfunds and help make this fund public. At no point do I want to have any control whatsoever.

What does everyone think about these changes? Are the current developers being funded through the Bitcoin foundation in favor of it? Where and how do we start contributing towards this fund to support development?

I believe this is exciting and an opportunity to possibly build a decentralized and open Bitcoin Standards Body. Lets talk about solutions and do it right this time by making sure the incentive structure brings in fresh talent wanting to contribute and support older developers while at the same time not allowing corrupt investors using a foundation as a means to buy reputation.

Lets build something we feel proud to join and contribute towards!

[instantly confirming]

This thread is one intended to start a conversation about what altcoin developers and users feel about some of the development within the bitcoin space and how it compares to other alts. There are some interesting features and development within many of the altcoins and there is a lot of progress being made within bitcoins but the difference with bitcoin is most of the development is happening at the edges and the core protocol remains simple and robust.

Thus individuals who download the bitcoin QT (Core) wallet may be disappointing because its not as pretty and doesn't have all the features as other wallets when most of the development is happening in the 20+ other bitcoin wallets. So one "disadvantage" bitcoin has is confusion due to too many options due to too much development where it doesn't have a well integrated wallets that does everything. I.E..  you want privacy - darkwallet, you want security - armory, you want integrated directory and shopping assistance - airbitz, you want decentralized localtrader - mycelium, ect... Other alts have very little choices and development but the wallets are more tightly integrated with all the features found accross multiple wallets in bitcoin.

So the first question is do you guys agree with the above , yes or no and why?

What do you guys feel about the lightning network whitepaper?

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=970822.0
http://lightning.network/lightning-network-paper-DRAFT-0.5.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zVzw912wPo
http://lightning.network/lightning-network.pdf
http://www.coindesk.com/could-the-bitcoin-lightning-network-solve-blockchain-scalability/

Are there any alts out their designed to handle 45,000 instantly confirming transactions  per second and scale without bloat like bitcoin with the lightning network once the softfork goes through?

What do you you of Inter-channel payments allowing instant confirmations within bitcoin - http://impulse.is/. Confirmations are already instant with bitcoin if you trust a centralized payment processor , but interchannel payments pave a way for a more distributed trust system.

Some recent changes made in Bitcoin core 0.10 paved way for pruning. Full nodes that only require 1GB of storage are set to be released in the next version 0.11. What do you guys think about this as it relates to blockchain bloat and decentralization?

Darkwallet and openbazaar seems to be making slow but steady progress to solve the decentralization issues and privacy concerns. What do you specifically think about these advancements in relation to other alts?

There are security risks when you centralize private key storage whether it is an encrypted database of credit cards or bitcoin private keys:

http://www.coindesk.com/coinapult-loses-40k-hot-wallet-compromise/

The message is clear that people need to use exchanges and payment processors as gateways and not a place of storing their assets.

Secure your bitcoins yourself:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=858604.0

You should have done this as soon as GAW purchased it but if you missed the memo stop using them now:

https://twitter.com/CoinSwapNet/status/573884993761624064

http://Coin-swap.net  will be shutting down on March 22nd, 2015. Please withdraw all funds immediately. Thank you for your support.

Josh's company appears to be falling apart and could be related to this:  
http://coinfire.io/2015/03/06/coin-fire-gaw-miners-catches-sec-ftc-irs-dhs-attention/
http://coinbrief.net/gaw-miners-fraud/

Love the passion and drive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L9mHtL1HTs

Do it for the children.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIasr2AiyZ0

Will make you laugh, than cry ,a few more chuckles, than depression begins to set in...

http://www.wsj.com/articles/bitcoin-investment-trust-gets-finras-ok-to-become-public-bitcoin-fund-1425242094
https://twitter.com/barrysilbert/status/572138744100339713
https://archive.today/G5R1Z#selection-1068.0-1209.70

Barry Silbert getting the go ahead for his bitcoin ETF....very bullish markets.

[Please exclude these businesses:]

I am interested in compiling a list of businesses that exclusively accept Bitcoin. Businesses that exclusively accept bitcoin are a value added asset to our community as they are more likely to not immediately cash out and any person doing business with them are incentivized to buy bitcoin first. These are the businesses we should value and support first and foremost as they are placing their trust completely in our ecosystem.

