[1)]

Well... how to begin? I sold my holdings in BTC into these high prices and I've begun making significant investment into mining -- particularly for Litecoin mining, as I think the the LTC/BTC ratio is about to begin tightening up quickly and that Litecoin will be bubbling up violently in price. I really want to capture some of that action. So my partners and I here in Baton Rouge have begun accumulating lots of hardware and a respectable amount of hashing-power (at this point mainly high-end GPUs for LTC/Scrypt mining). And quite soon I plan to write completely new software for venture, though that's beside the point. Anyhow, I've been having some trouble setting up and configuring some of this equipment and I've lost a lot of time fighting with it (and thus I'm missing out on my profits for this first frame of time). So some help here would be greatly appreciated -- I am known to be generous with my coin when someone takes their time to help out with technical problems. 

1) Overheating Problems

The first major problem I'm having is with my main work desktop. The problem is that it keeps overheating and crashing during mining. It was fine when I was just running 1x ASUS HD-6970, which was giving me ~500KH/sec for LTC mining running in "top gear". But I just added a new XFX 7850 into my second (and last) PCI-E slot, and the two cards together seem to be heating each other up and killing themselves. There is only an inch or so of space between them, and they are two very different cards and seem to have very different temperature ranges/tolerances. I've tried taking off the side panel of my case (I have an Apevia Telstar case) and putting a small desk fan blowing directly onto them at full speed but that only helps a little, and I have to keep my entire apartment cooled to <= 70 F... this is a fairly big apartment and that is of course too wasteful in terms of energy consumption, so I need a solution for this... I have a few questions/ideas concerning this:

A) Are there any ways I might be able to keep the temperature lower and cool my system?
B) Are there any ways to better configure my miners to help with the heat?
C) Are there any products or "things" I can buy to solve the problem?

2) Fighting with Linux... sigh...

Yesterday we went to "PC Heaven" here in Baton Rouge and bought all the components needed to build a new machine to serve as a mining platform. I finished the build within a few hours last night, and it's a very nice machine. Right now there's just a single HD 7850 in it as a "place-holder", but it will soon be running something like 3x HD 7970s. Since I don't have an installation DVD for Windows handy, I went ahead and installed Ubuntu Linux. But I've had nothing but problems...

For starters, Ubuntu likes to just suddenly freeze for absolutely no reason. Mind you this is a clean install that hasn't been tampered with running on a brand-new machine in pristine condition. The UI shell misbehaves quite frequently (e.g., you try to maximize a minimized window and it pops up as a transparent frame). Sometimes it will get very slow/laggy for no reason (nothing running in background). It also will not connect to the internet directly when I plug an ethernet cable into it. Thus far I can only connect by using a USB wireless adapter and connecting to the router I just set up. Sometimes the mouse, keyboard and all other USB devices will suddenly just turn off and stop working. I've tested the hardware and I'm positive it's not the machine -- it's the OS. Since my experience with Linux is very limited I would like to chalk it up to "newbie mistakes", but that is not the case... still a fresh installation (just reformatted and reinstalled it clean again) and I haven't tampered with system confirguations whatsoever.

The main problem, however, is that I cannot get the AMD drivers to install for the HD 7850. I run the installer (which is a total pain in the ass in Linux lol) and it immediately halts and says I do not have the proper "tools" to complete the installation. It gives no error codes, no exception message(s) and no other explanation. It doesn't even explain what these "tools" are, nor does it offer any alternatives other than using the "-force" option which it warns may cause system instability. What the hell is going on here, and how can I get these damned drivers installed so we can mine? Time is of the essence...

3) Mining Rig Builds

I'm thinking about how to build better and more efficient mining rigs and GPU farms, but have some questions about it:

1) Are there any decent alternatives to building an entire desktop machine to run a GPU farm? I'm interested in smaller, more efficient and lower-cost systems...
2) Would it be of great benefit to buy PCI-E extender cables and run our GPUs externally? I see an immediate benefit in terms of cooling (i.e., can use water-cooling)...
3) I have been told that PCI-E bandwidth (e.g., x16 vs x8) is less important in mining... how much truth is there to this? I've been told even x1 is good enough for mining.
4) I've found a few places that sell PCI-E "splitters" which enable you to connect more GPUs to your mobo. Would it be safe/practical to use these, and what limitations are there?
5) Any other helpful ideas/advice on building good machines to serve as miner platforms would be great! 

4) cgminer Configuration

It's taken a lot of work to figure out how to configure cgminer and get everything working. But it seems people have wildly varying/conflicting ideas on what parameters to use for the same GPUs. The settings that concern me most are thread concurrency, GPU threads, worksize, intensity/aggression, etc. I've found a few guides on where to derive the values of these parameters but everyone seems to have wildly different ideas about it. Some settings people use seem absolutely outrageous (trying some immediately crashed system lol), whereas others are way too weak...

Are there any truly reliable sources of information on this subject? Or is this a hit and miss affair? It seems to me that each GPU would have an optimal range of settings based on its specifications, architecture and capabilities... but as of yet I've found no concrete formula for figuring this out and have just had to do wild and whacky experiments until finding values that seem to work...

