When I first started Project Invictus it was with a totally neutral stance on existing projects. Our first goal was to properly define a p2p decentralized exchange whose purpose was to allow for faster and more global fiat to crypto-currency transactions without the need for trust and a better escrow system than apparent with current incumbents. So why did we want to do this? To make your Bitcoins better by reducing market volatility and significantly increasing liquidity.

So it all started with the Invictus thread and I had an opportunity to meet a lot of the brightest minds in the Bitcoin community; however, one in particular stood out as especially unique and forward thinking- Bytemaster. Daniel developed the kernel of what was necessary to accomplish my original goal and was willing to invest his own money and time in correcting misconceptions about his own designs prior to ever meeting me. That's a rare quality and it told me we could work together to transform BitShares into the system capable of what was needed.

Over the many 80 hour weeks, we've grown considerably from just a collection of hopes and ideas to a fully VC funded corporation in the state of Virginia that is now actually writing the source code to implement our new ecosystem. While we have no intention to operate in silent mode, we have to be careful about expectation management and also refine our launch strategy for this revolutionary (and it really is) open sourced protocol. Thus we'll be scare on the details for now, but both Daniel and I will be presenting our protocol and some of its source code to the world in October at C3 where we are invited speakers. Until then enjoy the whitepaper- which you'll notice has evolved quite a bit- and hang tight.

I will say a few more things before I leave:
BitShares is not an altcoin competing with Bitcoin, but rather a metacurrency to support a new kind of digital asset.
BitShares does not seek to replace conventional Bitcoin exchanges, but rather link them together and significantly enhance their functionality.
BitShares will allow for easy person to person trading similar to Local Bitcoins, but much faster and safer
BitShares is very altcoin friendly and will eventually allow other currencies like Litecoin and Feathercoin to trade without the need of a central exchange.
BitShares will be like crack for Wall Street and drive significant mainstream adoption of crypto-currencies to the financial sector benefiting all CC in the regulatory and legal spectrum.
Those that use BitShares are not to the best of our knowledge using bearer bonds or acting as money transmitters.

Stay tuned for our many bounty campaigns coming soon.

Charles
CEO of Invictus Innovations Inc.
Decentralized Solutions to Centralized Problems  

This thread is one of the core reasons why I created the Bitcoin Education Project. The primary issue we have with mainstream adoption is the FUD and misconceptions that exist due to the media and decentralized community. I've always believed in a simple axiom that if the people understand bitcoin then they will demand bitcoin. But education requires more than a discussion of cryptocurrencies, it requires a deeper discussion of money in general and what makes money valuable.

What we've found over the past two months is that the American public is vastly underinformed about how its money works. A large percentage of the American people still believe there is a connection to gold embedded into their money. Some believe the value of a currency is mandated by the government that issues it. Very few understand how central banks create and destroy money nor the impact inflation has upon their buying power. Even organizations such as wikimedia seem to have fallen into a trap of labeling some currencies as "artificial" with the implication there exists a natural currency.

In reality, money is simply a social contract that serves three purposes: a means of exchange, a store of value and a unit of account. The meta properties of fungibility, durability and divisibility alongside distribution also tend to play into the function and consequent value; however, anything that can satisfy these characteristics is money. A government's fiat is simply to resolve the issue of solidifying the social contract with a promise to properly manage the money supply in the best interest of its users, yet crypto-currencies have removed the need for trust, or better said blind faith, in any institution or actor.

I can understand how frustrating it is dealing with the FUD and willful ignorance of many when trying to explain the enormous benefits of CCs- never before has the human race had the ability to instantaneously move value without respect to time and space. But don't lose the faith in what this movement is trying to and has already accomplished. In just four years, we built both the technology and also a billion dollar economy from literally a laptop of a single hacker without any regulation, government investment or cabal of elite insiders. Imagine how far we can go in four more years? Eventually we can get the mainstream onboard, it's just going to require a lot of time, patience and true grit to see it through. The payoff is that money will transcend governments and be globally democratized without the manipulation of an oligarch.    

You first compare Bitcoin to old sneakers?


Then have no concept of history. How's that 1920s German money working out for you? I'm sure the army can force you to accept it for goods and services.


Because if I promise to give someone a gold bar for services rendered and I don't give them the gold bar an American court won't enforce our agreement? It's a social contract and I can enforce it within my sovereignty. I will concede that Bitcoin is intrinsically global, but just like an American business working with a Chinese entity, there is limited governmental enforcement of these contracts. Yet we still trade productively with China.


Questioning a non-profit for taking a stance that an open sourced movement similar in nature to the one that created them is invalid? It's elitism and ignorance that you continue to broadcast. You don't need governments to enforce social contracts anymore. Globalization has eliminated such Westphalian notions.


Again with the condescending attitude. There doesn't appear to be anything productive in us debating any further. You obviously have an inflexible opinion and have decided to label anyone who opposes it as ignorant. This action by wikimedia is arrogant and belies the philosophy they were founded on. Bitcoins are not old sneakers. They are a new form of economic liberty that unchains our dependency on governments for stable commerce. Wikimedia could at the very least use a middleman to process Bitcoin donations. For them, and you, to label CCs are artificial is both hypocrisy and utter ignorance to the nature of money.  