Please exclude these businesses: illegal drug and murder for hire , porn, ICO's , mixers, securities, ponzi's, cloud mining companies, hot wallets, payment processors, scam or misleading goods or services, and gambling sites.
Some of those goods and services are important for society but should be listed in a different directory.

Preliminary list :

General Goods and Services
https://beerbellybees.com             raw Ohio honey
https://bitcoinjerky.com                Jerky
https://btctrip.com                        Flight Booking
https://dutyfree.io                         Duty free cigarettes
https://icall.com                            VoIP  service
http://persianshoes.com               meticulously handmade shoes
https://c0ffer.com                         gemstones
https://steamgamesbtc.com          Steam game trading marketplace
https://pokemonbtc.com               pokemon game cards
https://www.bitrefill.com             Top up prepaid mobile phones
http://www.abitsky.com/en/        Airline booking
https://cigsspot.com                    Duty free cigarettes
https://www.bitpremier.com/       Luxury Items
http://pizzaforcoins.com/             Pizza
http://www.travelforcoins.com/     Travel Agency
http://bitcoincommodities.com      Gold and Silver
https://nastyfans.org/mint            Physical Bitcoins


Bitcoin only related products/ Crypto only Exchanges
https://bitcointrezor.com             Bitcoin Hardware Wallet
https://haasonline.com                bitcoin trading bot software


Bitcoin hosting and development
https://bitnodes.io                        Cloud hosting per hour
https://bithost.io                         Cloud hosting per hour
https://www.cleverpuffin.com        Web Hosting
https://bitcoinwebdesign.com        Web development
https://viso.online/                         Web Hosting
http://sporestack.com/                    Server hosting


Payment Shopping Marketplace/ Advertising Platforms
https://purse.io                           amazon escrow marketplace
https://cryptothrift.com               escrow marketplace
https://openbazaar.org                decentralized marketplace
http://coinad.com/                      advertising platform
http://bitrecruit.com                  Talent mining recruitment engine
http://answer.market/               Bitcoin paywall

Magazines, Directories, Forums and Publications

https://bitcointalk.org Bitcoin Forum

Please suggest any others.

[scope of this attack on more than 100 banks and other financial institutions in 30 nations]

...Bitcoin unaffected.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/world/bank-hackers-steal-millions-via-malware.html?_r=1

In a report to be published on Monday, and provided in advance to The New York Times, Kaspersky Lab says that the scope of this attack on more than 100 banks and other financial institutions in 30 nations could make it one of the largest bank thefts ever — and one conducted without the usual signs of robbery.

When this happens with in the bitcoin economy, expect plenty of negative press... when it happens to traditional banks(as it happens all the time) expect a few articles and little to no criticism. When it happens to a bitcoin exchange, only the users are affected, when it happens to banks expect them to band together with corrupt states and not disclose who was effected and expect them all to be "insured" and "compensated" and everyone will be forced to pay. No CEO's will lose their jobs and no banks will fail due to weak security as they are all too big to fail and their poor security will be paid by you whether you know it or not.

The silence around the investigation appears motivated in part by the reluctance of banks to concede that their systems were so easily penetrated, and in part by the fact that the attacks appear to be continuing.

[both]

Some of these videos made me laugh, cringe and cry with both of the regulators/legislators and anarchists comments.

Ian Freeman did the best job -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2MGUjTJ2P0

The rest of the presentations were a bit emotional and erratic for my taste:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prDMV8t9Mis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEMuWKPAedU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SexG1AZZSSU

I have mixed feelings about talking to regulators and can empathize with arguments on both sides of the debate on whether or not these outreach attempts are productive. Regardless, all were entertaining and worth a watch.

This thread is a special place where Josh and GAW can thank their investors for having faith in them and allowing them the rich rewards their genius marketing brings them.







Contribute with any photos of their successes.

Best Bitch - BITCOIN

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=md4cPHFBeiU

Nice beat and flow....100k views in 3days ...good exposure!

Libertarian® Utopia™

A message from the Bitcoin Foundation :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DloaYxQn1BM

This thread has nothing to do with altcoins and was either mistakenly or intentionally(for unknown reasons) moved to this section by a moderator.