4) Miner Networking

This is perhaps the most important thing to me... I'm currently solo mining for LTC, and I want all of my machines to work together and make the most effective use of their hashing-power. On my main work desktop I'm running Litecoin-QT in -server mode and have both of its GPUs running in tandem solo mining. But I'd like to point my other machines at it too and have them all work together and share work. So what is the best way to accomplish this? As of right now all the machines are in my office on the same network, but by tomorrow we will also have machines running in neighboring apartments on the same T-3 network and others running in other locations. How do we configure the network settings so that they all work together?

Are we going to need to create our own private pool that all the miners/slaves connect to? If so, what's the best mining pool software that is currently available and where can I get it and instructions on how to use it? Eventually, once I get my bearings in mining, I will write new software to perfectly fit our needs but for right now I'd just like something that will get us started.

As for the miners running in my office on the same network, couldn't I configure them to work together without going "all-out" and creating a private pool?

Any help with this is GREATLY appreciated... I know it's a huge wall of text and a ton of questions, but unless I ask I'll be losing days or weeks of time figuring it out on my own the hard way. If anyone is kind enough to assist us during this early setup phase I would be more than happy to share a bit of our block rewards. 

Regards,

--ATC--

Hey guys,

Just unboxed my HD 6970, got it installed and its working (graphics-wise). But when I try to run GUIMiner or any other mining app it doesn't detect the GPU and only gives me the option of CPU-mining.  

I tried using the installation DVD that came with the hardware first to install the drivers, and it had some sort of inexplicable error (didn't give an error code or message). Fired up different mining apps and wouldn't detect the card... so then I went to the AMD website and downloaded the latest drivers and installed them manually. This time installation completed with no errors, but still no mining... And finally, I got the AMD driver download+installer tool that automatically detects the necessary drivers and installs them for you. That also completed the installation successfully, but still cannot mine...

WTH is going on here? I remember having essentially the same problem a while back when I tested some other ATI cards, and the only way to ever get it to work was to install a specific version number of the drivers (even then, every time I rebooted I had to re-install to make it work again). NVidia cards, poor as they might be for mining, don't seem to have these problems and will work practically right out of the box. So is there some specific version number or something else required to get this new HD 6970 working?

Here are the general system specs:

Windows 7 (x64 / 64-bit)
12GB DDR3 RAM
Intel i7 CPU
Gigabyte P55A-UD3 mobo

And here is the GPU information:

ASUS HD-6970 (EAH6970/2DI2S/2GD5)

Any help is greatly appreciated!  

Regards,

--ATC--

[1) Double-top Pattern]

Hey guys,

As I promised some time ago I am back to do more in-depth technical analysis of the BTC/USD rate. I'd hoped to do this again much sooner, but unforeseen circumstances (e.g., nasty car accident, numerous doctors appointments) forced me to put it on hold. But it's time for my next analysis, which probably couldn't come at a more interesting time! 

To begin, I'd let's go over a few things before we dig into the charts. Many of remember that not so long ago you could buy a bitcoin for $12 and some change. And how about today (3/24/13)? Try a whopping $71.50! ... say what?!

As with all things, we have to ask ourselves what fundamental changes have occurred in the market to drive prices to these unparalleled all-time highs. This "super-rally" took place in two distinct legs. The first leg-up of this massive super-rally took us from the $10-$12 level to the high 40s and low 50s. As I was at the time, I'm still skeptical that there was any strong fundamental factors behind that massive climb. What changed? Did we gain some new users? Yes, we did. But we did not quadruple (or even double) our user-base, so it cannot be explained by an influx of new users. So what was it? Dominos pizza? Several people told me that... but Dominos did NOT start accepting bitcoin (it's merely a third party service that orders a pizza for you if you pay them BTC). While that's definitely cool, and a small victory for Bitcoin, it's not the fundamental factor we're looking for. The most plausible explanation is that European financial woes and fear about the integrity of the banking system caused a lot more interest in bitcoin (which is true). However, it certainly wasn't enough to support a $50+ rate for our budding crypto-currency. The "math" simply doesn't work out... So it leaves us with one thing: speculation.

It seems that excitement and the general happy-go-lucky attitude of the bitcoin community is the missing "fundamental" factor we're looking for, and our big swing in price is the result of a massive influx of speculative money. These things are self-feeding... the price moves up a nice bit, you hear some good stuff in the news, you might even have gotten one of those Dominos pizzas (lol), and then you and your buddies putting your whole $350 in savings into bitcoin to join the speculative wave. That moves the price up a bit more, and people chase it -- adding more and more money into it. To an experienced day trader or a Wall Street shark, the average Bitcoin user is what we call "financially unsophisticated"... most of the market is made up of Silk Road-using teenagers, amateur speculators and amateur traders, computer geek college students and the likes... people who've never traded a share of stock, don't know what a "calender spread" or an "Iron Condor" is and have no clue how the futures market works (or in most cases what it even is). When such people see the price of something going up, they leap to the assumption that it will keep going up... perhaps forever? That's what happened in the DotCom bubble, as amateur day traders and novice speculators poured tons of money into budding tech stocks (only to be utterly destroyed). About a week ago, I asked a bitcoin trader what fundamental factors he thought was driving the market higher. His response: "Well... Bitcoin has been mentioned in the news a whole bunch lately!" And it seems he's not alone in his failure to distinguish a news headline from fundamentals... 

