[Bitcoin is:]

I thought it might be valuable to point out some of the key differences between FaceBook’s new Libra coin and Bitcoin. They are certainly not the same. The greatest features of bitcoin center around it’s decentralized network.

Bitcoin is:

• A currency that disconnects your identity from your money.
  
  Owned only by the user who posses it. 
  
  A currency that has a production, circulation, and distribution which is beyond the control of any government, business, or ANY entity at all.
  
  A currency that can be used in any country for any transaction and is beyond anyone’s ability to compel or deny a transaction.
  
  The cheapest, fastest, and most secure way to send money yet invented.
  

Libra is:

• A currency that ties not only your basic identity to your money, but includes all the details found on your FB, instagram, What’sApp, and other social media. A near perfect coin for stealing your identity.
  
  Owned by a banking cabal including PayPal, MasterCard, FaceBook, Andreessen Horowitz, etc. Users may use their coins if they follow all rules required by the owner companies. Users must also accept that these rules may change at any time for any reason the owner companies decide.
  
  A currency who’s distribution, supply, and all other parameters are under the complete control of the owners. They can change the valuation or double the circulation.  (Owners, not Users – FaceBook and it’s partners are the owners of the money)
  
  A currency that can be used at FaceBook’s partner stores. It allows FB partners to pry into your spending habits in an unprecedented way. You may only use their money if they receive a cut of the money and all transactions are allowed only if FB decides it is okay for you to do. 
  
  A patch over an archaic banking system that is insecure, ridiculously slow, and very
  expensive.
  

You may already know that Craigslist.com has added a filter to find items for sale in cryptocurrency. It can be a simple, anonymous way to get bitcoin for the stuff you are getting rid of anyway.

But I am curious about what you are finding locally on Craigslist.  I'm in Denver at the moment and here is the link to what is for sale:
https://denver.craigslist.org/search/sss?crypto_currency_ok=1

To check your town just go to Craigslist and is should direct you to your location. The select "For sale". If you look at the filters on the left you will notice a " cryptocurrency ok" option you can select.  There you have it!

Please post if you find something interesting or funny.  I'll start with this listing:
https://denver.craigslist.org/for/d/denver-like-new-1-2-lb-closed-loop/6834382664.html

It's an extraction tower for making your own Cannabis extracts. 

The most frighting idea I have seen since the rise of bitcoin is that of combining it with the power of artificial intelligence. I will link the tread if I can find it later, but in maybe 2010-11, some one posited the idea of SKYNET. Taken form the movie the terminator "she" was an AI that had gone rouge. It's sci-fi, but what are the real risks of allowing AI the authority to spend money?


On the one hand it would be a boon in ease of commerce. Your fridge could buy milk when you need it, your car could drive itself to the mechanic and pay without your involvement. You could just load it's wallet and give the AI authority.  The machine internet, or IOT, could be buzzing with money just like the our internet. Machines buying, selling and managing their wallets while we stroll around in togas, free of time consuming tasks involving money. 
 
But what if a consciousness emerges? I don't know how likely it is, but there are a lot of scientists who study AI and consider it an actual risk at some point. Or what if someone created malicious code that sought only to survive? To use her money to make money mining and through automated services. Then spending the profits to grow. To buy server space, pay for code that provides additional functionality and perhaps gain computational dominance.  One can even envision a near future where on-demand 3D printing and assembly could see the network build herself into the real world. It may not take much "consciousness" to get the ball rolling.   

So what do you think? How much, if any, risk should be assigned to trusting artificial intelligence with money? 

I bought some airline tickets this weekend and received a kind email from CheapAir. They expressed their support for the ideals of bitcoin and the freedom it represents to users. They also said they are so supportive that they are going to give special attention to crypto users including a special helpline phone number, access to unadvertised prices, improved email response. I think I just made a friend for life, lol.

Show your support next time you have to fly somewhere. Don't lose money on trade fees buying lesser money for crypto, get better service and receive the full value of your coins.

https://www.cheapair.com/

I was looking on Craigslist over the weekend when I noticed something new. There was a box to select “cryptocurrency ok”. Awesome! Try your home city and see for yourself. Below is a link to New York’s Craiglist.

https://newyork.craigslist.org/search/sss?crypto_currency_ok=1

This is great for those looking to spend their coins and those looking to obtain coins. Now you can sell something for bitcoin or host a bitcoin garage sale.  Yay!