I generally agree with these principles:
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Prohibited_changes

1) Bitcoin is defined with 21 million units
2) Demurrage is prohibited
3) Rules which increase centralization are prohibited

Additionally, I would like to suggest

4) Any changes which destroy fungibility (I.E..blacklists) are prohibited
5) Any changes which destroy the Pseudonymity of Bitcoin is prohibited

These 5 principles are core ideals which define bitcoin and any divergence from these and I will consider the hardfork an Alt and quickly lose all interest in supporting these changes.

What is listed as disputed involves changing the consensus mechanism away from 100% PoW. As many know I have been very critical of the security weaknesses found in existing PoS implementations so am certainly no alt shill or fanboi, regardless am open to a fruitful discussion of different mechanisms to better secure Bitcoin at lower costs.

Vitalik Buterin has been a great contributor to the bitcoin space and has written a recent article which appears to address many NaS problems:
https://blog.ethereum.org/2014/11/25/proof-stake-learned-love-weak-subjectivity/

Personally, I think we should be open to discussing these ideas honestly and don't make any rush decisions in suggesting a hardfork. There are some huge elephants in the room we all must acknowledge between the near impossibility of mining at a profit for the average user, reliance on centralization of pools, and the security costs from disposable ASIC's and electricity.

Discuss....

Here I want to discuss an overview of various methods to secure your bitcoin savings and the strengths and weaknesses of each approach for storing ones savings in Bitcoin. There is a time and place for using hot wallets, exchanges, tipping services, smartphone apps for daily spending but that is another conversation. We do not need to waste our time discussing extremely dangerous methods of storing ones savings like hot wallets and non-regulated exchanges.

Please offer any criticism and suggestions to build to this list:

Paper Wallets


Strengths:
Secure against Malware, viruses, trojans, and keyloggers. (As long as keys are generated with secure equipment) Secure against online theft initiated by hackers or unscrupulous employees and owners of online wallets. Once setup, easy to maintain and re-import. Fairly secure against State and legal theft. Practically Free to setup
Practically Free to setup


Weaknesses:
Initially difficult to securely generate with an audited and clean computer
Online Utilities not as secure as offline generators
Insecure against physical theft


Tutorials:
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Paper_wallet
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=342691.0
http://www.coindesk.com/information/paper-wallet-tutorial/
https://99bitcoins.com/create-99-9-secure-bitcoin-paper-wallet/


Online Utilities to generate Paper wallets-
https://www.bitaddress.org   (Code Independently audited=?)
https://www.offlineaddress.com  (Code Independently audited=?)
https://bitcoinpaperwallet.com/bitcoinpaperwallet/generate-wallet.html   (Code Independently audited=?)

Offline Utility to generate Paper Wallets  
https://github.com/casascius/Bitcoin-Address-Utility   (Code Independently audited=?)


Devices:

1) Piper  -229 USD
http://cryptographi.com/

2) https://mycelium.com/entropy  - 40USd
released , but sold out except for reseller - http://asicminer-shop.de/Mycelium-Entropy

Concerns with paper wallets –

https://np.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/670zhy/summary_pitfalls_of_paper_wallets/

https://np.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/6ss91w/seriously_how_are_you_all_generating_your_private/dlf4uhr/


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Physical Bitcoins



Strengths:
Secure against Malware, viruses, trojans, and keyloggers. (As long as keys are generated with secure equipment)
Secure against online theft initiated by hackers or unscrupulous employees and owners of online wallets.
Once setup, easy to maintain and re-import.
Fairly secure against State and legal theft.



Weaknesses:
Initially difficult to securely generate keys with an audited and clean computer
Online Utilities not as secure as offline generators
Insecure against physical theft
Much more expensive than paper wallets
Insecure unless you generate and add the private keys yourself



Sources:

1) https://www.casascius.com
In person or bulk only 500 for 0.39 BTC

2) https://www.titanbtc.com/
68 USD - ~2k USD

3) http://www.lealana.com/
various prices

4) https://www.infinitumbitcoins.com/
179 to 339 USD per coin

5) https://denarium.com/
19.9 € to 2199 € per coin



-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Offline Computer or device



Strengths:
Somewhat secure against Malware, viruses, trojans, and keyloggers. (As long as keys are generated with secure equipment)
Secure against online theft initiated by hackers or unscrupulous employees and owners of online wallets.
Once setup, easy to maintain and re-import.
Fairly secure against State and legal theft.