We have seen patterns such as this before... we saw it in the aforementioned "DotBomb"... we saw it before the real estate / MBS meltdown of 2008... and of course, we cannot forget the tulip mania of 17th century Holland. Anyone even moderately experienced with financial markets understands the concept of bubbles. And when I look at this I cannot help but notice the striking similarities between past bubbles and the precariously high price of Bitcoin. But it did not stop at $50. The crisis in Cyprus, news headlines and a myriad of rather trivial factors triggered yet another influx of speculative money driving the price yet another 50% higher. Not even the recent fork in the blockchain (which highlighted how delicate this thing can be) was enough to dissuade the crowd from dumping their savings into the mix. And when the pigs beg to be slaughtered, savvy traders are smart enough to capitalize upon the ignorance of the masses -- thus their money is added to the equation and drive prices even higher... Bubbles operate largely upon the "snowball effect" as greed rolls it up the hillside. In my last analysis I was hoping for a correction that would settle things down and give us time to catch our breath. But I still felt uncertain. I left myself room for the market blasting off like a rocket, and I'm glad I did. But this time I'm thrice as skeptical and have officially begun preparing for a big move to the downside. So let's have a look at those charts...



I've numbered my scribblings on the chart to provide some commentary...

1) Double-top Pattern (drawn in blue)

These things are always scary... Sometimes they fake us out, but a double-top is generally a very strong bearish indicator. A double-top tends to occur at the end of a large rally. The market becomes over-bought, and finally tips over as people begin selling. But just as the selling gets heated people decide to jump back in, hoping that the rally will continue. When it doesn't, and fails to break through the former resistance level, everyone begins jumping ship and it plummets. In my day trading experience I've found these things to be good indicators. The double-top pattern was what gave me the signal to sell all my gold and silver futures, mining stocks and physical bullion just under $50/oz for silver. And it has served me well on countless stocks and a myriad of smaller intra-day and swing trades.

2) Current resistance

The red line indicates the current resistance level. Lo and behold, we raced back towards that level and failed to punch through. For this rally to continue we will need to see a very strong break-out above the resistance level with heavy volume. And we're not seeing it. In fact, it looks like the rate is falling as I type.

3) Old support level

The green line is the old support level after the first leg-up of the rally. When major sell-offs occur you can usually expect some support to bunch up around the former support level, and I expect that if we see the market topple and plunge back toward the 50s. This line indicates nothing in and of itself, but I'm pointing it out so you will pay attention to it if/when the sell-off gets hot and heavy.

4) MACD

MACD (moving average convergence/divergence) is one of my favorite indicators. Right now, good ol' MACD is telling us that momentum is stalling. We failed (so far) to set a new high both in price and MACD. And I've highlighted the MACD resistance level with the red line. We've been over-extended and over-bought for quite some time, and in my own experience I've found that MACD wins the tug-of-war 9 times out of 10 (hence the reason I'm willing to risk my money on it). The shrinking of the green histogram also indicates stalling momentum, and our short-term MA is beginning to slope downward -- thus making the signal more bearish. I am currently watching for a cross in the MAs, and for both to fall below the signal line (zero).

5) Stochastics

Our stochastics are also pointing towards the over-bought condition. It's all been BUY BUY BUY for weeks on end, and this tells the tale of the weakening money-flow. If you take a look at how the stochastics correspond to previous rallies and sell-offs, you can see just how useful this indicator can be. And right now it's screaming "DONT BUY! DONT BUY! DONT BUY!".

------------------------------------------------------
CONCLUSION ::
------------------------------------------------------

Last time I was uncertain about what was to come... but this time I'm going to go out on a limb and make you a clear-cut suggestion: sell. I'm selling. We've all made a lot of money, and no one has ever been hurt taking a profit. Profit is money you didn't have before, and now you have it. So take it off the table and enjoy it. You can stay in the shark pool if you want, but do so at your own peril. It looks like the correction is indeed very close -- no one has infinite money to keep pushing the price to infinity, so a correction is going to happen. If you're patient and smart, you might be able to buy back your bitcoins in the $30s or $40s in another 7-14 days.... or at least in the 50s. So I think the smartest move you can make is to de-risk and go have some fun with your not-so-hard-earned money. :-)

However, there's another scenario which might take place. It might be that there's still enough money on the sidelines to drive this higher. If that is indeed the case, we're probably going to see the alternative crash scenario play out. The final "oomph!" before the blowout. Much like silver's huge over-night jump before the 2011 correction, we might see bitcoin tack on another +$25 and reach for the $100 mark (a key psychological level). If it plays out this way, the following crash will be much worse and longer-lasting than if it just goes ahead and corrects here. The reason is because a LOT more people will get burned a LOT worse and lose a LOT more money. So it will scare off a lot of newbies and people will be scared to re-enter the market for some time. So I hope it doesn't pan out this way.

In any case, I raise my cup to a bitcoin correction. I'm optimistic about the long-term future of bitcoin, but we're way over-extended (and way over-due) for a considerable correction. We need one to settle things down and give our great crypto-currency a chance to truly grow. So have fun, and good luck no matter what the outcome!

Regards,

--ATC--

NOTE ::

If you enjoyed my analysis, learned from it and/or want to see more please support my efforts by sending a small tip to:

16CdrUgQX84ntTLS2asPhWZo1UWhFwS1KY

I give my sincerest thanks to those who have sent me (quite generous) tips for some of my past articles and analysis! 