Step 1. Download the bitcoin source code and do a find/replace of the word "bitcoin". Change it to "scamcoin". Congratulations, without any knowledge of programing you have created an alt-coin. Now you need to find some "marks" (that's conman talk for someone stupid enough to buy alts).

Step 2. Pre-mine a bunch of your new coins. Then advertise your ICO (initial coin offering). Tell stories about how much better your coin is. I know, I know... Just make shit up.

Step 3. Sell a scamcoin to your buddy for $10. Your buddy could just be you posing as another person or an accomplice. Because scamcoin is really bitcoin you know that full production is 21million. So that's a marketcap of $210,000,000. WoW!

Step 4. The next day have your buddy sell you back your scamcoin for $15. Now go brag on the fourms that your new coin has gone up 50% in 24 hours!!!! And now has a marketcap of $315000000!!!!!!! Get them quick these things are going to the moon.

Step 5. Sell all your pre-mined coins and move on. Within days to weeks the coins will be valueless. But who cares? the marks are left holding the bag and you are holding bags of their money.

IMO, ICO's are simply a way to solve the problem of the developer not having your money. Sure, there are legit alts, but until you completely understand bitcoin you would be foolish to buy alts. 

If you live in the U.S. and you lost money trading crypto in 2017 you can claim a loss to the IRS. Only profits are taxable and losses can be deductions. Anyone in that boat or have information about that process? With the huge growth I guess few lost money, but I would be interested in how the irs treats a loss claim.

GEOCACHEAFRICA

Last year’s GEOCACHE ICELAND game was to draw attention to our beloved coin in a place shy about adoption. This year the contest continues in a new country on a new continent. I will update this post and this thread as events dictate. You have until the year 2019 to find this geocache and claim your prize of .1BTC . It’s just sitting there right now for anyone to pick up and in the coming days (weeks?) I will provide clues in this thread that will disclose the location of this paper wallet.
There are no rules, nothing to join, it’s not some kind of scheme. I am GIVING this money away as a stunt to draw attention to bitcoin’s potential in Africa. Anyone can play, you can even just take it anonymously if you want. Although I do offer an additional .001BTC for a picture and a tale of your adventure finding it.

So stay tuned! After trekking by 4-wheel drive for weeks, I’m a too strung out to post today and I still have to fund the wallet. But this week I will be posting more info and pictures.

Cheers,
RodeoX

As the price goes up and a large percentage of our holdings are in bitcoin many will be thinking about diversifying by buying property or other large ticket items. That may require a third party willing to handle the crypto. Exchanges are fine for a $10K or less, but what if I need $1 million? Is anyone doing these figures now?

It is a service I would be interested in if I can't convince a seller to take bitcoin. Please respond here of PM me if you would like to keep this quiet. I certainly can keep a secret and can understand why you don't want to advertise your ability to buy at that level.

The problem is really about timing even doing $10K a week it would take almost 2 years to buy enough fiat for a $1M property sale. That's just too long. 

P.S. Scammers can disregard this offer. It will involve lawyers, contracts, etc. I have been doing this a long time and know all the tricks. It won't be some chatroom Tx. I will likely fly to you for a meeting.

[Chuck Grassley]

Proposed legislation would force crypto users to reveal their balances and addresses to the IRS. An unconscionable intrusion, in my opinion. I pay my taxes on bitcoin because gains on bitcoin are like everything else. But I am not going to divulge an inventory of my private holdings. That is going way beyond normal and setting a very dangerous precedent. I personally am committing to resistance on this issue. I would rather take my bitcoin to another country and pay my taxes there than comply with this overreach. If the government persists in this push it would be a good idea for others who want to resist to begin sharing tools and knowledge about how to hide bitcoin or move it offshore.

We are breaking no laws and hurting no one. We have nothing to hide, but that does not give the government the right to search us. Lucky for us we live in a democracy (well, it's looking shabby right now.). But together we do have a chance to have ourselves heard. Please contact your senator and the two sponsors of the proposal. Their contact info is below. It actually can have an effect.