Weaknesses:
Initially difficult to securely generate keys with an audited and clean computer
Much more expensive than paper wallets(need a separate computer or device)
Vulnerabilities with possible USB /network infections if device isn't properly secure
Less reliable than physical or paper wallets, so one should backup the wallet on an additional separate key or write down a HD key phrase


Tutorials:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=235584.0
http://codinginmysleep.com/cold-storage-part-1/
https://bitcoinarmory.com/tutorials/armory-advanced-features/offline-wallets/


Devices(besides offline computers , notepads, and laptops):


http://www.pi-wallet.com/
124.95 €

CIYAM Safe - https://susestudio.com/a/kp8B3G/ciyam-safe

12-sided dice and a TI-89 Calculator to create a bitcoin address.
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/how-to-make-a-bitcoin-address-with-a-ti-89-calculator

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Hardware wallets



Strengths:
Secure against Malware, viruses, trojans, and keyloggers. (If the hardware has not been tampered with- Audits needed)
Secure against online theft initiated by hackers or unscrupulous employees and owners of online wallets.
Once setup, easy to maintain and re-import.
Fairly secure against State and legal theft.
Easier to actively make secure transactions, without needing to import private keys


Weaknesses:
Few of these devices has been thoroughly independently audited
More expensive than paper wallets
Less reliable than physical or paper wallets, so one should backup the wallet on an additional separate key or write down a HD key phrase

Comparison of
KeepKey vs Trezor vs Ledger Nano
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOnOBl_MxmQ


Devices:


1) Trezor
https://www.bitcointrezor.com/
Original 99 USD
TREZOR model T - preorder 139 € - 149 €
Source Code: Open source

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT1j_kbZBEo

2) ledger wallet
 https://www.ledgerwallet.com/
Ledger nano S  58.00 €
nano 49 usd (will not have future firmware upgrade support soon)
HW.1 23 usd (will not have future firmware upgrade support soon)
Ledger Blue - 229 €
Source Code: open

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI1OntWB7wc

3) Keep Key
https://www.keepkey.com/
129 usd
Source Code: Open source

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs4N3jtZrEI

4) Digital Bitbox
https://digitalbitbox.com/
54 €
Source Code: open

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBfgG-WXzhc

5) Open Dime
http://www.opendime.com/
29 usd for 3
Unique HW wallet that acts as a fungible and verifiable offline form of currency

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LrKLsZYGjQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqkKtJSPvlU

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Muti-sig Hot wallets and services



Strengths:
Somewhat secure against Malware, viruses, trojans, and keyloggers. (As long as keys are generated with secure equipment)
Somewhat Secure against online theft initiated by hackers or unscrupulous employees and owners of online wallets.
Easy to setup and maintain
Easier to actively make secure transactions, without needing to import private keys
Added features such as 2FA , online access, and Insurance


Weaknesses:
None of these services have been thoroughly independently audited
Concerns that private keys generated with the service are also stored or captured by companies
Vulnerable to malware,  trojans, and keyloggers within the browser (mainly at time of creation)
Vulnerable to privacy concerns
Vulnerable to legal and state theft

Tutorials -
http://sx.dyne.org/multisig.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIbUSaZBJgU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKRLJGBMqWo



Services:


1) https://greenaddress.it
 2-of-2 or 2 of 3 multisignature with nLockTime (possible temporarily unable to spend funds) / Free
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=521988.0

2)https://www.bitgo.com/
2 of 3 multisig / Free
 
3) https://www.coinbase.com/vault
2 of 3 multisig / insured / Free

4) https://www.bitalo.com/why_bitalo
 2-of-2 multisignature


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Muti-sig Paper/electronic wallets


Strengths:
Secure against Malware, viruses, trojans, and keyloggers. (As long as keys are generated with secure equipment)
Secure against online theft initiated by hackers or unscrupulous employees and owners of online wallets.
Once setup, easy to maintain and re-import.
Fairly secure against State and legal theft.
Practically Free to setup
Secure against physical theft if only one of the private keys is physical and the other 2 are encrypted and stored independently.