[Loan request fulfilled -- thanks!]

Loan request fulfilled -- thanks! 

Hey guys,

Many of you probably know I just got in a pretty nasty accident and sustained some injuries, and I'm going to have to endure more surgeries and poking/prodding yet to come (sigh). I just had to pay off some debts and sell the BTC I had for some cash, and I've thus run out of Bitcoins. As my car is smashed up and I'm barely able to walk, all I have to do is sit here at my computer...can't go anywhere or do anything remotely fun lol. And not having any coins to trade or earn a little profit here and there has me incredibly bored and irritable.

So... it would really do me some good to have a few coins (psychologically and financially). I would normally just buy some, but don't have any transportation to get the job done (I've only got USD in cash form). I'm looking for something small; just 3.00 to 5.00 BTC. Optimally, with a 7-14 day duration. I'm willing to pay back the principle plus 0.50 - 1.00 depending on the amount. Most likely I will pay back the coins early because I tend to do well and earn my profits fast.

If anyone would like to work something out with me that would be great. I'm really bored and lonely here, and really need something to do -- a lil money to earn. BCB and TradeFortress have both lent to me before; I've never failed to repay and have a 100% positive track record on large $-amount trades in gold, silver and BTC. I make a pretty good monthly income and I'm getting paid again Tuesday night (not today but the coming Tuesday 3/26/2013). Again, this isn't a big deal... mainly just wanting to earn a little money to fluff my wallet up and have something to break up the monotony and boredom here.

Regards,

--ATC--

I'm actively hunting for a small MP (e.g. $30-$100 USD) on OTC... I'm willing to sell a bit below spot for a fast and smooth trade. Please contact me if you're interested in making a trade. I need a MP to load my pre-paid debit card ASAP so my mother can use it to pay for her doctor's visit expenses today. I thought I had enough $ on it for her but I don't. Thanks.

Regards,

--ATC--

I was playing SatoshiDice for the first time yesterday and having fun. Won a nice little bit of coin. But I noticed at one point a transaction of 0.15 BTC was sent to the 24% SatoshiDice address... a transaction I didn't send myself. And I was sent a winning payout for this "ghost" transaction from SatoshiDice. At first I didn't think anything of it -- chalked it up as lag. But later I started having problems and realized something wasn't right.

I looked into the blockchain.info for my transactions and that 0.15 ghost transaction was marked as a double-spend. I definitely didn't do a double-spend... I was just playing dice with the regular Satoshi client from bitcoin.org. For a while my client/wallet was working fine, but then it stopped working. My last two bets sent to SatoshiDice got no response transaction. I waited hours and hours and hours to see if it would break loose when I got to 1/6 confirms. But that never came. I tried a payment-to-self to see if I could move all my coins to one address, but the transaction didn't even show up in blockchain.info. It's still shown as an unconfirmed transaction in my wallet.

I also tried sending 0.25 btc to BTC4Amazon to see if it would work. My client deducted 0.25 btc from my wallet balance, but no transaction ever reached him nor did it show up in blockchain.info for his wallet address.

What the hell is going on here?



These transactions from yesterday are still sitting at 0/6 confirmations, and I still have an unconfirmed balance of 0.00025 BTC from SatoshiDice. Am I going to need to try to purge my wallet or strip out my private keys and redeem them?

Thanks,

--ATC--

[Rates ::]

Hello everyone,

Since business has been picking up and we have more capital to work with I'm maintaining larger balances of BTC, USD, gold and silver. It's been very hard to meet demand, because it seems there are 5 potential buyers for every Bitcoin we get. 

Anyhow, I've found some new trusted sources to buy from on OTC which are making it much easier to move cash back into BTC. It's a very convenient arrangement, as I can deposit cash into the trader's account right down the street and get large quantities of BTC instantly. So I'm going to work at turning our BTC <-> MP trading into a full-time service. I will sell you Bitcoins for MoneyPak, and I will also buy your Bitcoins for MoneyPak and other payment methods. I'm also willing to accept other payment methods, as long as they are safe and irreversible -- absolutely NO PayPal, credit/debit cards, etc.

NOTE :: Our buying and selling services are not yet a 24/7 thing, though this is a goal we are working towards. We are also willing and able to handle transactions smaller than $100. We can provide assistance via email, phone, private messages and on Bitcoin-OTC. We are n00b-friendly, and can help you get started in Bitcoin!

Here are our new rates, which have been adjusted to better suit the imbalance in supply and demand:
__________________________________________________________

Rates ::
__________________________________________________________

We sell for...

$100.00 -- MtGox Last + 7.0%
$250.00 -- MtGox Last + 6.0%
$500.00 -- MtGox Last + 4.5%
$1000.00 -- Mtgox Last + 2.5%

We buy for...