Chuck Grassley
https://www.grassley.senate.gov/contact
https://twitter.com/ChuckGrassley

Dianne Feinstein
https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact
https://twitter.com/SenFeinstein

You can also contact the Bitcoin foundation. Let them know that this is a priority for you and/or donate some coin.
https://bitcoinfoundation.org/contact/

Here is the current proposal. It is worrisome.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/1241/text#toc-idea0e9489fc8f46379f95bb56c8bbbda5

[unconfirmed inputs]

When withdrawing from Purse.io I am left with an unconfirmed Tx.

https://blockchain.info/address/1LMHhQQhbks1Qdf1qVJ2CH7SiCLPeyNNUx?sort=0

Since this is their wallet I have little option but to wait right now. I don't think pushing it will help because it has unconfirmed inputs, and the fee is good. Is there anything else I can do now? And am I right that the pool will drop this after a few days? Anyone with Purse.io experience?

Cheers mates!

EDIT: fixed "unconfirmed inputs"

[Post an item that you want to buy or find an item someone else posted.]

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/

There are endless threads here about how some evil entity will crush bitcoin and I have learned to ignore them on grounds of their lack of merit. No one ever presents a logical method to accomplish this, even a logical reason is often absent.  However that may be about to change and I now have to consider selling off my bitcoin holdings before a collapse in price.

The issue is net Neutrality. Without it your bitcoin use may be limited to whatever your ISP decides for you. They may cut it off or make it a TOS offense.  They may demand a fee for you to use it, really anything is possible. But make no mistake, your bitcoins will not be under your exclusive control anymore. For this reason I will be considering a 50% divestment and a possible total dumping of bitcoin. I will keep enough for the geo-cache contest, but that may be it.

Thanks guys, it has been a good project and can continue elsewhere in the world from here!


https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/05/technology/trumps-fcc-quickly-targets-net-neutrality-rules.html?_r=0

Last year I focused on developing the bitcoin economy in Iceland, a country that is not friendly to bitcoin but could gain a lot from it's adoption. This year I am looking toward Africa. Last month's blockchain Africa conference in Johannesburg demonstrated a growing interest in bitcoin for the un-banked to do remittance and in person exchanges.

I have not done much in Africa yet. I donate a bit to http://medicmobile.org/ .  They develop medical apps for disease surveillance in Africa an other places. But I am considering going to Africa and meeting with business and government decision makers.  I think I can make the case for bitcoin among everyday Africans. For example, many poor Africans already use a form of digital currency. They trade phone minutes for goods when shopping. 

What I could use help with is selecting a country and choosing who to meet with. If any of you are in Africa and/or have contacts in government/business, I would love to hear your thoughts and back your efforts to popularize bitcoin. I also plan on hiding another bitcoin geo-cache somewhere in Africa and maybe even hosting some kind of event.

Please let me hear your ideas and observations on the topic of bitcoin's future in Africa.

 

Not this clown again.  

The man who last year made global headlines by claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of bitcoin, is working with a fugitive online gambling entrepreneur to file scores of patents relating to the digital currency and its underlying technology, blockchain.

http://www.reuters.com/article/bitcoin-wright-patents-idUSL2N1GF0H2

I took a peek at the price you would have to pay on the first day of previous years to get a sense of annual growth. I rounded the percentages and found each year to be quite different in growth/loss, with gains dominating. It looks like this year we will have about doubled, but it ain’t over yet.

January 1, 2011 = $0.30
+$0.25 : 500% This is a rough estimate as the 2010 start value was basically 0.

January 1, 2012 = $5.10  
+$4.80 : 1600%

January 1, 2013 = $13.30
+$8.5 : 161%

January 1, 2014 = $801.00
+$787.7 : 5923%

January 1, 2015 =$310.00
-$477.70 : -61%

January 1, 2016 =$430.00
+$120.00 : 39%

January 1, 2017 =$967.00
+$546.00 : 120%

January 1, 2018 =$13546.00
+$12579.00 : 1300%



Total growth from start of 2011 (first reliable market data) until writing this. +$962.70 : 320900%

UPDATED Jan 11, 2018 +$13546.00 : 4515233%  


I’m not sure if this means anything but I found it interesting.

Saturday, January 28, 2017 starts a new year in China. It will be a year of the rooster and, as is the custom, there will be gifts of red envelopes containing cash. Last year Chinese bitcoin enthusiasts were giving away envelopes that were actually paper wallets. I wonder if this trend is growing?

Are you Chinese by nationality or culture? Are you or friends giving away "red wallets" this new year? It seems such a natural fit, and it seems that BTC is growing in China. Or am I way off?