Weaknesses:
Initially difficult to securely generate with an audited and clean computer (with exception to entropy)
Online Utilities not as secure as offline generators



Tutorials:


1) Armory
https://www.armoryguide.com/OfflineWalletSetup.html
https://bitcoinarmory.com/tutorials/armory-advanced-features/offline-wallets/
https://bitcoinarmory.com/tutorials/armory-advanced-features/lockbox/create-lockbox/
https://bitcoinarmory.com/tutorials/armory-advanced-features/fragmented-backups/


Devices:


1) https://mycelium.com/entropy  - 40USd
released , but sold out except for reseller - http://asicminer-shop.de/Mycelium-Entropy


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Brain wallets


Strengths:
Secure against Malware, viruses, trojans, and keyloggers. (As long as keys are generated with secure equipment)
Secure against online theft initiated by hackers or unscrupulous employees and owners of online wallets.
Fairly secure against State and legal theft.
Free to setup
Secure against physical theft but not torture


Weaknesses:
Difficult to remember
risk of forgetting private keys
Difficult to re-import
Risk the passphrase isn't secure


Tutorials:


http://www.coindesk.com/how-to-create-a-brain-wallet/
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=710434.0


Tools:


1) https://brainwallet.github.io/

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Manually Creating a Wallet


Strengths:
Secure against Malware, viruses, trojans, and keyloggers.
Secure against online theft initiated by hackers or unscrupulous employees and owners of online wallets.
Fairly secure against State and legal theft.
Sometimes free to setup


Weaknesses:
Time consuming
Difficult to securely generate
Insecure against physical theft once written down


Tutorials:


https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Technical_background_of_Bitcoin_addresses

[cryptocurrency could also benefit from a kind of central bank]

"The cryptocurrency could also benefit from a kind of central bank established by merchants accepting Bitcoin, he said, that would act as a clearing house for transactions and implement secure storage of coins. Karpeles is also trying to draft a best practices document for Bitcoin security that he said he would share with anyone willing to consider his ideas."

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2846252/despite-mt-gox-fiasco-karpeles-still-has-bitcoin-plans.html

"Bitcoin exchanges should have 24-hour operation centers manned by guards and accessed only through hardware tokens, and with staff who have undergone extensive background checks, he said."

Comments he stated all while wearing a shirt that said :
“I don’t always test my code,” it reads, “but when I do, I do it in production.”




The fucking nerve! I don't know whether he is just a complete idiot or one of the biggest douches in recent memory.

Bitcoin's raison d'etre is to remove the added counterparty risk from central banks and regulators. Stop trading your private keys for IOU tokens.

This topic isn't about the historical legacy, politics, and personalities of Satoshi, or any of the crypto-anarchists and cypherpunks which gave birth to Bitcoin. There is enough documentation to keep the revisionists from re-writing history and anyone who cares to do a bit of research can find answers. Additionally, this topic is not intended to suggest that Bitcoin cannot be inclusive; A protocol is simply a tool that can be used by anyone despite their background or politics.

This topic intends to address the fundamental design aspects of the protocol of Bitcoin initially and how it has evolved.

What form of political and social structure does it most closely resemble or combination thereof?

Does Bitcoin undermine certain social structures of politics because of these inherent design properties?

How do you wish Bitcoin to evolve to change these design principles in order to benefit certain ideological of political motivations?


I understand this topic may be challenging to peoples interests as we are a diverse group of people and all have many different motivations and aspects that attract us to Bitcoin. We may be tempted to avoid this topic because we believe that the discussion of controversial topics will slow mainstream adoption and hurt the community. We may be tempted to project our own politics and ideologies onto the bitcoin protocol. Some may have an aversion to labels because they don't want to be pigeonholed(fine than discuss the design aspects and social implications without using labels). Lets try and resist these inclinations and have an honest conversation about the facts and realities supported by evidence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXH3GOuOGuI

Hilarious and sad because how real these conversations are.

A new Independence has been declared:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQqZ9b0S0BY

http://bravetheworld.com/2014/08/13/declare-bitcoins-independence/

We will stand together in solidarity and not betray the true essence of Bitcoin.

Discuss...