$100.00 -- MtGox Last - 4.0%
$250.00 -- MtGox Last - 3.0%
$500.00 -- MtGox Last - 2.0%
$1000.00 -- MtGox Last - 1.0%

__________________________________________________________

How to buy Bitcoin with MoneyPak ::
__________________________________________________________

1) Purchase a MoneyPak card loaded with cash
2) Take a picture or scan your receipt and the MP card, showing that the back is NOT scratched off
3) Send me the pic to prove you have an unmolested, unscratched MP for the correct amount
4) I will view the pic/scan to confirm and test the image file for tampering
5) Send me the code through email, Skype, phone/text or other private/secure method (bitcointalk doesn't guarantee pm privacy)
6) I attempt to load the MP to my account using the code
7) If loading of funds is successful the BTC is sent to your payment address

__________________________________________________________

How to sell us Bitcoins ::
__________________________________________________________

1) Contact us -- let us know how many BTC you wish to sell
2) Choose your payment method (e.g., MoneyPak, cash-deposit, wire, Gox USD, WU, etc)
3) After payment arrangements have been agreed upon, you are given a wallet address
4) Send the Bitcoins to our wallet
5) Receive and confirm your payment

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

If you have any questions or would like to make an inquiry please contact us and we are more than happy to help you! We can also convert your gold and silver to Bitcoin, and have plenty of gold and silver available daily!

Regards,

--ATC--

P.S. :: You can find me daily on Bitcoin-OTC as "ATC777". Note that my registered / authenticated nick is "ATC". Do NOT trade with anyone on OTC claiming to be me who cannot authenticate for the nick "ATC". You can view my current ratings here: http://bitcoin-otc.com/viewratingdetail.php?nick=ATC

[1)]

As I'm planning to make some large purchases of BTC, I decided to perform an in-depth price analysis as I would before taking any significant position in any market. I come from a background in equities, futures and FOREX and I'm still learning the ins and outs of the Bitcoin exchange market and "Bitconomy", but technical analysis abstracts away most of the underlying fundamentals and allows a trader to focus on the market action / data itself. It amounts to a form of "mass psychology", allowing the analyst to make "forecasts" on asset prices. So what I've done here is spent a little time analyzing the BTC/USD rate and attempting to decipher the ebb and flow of the market from the charts and data. Some people swear by the technicals, and some hate it... But it's made me several small fortunes over the years, and that's enough for me. 

Here we go... The overall picture I have of the BTC/USD rate is one with a very bullish long-term future; but due for a short-term correction. The resistance we have seen in the $22.00 neighborhood has proven much stronger than most would've thought, and there it seems that sell orders are stacking up. There are also a lot of traders on OTC trying to liquidate their holdings of several hundred BTC. I think we're simply over-extended at these levels, and need a healthy correction. Lots of speculative $ are stacked up in the BTC and trigger fingers are itchy... Let's look at the chart-work:

First we need to take a look at a 3-month chart, to get an idea of what's been happening over a wider time-frame:



It seems apparent we've been on a major tear, and the bulls haven't been able to keep running. That is one big divergence in our moving averages, and the MACD is indicating a big drop in momentum. I think it won't be long before we have a cross in the MACD and the rolling correction (if we get one) begins. As of right now we're merely hovering just beneath resistance and just above the EMA-14. Volume has sloped off as well. A little bit of selling pressure can trigger a much bigger move.

Now we'll take a look at what has happened in the last 10 days:



I have added numbers on this chart to comment on each thing...

1) The most troubling bearish signal I see here is the classic double-top pattern. This is a bearish pattern in which the market reaches a high point, falls back, attempts to reach a new high but fails -- followed by a correction or sell-off.

2) This shorter time-frame gives us a snapshot of MACD as it is approaching the signal line for a cross. Falling below the signal line typically indicates a high potential for downward momentum which will carry on for a while. There is also a growing negative divergence, which is evident by looking at the expanse of the histogram.

3) The #3 points to the tightest resistance line, found around $21.50. We have tested this resistance line twice, and have failed both times. This strongly suggests we're not ready to take out this conceptual barrier just yet -- we've already had a tremendous move.

4) Both of our exponential moving averages (EMAs) are beginning to take a negative attitude and are rapidly converging. We should watch for a cross in the EMA-14 and EMA-60 and interpret it as a signal the correction may be beginning.

5) Volume, volume, volume!!! Where has all the buying volume gone off to? I can tell you: people are feeling iffy about this current price level after this huge move up. This has a very bearish echo, in my opinion, as it suggests new buyers/speculators are not pumping the $ into BTC at this level. People (by which I mean regular users) are complaining about Bitcoins being "expensive" to buy, and that means a slowdown for Bitcoin sellers. A slowdown for sellers means less buy orders on the exchanges, and we all know what that means. They say "price is king", but volume can speak volumes. 

I'd like to say a few things to conclude my analysis and break-down... By looking at the EMA-60 on the 3mo chart (the first picture), we can estimate that support will fall around the $16 level. Prices tend to stick to longer-term moving averages in corrections, and that's the one I've got my eye on. I think it's best we take some profits here and now and let this thing cool off. It's not good to stretch too far too fast -- you create big bubbles that can bust a whole economy. So don't view a correction as a bad thing but rather a very good thing. It will give us all the opportunity to make an intelligent and thoughtful re-entry into the BTC market and enjoy the next leg-up. But keep in mind that technical analysis is NOT about "predicting" markets -- none of this is set in stone. Technical analysis is a never-ending quest to become a master of data and chart interpretation and make better risk management and trading decisions.

Personally, I'm planning to buy a large amount of BTC right away. But I'm actually going to transfer it all to my new MtGox and exchange accounts to sell and hold in the form of fiat, giving the correction some room to run. As the price falls I will be buying BTC in increments, in a pyramid-shaped fashion -- this "dollar cost averaging" will allow me to progressively improve my entry point into the market and actually lower my average unit cost. Of course, I'm also accumulating a lot of gold and silver. In dollar terms, gold and silver are a bargain -- and we have another round of QE underway. The good thing about holding gold and silver during a BTC/USD correction is I get a lot more bang for my buck when I sell my bullion and move back to cheaper BTC. 