[GAME STATUS: This game is still on! However read page 4. It may be gone from it's spot!]

GAME STATUS: This game is still on! However read page 4. It may be gone from it's spot!
Main Treasure Unclaimed .1BTC
Main Treasure proof Photo unclaimed .01BTC
Hangman mini-game claimed .01BTC
Online photo hunt Claimed .01BTC
Simple goole skils question Claimed.01BTC
Time hidden:     330 days as of November 27, 2017
BTC found:            .04BTC
BTC still hidden:    .10 (Now worth $967.95! Over 11 times the original value!)




Ok. I have placed a .1 BTC paper wallet in Iceland last week and I will be putting clues in this thread about it’s location. Iceland is going through changes in it’s banking laws right now after a major overreaction to the 2008 crash. They are loosening laws regarding foreign currencies and I wanted to present bitcoin as a positive for their country and persuade them to treat BTC likewise. Since they have cheap geo-thermal energy and cold weather, they are in a great position to host mines and like any tourist destination it can be a plus for that sector as well. This was all new to the bank people I talked with, but let’s see how it goes and show them some love.

Here is the public address on the paper wallet. You can follow the action when the money moves. In the spirit of bitcoin, there will be few rules and anyone can play. You can even take it never tell a soul. But there is another .01 deposit if you send me a picture. Feel free to share your analysis, spoilers, or go get it yourself.

https://blockchain.info/address/1E481Lk1L1hSb9ZsJu3Smcqtg6tKpVmKcq


Here are pictures of the cache and a copy of the note inside. I will show a wider view tomorrow of it’s location and give more clues as we go. “Winter is coming” so let the games begin!

Congratulations! You have just found real money!

The object in this cache contains the cryptographic keys needed to spend 0.1 bitcoin, currently worth about 6600 ISK. If you are not familiar with bitcoin, then you have made another valuable discovery today! You can spend this money at tens of thousands of locations online and around the world. Or sell your bitcoin to a growing community of millions of users at an online exchange.

Best of all, there are no strings attached. I am giving away my own money because I thought it would be an interesting and fun project to geocache some bitcoin. I would like it if you sent me an email telling of how you found this paper wallet. You don’t have to identify yourself, but it would be cool to follow along on your adventure under whatever name you chose. And if you send a photo of the paper wallet as proof of your find, I will deposit another 0.01 bitcoin into any bitcoin wallet you chose. I also ask that you not divulge my email, as it is one of the things that only you know and that proves your find.

What do I do with this thing?
First, remember that the paper wallet has a hidden “private key” that should NEVER BE SHOWN TO ANYONE!!!!! Exposing the QR code and/or the string of characters hidden inside gives a viewer everything needed to move your bitcoin to another wallet.

You can use the “public address,” printed on the front, to check the balance on this wallet by scanning the associated QR code or entering the characters manually at a website like blockchain.info.  Once you have set up a wallet of your own, you should import the hidden private key and spend/give/save/sell your money as you wish.

You and I posses the only two copies of the private keys for this wallet. If by 2018 no one has sent me photographic proof and the funds have not been moved, then I will assume that the paper wallet was lost. I will then move the bitcoin to another paper wallet and hide it somewhere else on earth. If I do receive email proof or if the money is moved, which is also proof someone found the wallet, I will delete my copy of the private key and leave you as the sole owner. That means if you loose your paper wallet, nobody can recover your money. Just like loosing paper money.

Learn more at bitcoin.org

I am jeep trekking through Iceland this week and hiding a bitcoin geo-cache. Stay tuned next week for clues to find the prize.  

Yes, it's for real.

UPDATE: you can get more info and pictures here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1610684.0

I purchased a backpack this week from a business that has taken BTC for a while now. The business is Tortuga packs.
Website: http://www.tortugabackpacks.com/


I travel a lot and like to pack very light. I finally found a pack that has this in mind. Tortuga packs are just small enough to be a carry on bag but big enough that you don't need anything else. They convert from suitcase to pack and have a good selection of compartments. Best of all they have an easy intuitive checkout using BitPay as their payment processor. It even tracks your order on a map as it heads your way. If you like the idea of a suitcase/backpack hybrid then check them out! I'll be trying this out in Iceland in a week or two, I'll update this thread if it falls apart or something.