As long as nations require their citizens to pay taxes in fiat, then my statement will always be true. It doesn't matter how many goods or services can be purchased in Bitcoins, Litecoin, Feathercoin or other Crypto-currencies. If income is taxed and taxes are paid in fiat, then you will need to exchange your CC for fiat.


Again my discussion and the crux of my statement involved fiat to CC exchanges. CC to CC exchange doesn't even require a central entity. In just a few years, all of these transactions can be done through a p2p network without the need for trust or escrow. In short, the business model you are advocating is obsolete and thus irrelevant to this conversation.


This statement only serves to support my OP. I assert that exchanges have unique information security challenges and require enormous amounts of trust. Your point only serves to validate the core premise of Peatio that seeks to handle these issues in a more transparent and collaborative manner than they have been addressed by the incumbents.


Does your government accept taxes in CC? If not, then you are simply wrong. If you receive payment for goods or services in a CC, then you must convert a percentage into fiat to pay your taxes unless your intention is to be a criminal. Even if you as an individual decide to embrace this lifestyle, businesses cannot.



Again, you clearly do not understand that one does not require a centralized exchange for CC to CC transactions. The technology exists to accomplish these transactions in a completely trust and escrow free environment without any middleman. You are advocating a business model that would lead to financial ruin.

Your condescending attitude is not appreciated. You have yet to address any single concern or point I made in my OP. Bitcoin, like the USD, is backed by both consensus and utility. It, like every other currency that has established a social contract with its users, does not require an army. In fact, if a currency requires an army to maintain, then I would argue it is a failed instrument. As for the scope of the economy, Wikimedia has the option of accepting Bitcoins converted to the fiat of their choice thus they are not exposed to the volatility of the markets.

You also have chosen to completely ignore the hypocrisy of their actions. Wikipedia was a product that received years of criticism from an elite cadre of companies who had controlled encyclopedias and peer reviewed knowledge. They said only special people and trusted organizations could be capable of producing a credible encyclopedia. Now the leadership at Wikimedia are taking the same position with money? We open sourced money and this effort somehow is wrong while open sourcing knowledge is right? It's beyond defense.   

I'm a bit confused what is an artificial currency? As opposed to a natural one? Currencies are consensus driven products that serve as a means of exchange, a store of value and a unit of account. It's utterly nonsensical to me that they have taken a position that only sovereign nations are capable of creating such a product.

The citizens of Zimbabwe would probably prefer Bitcoin anyday to their local currency. In fact, many in Africa use cell phone minutes as a local money supply. Prisoners have used cigarettes. Michael Unterguggenberger proved that as long as the social contract of money was maintained that any authority could create a functional money (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Unterguggenberger).

In my opinion, it's utter ignorance and perhaps even politically bent. In any event, i've lost a great deal of respect for Wikimedia. They attack a currency that was built by an open sourced community while their own products were cut from the same cloth. Recall the established encyclopedias attacking the credibility of Wikipedia?  

BTC to fiat transactions are and always will be the most important in the ecosystem. The primary value of any exchange is how well it can facilitate these transactions and manage the legal, regulatory, technological and social aspects of fiat exchange. It's simply a monstrously difficult task, which is why so many exchanges have failed or haven't meet community expectations.

Also the other challenge is the nature of all the required partnerships a successful exchange must have. These include banks, law firms, regulatory agencies, other exchanges and businesses requiring liquidity in their business models. If a partner fails, it can cascade to the customers of an exchange causing delays or loss of funds. Then there is the issue of bad actors who use DDOS attacks alongside other tools to manipulate the markets to their own ends.

In short, entering this business isn't easy and it requires a thick skin as well as a tolerance for failure. Vircurex hasn't developed as nor is prepared to be a legitimate player in the crypto-currency to fiat market.

Bonus Bounty Paid:

ecdd88cbbf28a4e9348b20792840d2c27bebaeca1e86a3386ba825555ad3accf

0.05 btc

Pajamaw send an address you earned a bonus bounty.

Bounty increased to 1 btc

Full time commitment over the next three months with the possibility of a permanent full time position. Can pay in fiat or Bitcoins. On the Python side must have experience with PyQT and also knowledge of how mining clients work. On the web developer side, experience with angular JS (meteor or sproutcore also works), MongoDB, Node.JS and experience deploying HTML 5 application. Send inquiries and rates to charles.hoskinson@gmail.com. If you have a github repo, then please send a link to it as well.

Vircurex's marketshare is incredibly low:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=220412.msg2355726#msg2355726

Not exactly an endearing business model to investors. Peatio is going to be a revolution in exchanges.

Feedback is Very Welcome;

https://www.udemy.com/bitcoin-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-crypto/

Feedback is very welcome:

https://www.udemy.com/bitcoin-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-crypto/

Alongside some more bonus lectures on Vanity Addresses:

https://www.udemy.com/bitcoin-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-crypto/

Enjoy

You get two Lolcats for this comment:





Use them wisely

Bonus Bounty Paid:

https://blockchain.info/tx/cab3a8ce117affc408a5d79e52b2f116cdba669afe1e53ebf0f843806be3c816

Abdussamad, you earned a bonus bounty. Send address

Thanks Gweedo

Has anyone attempted to develop a mining client in javascript and WebGL to run as a chrome application or firefox plugin?