Regards,

--ATC--

____________________________________________________________________

If you enjoyed my market analysis send a tip to:

13M9QLc5BDQe2iuB1N3Br58fYvJF5ixihT

I'll start doing this on the regular and in a lot more depth/detail if people enjoy it. 

[How it works -- 7 easy steps ::]

After several days of waiting, finally got more BTC... 

Right now I can offer BTC4.50 for a $100 MP. Require proof the MP is cash-purchased in the form of a scan or pic of the receipt and the unscratched card.

------------------------------------------
How it works -- 7 easy steps ::
------------------------------------------

1) Purchase a MoneyPak card loaded with cash
2) Take a picture or scan your receipt and the MP card, showing that the back is NOT scratched off
3) Send me the pic to prove you have an unmolested, unscratched MP for the correct amount
4) I will view the pic/scan to confirm and test the image file for tampering
5) Send me the code through email, Skype, phone/text or other private/secure method (bitcointalk doesn't guarantee pm privacy)
6) I attempt to load the MP to my account using the code
7) If loading of funds is successful the BTC is sent to your payment address

Contact me for more information. I'm able to provide live assistance and answer questions via phone call or text, and can be reached on skype as "atc714".

Thanks,

--ATC--

P.S. :: Sorry it's been so long without having any BTC to sell, but we've got some more now and will keep larger BTC balances on hand in the future so we can fill everyone's needs!

I have more shiny metals to sell you and a little news about how our business development project is going... 

First I'll give you a bit of an update... We have a new employee in training to help share the work-load and step up to company management. And we're bringing in more gold and silver and trying to keep inventories and balances high. It's been a bit of a balancing act (pun intended) as a small WIP company, but we're growing and becoming more efficient. Shipping options now include three carriers (USPS, FedEx & UPS) and we can ship within the US and to Canada and Euro-Zone countries. Hoping to have more international options available soon (and adding DHL as a carrier) so we can reach more people around the world. Each week I try to buy as much gold and silver as possible, keep a good balance of BTC and have some cash for buying. Started working on a new digital accounting system to get us on top of the game. Keeping enough BTC and silver to go around has been the trouble lately, and building a deep local customer-base of sellers of gold and silver. Perhaps more interesting is that I've made some connections to refineries and jewelers, and have a potential business partner in a new refiner with facilities under construction. We've been discussing arrangements for custom casting and minting of bars, coins and rounds and I think this will lead to some exciting things if all goes well.

Here is the promised sample sample of some bullion we've just brought in to add to inventory (1/31/2013):



What's in the picture?

• 1x 5g Credit Suisse 0.9999 gold bar
• 1x 1/10oz 0.9999 gold Kruggerand
• 8x Buffalo 1oz 0.999 silver rounds
• 2x 1oz 0.999 silver bars
• 1x 5oz 0.999 silver bar
• 1x physical 1 BTC coin by Casascius

There is plenty more where that comes from... We sell both small "retail" amounts and larger "bulk" amounts. Pricing changes daily based on the global market, but we are usually significantly cheaper than larger competitors like APMEX, Northwest Territorial, Coinabul, etc... and our prices are way below what you should expect on eBay or Amazon! We're able to keep highly competitive prices because we are not only small, new and nimble but have two solid suppliers in the area. We are all about custom and assorted orders, and strive to get you exactly what you want and the best price with the most shipping and handling options.

If you're interested in ordering something or making an inquiry about pricing or availability feel free to respond to this thread or pm me. We can communicate by email, Skype, phone (call/text) or however you like. My #1 priority is to help you get what you want at the best price and keep you coming back. Repeat business is everything! 

Regards,

--ATC--

P.S. -- Watch the link in my sig for more news, updates and product/service offers... 

[------------------------------------------How it works -- 7 easy steps ::------------------------------------------]

My MP --> BTC trades are fast, convenient and BS-free. For example:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=136325
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=135439

------------------------------------------
How it works -- 7 easy steps ::
------------------------------------------

1) Purchase a MoneyPak card loaded with cash
2) Take a picture or scan your receipt and the MP card, showing that the back is NOT scratched off
3) Send me the pic to prove you have an unmolested, unscratched MP for the correct amount
4) I will view the pic/scan to confirm
5) Send me the code through email, Skype, phone/text or other private/secure method (bitcointalk doesn't guarantee pm privacy)
6) I attempt to load the MP to my account using the code
7) If loading of funds is successful the BTC is sent to your payment address

Contact me for more information. I'm able to provide live assistance and answer questions via phone call or text, and can be reached on skype as "atc714".

Thanks,

--ATC--

P.S. -- I also trade on Bitcoin-OTC now as "ATC777"...

Hey guys,

Got my hands on some 2011 and 2012 edition Austrian Philharmonics today... imho these are some of the most beautiful silver coins ever made and I love them! Here's a look at some of the ones I got today (and there are plenty more where they came from):



I'm selling singles for $40.00 USD or BTC2.42 BTC. Shipping anywhere within the US for $5.00 even (includes delivery confirmation) via USPS Priority or First-Class, and insurance is available if you have a large order or want it. If you're interested in all 5 of these or an even bigger order just let me know! Discounts apply to larger orders, and those > $1,000 USD get best prices (as it's exempt from state sales tax of Louisiana of 10%).

Whatever you want, we've got it or can get it! Click here to see some of the new things we have available. 

--ATC--

[------------------------------------------How it works -- 7 easy steps ::------------------------------------------]

Just sold some silver bullion and need to liquidate some BTC. Tonight I wish to sell BTC18.00 BTC for a $320.00 MoneyPak. MP card must be cash-purchased and I need you to upload a pic or scan of the receipt and unscratched MoneyPak code panel. Please don't scratch off the back until it's time to trade.

My MP --> BTC trades are fast, convenient and BS-free. For example:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=136325
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=135439

------------------------------------------
How it works -- 7 easy steps ::
------------------------------------------

1) Purchase a MoneyPak card loaded with cash
2) Take a picture or scan your receipt and the MP card, showing that the back is NOT scratched off
3) Send me the pic to prove you have an unmolested, unscratched MP for the correct amount
4) I will view the pic/scan to confirm
5) Send me the code through email, Skype, phone/text or other private/secure method (bitcointalk doesn't guarantee pm privacy)
6) I attempt to load the MP to my account using the code
7) If loading of funds is successful the BTC is sent to your payment address

Contact me for more information. I'm able to provide live assistance and answer questions via phone call or text, and can be reached on skype as "atc714".

Thanks,

--ATC--

[Price ::]

Just got my hands on some physical BTCs made by Casascius Mint. I have 3x of the 1 BTC coins... they are 2012 edition, and the holograms are in-tact and untouched. Here's a pic of them in hand:



Now that I've held these in my hand I'm quite impressed with Casascius and I'm going to start stocking these on the regular, so that you can get rid of your crappy fiat money for something worthwhile haha. I'm also going to create a personal stash of these and save them for a rainy day (when 1 BTC = $100, perhaps?  ).

----------------------------------------------
Price ::
----------------------------------------------

1x coin -- $30 MoneyPak (includes shipping + delivery confirmation)
3x coins -- $85 MoneyPak (includes shipping + delivery confirmation)

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

Orders shipped immediately from Baton Rouge, Louisiana (70898) through First-Class or Priority Mail via USPS. All shipments include delivery confirmation services.

Thanks,

--ATC--

P.S. -- Still plenty bullion available! 

I'm wondering what is the best/safest way to make irreversible money transfers internationally?

I have someone in Denmark who wants to buy BTC, but I can't think of a good way to make the transaction... any ideas?

Thanks,

--ATC--

[10oz Assorted 0.999 Silver Bars]

I just found more 10oz silver bars. There are currently 3x 10oz bars immediately available. There is one Johnson & Matthey, one 10oz Buffalo and a Morgan-style. All are made of 0.999-grade silver. I seem to be finding these on the regular these days, and they seem to be quite popular. Personally, I love these things! 

10oz Assorted 0.999 Silver Bars



Price -- $375.00 USD MoneyPak / BTC22.70 BTC
Shipping -- $5.00 USD or BTC0.30 (USPS First-Class or Priority; insurance available, free delivery confirmation)

Want something else? We now have not one but two solid local suppliers and just about everything you could want is readily available to us... just give the word and we will get it in stock, usually the same day!

Regards,

--ATC--

[Remaining Special Items::]

Hey guys,

We've just bumped up our inventory another notch and are pushing a lot of new products!

Check the Official Epic Coinage Thread to see pictures of all of our available gold and silver bullion -- I think you'll be quite impressed and see something you like!

Here's a look at some of our special gold and silver items:



Remaining Special Items::

• 1) Pamp Suisse Certified 1g 0.9999 gold bar (1 remaining) -- BTC4.65 / $70.00 MoneyPak
• 2) Credit Suisse Certified 2g 0.9999 gold bar (1 remaining) -- BTC9.33 / $140.00 MoneyPak
• 3) Credit Suisse 1g 0.9999 gold bar (1 remaining) -- BTC4.33 / $65.00 MoneyPak

We also have a plethora of gold coins running from 1/10oz to 1oz, a few more 1oz 0.999 silver bars and about 30 remaining 1oz 0.999 silver rounds (the 1oz Silver Trade Unit and Bufallo rounds -- sold out of Buffalo bars). We have two 10oz silver bars left. Things are moving really fast (especially locally) so contact me and I'll let you know if we still have what you want!

Also note we have a large number of sterling silver (0.925 silver) bars that weigh about 1.3 troy ounces. Prices negotiable based on quantity. Contact me for details.

If you want to see more pics and learn more about what products and services are available then visit the Official Epic Coinage Thread!

Regards,

--ATC--

[Welcome!]

Welcome!

Dear customers, followers, friends and members:

Welcome to the official Epic Coinage "Trade Thread" which we will keep updated with all of our currently available products, services and offerings -- all in one place! Instead of continuing to make new forum threads each time we have a new product or service we will use this thread as our "community catalog", of sorts. Feel free to reply to this thread for questions, inquiries and feedback!

I thank all of you for your support, interest and business. And I also thank the community veterans and newbies alike for the multitude of excellent advice and shared wisdom, which has oft come in forms unlooked-for but no less valued! This new business development project of ours, Epic Coinage has really surprised me with unanticipated demand and success, and it wouldn't be possible without these forums and the amazing people of the Bitcointalk community!  




_______________________________________________________________________________ ________

Our Products
_______________________________________________________________________________ ________


NOTE:: Gold and silver prices are given as estimates, due to volatility of both currency and commodity markets. Inquire for current pricing.

Gold
(New Items Available!)

---------------------------------------
1g Mini 0.9999 Gold Bars
---------------------------------------



Price: BTC4.20 / $65.00 USD
Availability: Scarce (2 Available)
Brands: Capital Bank, others...

---------------------------------------
2g Mini 0.9999 Gold Bars
---------------------------------------



Price: BTC8.07 / $125.00
Availability: Scarce (2 Available)
Brands: Credit Suisse, Pamp Suisse, others...

---------------------------------------
5g Mini 0.9999 Gold Bars
---------------------------------------



Price: BTC20.00 / $310.00
Availability: Scarce (1 in stock)
Brands: Credit Suisse, Pamp Suisse, others...

(2 gram bars also available for BTC8.95 / $130.00 USD)

---------------------------------------
Gold Coins
---------------------------------------



We have access to a supply of a wide variety of international gold coins, rounds and bars. If you are interested in acquiring a specific type of gold coin, round, bar or other item please contact us at management@epiccoinage.com (or just reply or send a pm) for pricing and details. We can get nearly anything you demand, from gold Kruggerands to gold Pesos. Gold bullion available in multiple sizes and denominations, from gram-sizes to 1/4oz to large bars!


Silver
(New Items Available!)

---------------------------------------
1oz American Eagle 0.999 Silver Dollars
---------------------------------------



Price: BTC2.55 / $38.99 USD
Availability: Regularly Stocked
Brands: US Mint

---------------------------------------
1oz Assorted 0.999 Silver Bars
---------------------------------------



Price: BTC2.55 / $38.99 USD
Availability: Regularly Stocked
Brands: Varies

*NOTE: Mint/manufacturer varies, but all bars are 1oz 0.999 or 0.9999 "pure" silver. If you require a specific brand/mint you must contact me for a special order.

---------------------------------------
10oz Assorted 0.999 Silver Bars
---------------------------------------

*SPECIAL*



Price: BTC24.19 / $375.99 USD
Availability: Scarce
Brands: Varies (Sunshine, Engelhard, Morgan, more...)

_______________________________________________________________________________ ________

Our Services
_______________________________________________________________________________ ________

---------------------------------------
Exchange
---------------------------------------

We will exchange your gold, silver, foreign currencies and Bitcoins, and offer the following safe and secure payment methods:

• Cash
• Gold
• Silver
• Bitcoin
• MoneyPak
• Moneygram
• Western Union
• Cashier's Check
• Bank Transfers / Wire

Rates vary based on market conditions and supply/demand factors. Our exchanges are quick, easy and pain-free -- we offer "no BS" service, flexible pricing and are willing to negotiate and execute customized orders. Contact us for details and/or current market rates!

(To be continued in morning -- too tired to continue! )

Anyone heard anything? Rumors circulating of a buy-out, and it could be one of the biggest ever.

EDIT: Stock is halted! 

[real]

This is one of the most hysterical (and, at the same time, sad) things I've ever seen a kid do... but allow me to explain the context/setting first... 

My mother just started a new job as a 4th grade teacher in the Baton Rouge Parish school system. She's working at a public school in the north BR area which is essentially, well... deep in "the ghetto". And not the type of ghetto you folks from up north are familiar with... I mean the bottom... where characters like Lil Boosie come from lol. Organized gangs like MS-13 or the Bloods can't even establish a foothold around here because our disorganized local thugs just kill them all. The school had a bad reputation for poor educational performance and serious behavioral/disciplinary problems for years, and this year the school board is working hard to try to reform the school and "save" it. The kids were so bad a lot of teachers quit. And so the school board has hired new teachers like my mother who are willing and able to handle these very "volatile" and "under-privileged" children.

I have seen with my own eyes how wild these kids are. The first time I ever visited the school was to get my keys from my mother (she borrowed them and accidentally took them to work)... So the people in the office sent me to her classroom. I knocked on the door and she said come in, so I stepped in the classroom. And just by entering the room I sent these kids into a frenzy. "OOOHHHH, Mrs Carter dat yo son?! He big!!! How old he is!!??" They're all jumping around crazy lol. Then I notice this little boy taunting a girl by pointing in her face. Next thing I know, this little girl drops back and throws a punch like grown man and flattens this little boy... right in front of me lol. 

So this is what she's dealing with every day at work... Anyway, right before the Christmas holidays she had the kids do a creative/art assignment... basically to draw or create something that expressed the way they felt about Christmas. This is a very real bit of artwork one little boy turned into her, which she found over the weekend whilst going through the student's art assignments for the first time:


(Click to englarge)

She allowed me to scan it and upload it online to share as long as I blacked out the child's name, haha! Looks like Santa Claus has a big sack full of dope baggies and is coming to serve up some Christmas snow LOL!

Enjoy,

--ATC--

P.S. -- Kinda disturbing that a 4th grader knows how drug dealers individually bag up drugs in small baggies and put it in a big plastic bag to carry around