there could also be a weight gain challenge for the "skinny" people :-)

I bought bitcoins with bitcoin.  The exchange rate was excellent so I pulled the trigger.

Maybe like "hoarding" stocks on the market.  But eventually you have to cash them in to enjoy the fruits of your wise investment - otherwise what's the point, unless you want to hand them down to someone you love or donate them to charity.

If you never spend your bitcoins, then that guy who bought a pizza with hundreds of bitcoins several years ago is way ahead of you!

Haven't you ever heard of the theory that

1) Everything that CAN happen DOES happen

and

2) It is all happening at this moment, all at the same time!

It could be Bitcoin can revolutionize the Internet itself.  Think about how free exchange is the essence of the Internet, which is also the essence of Bitcoin.  And not just "money" - do some research on the bitcoin protocol, you will find it can be used in many wonderful ways.

Read "How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World" by Harry Browne.

Here in the north country, during our cold winters the tourists from the warmer south visit by the thousands to get in on the great skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, and other winter sports.

Sounds like a great opportunity to market to the youthful bitcoiners

Two bits

Don't forget, what you pay a merchant is not anywhere near pure profit for them:  They have to pay for new inventory to replace that which you purchased and a ton of overhead including taxes, rent, utilities, bookeepers and accountants, employees, and a slew of other expenses.  At the end of it all they often only get 2 or 3% profit - and may even be losing money in this economy.

What this means is that they usually cannot hold onto bitcoins since they simply have got to pay the bills here and now.

Of course, some small mom and pop merchants may be able to hold some bitcoins they get as payment, but only because they have enough money coming in or alternative sources of income to get them through the every day expenses.

You just claim you never got it, got the wrong item, or someone else used your card to make the purchase.  This is the bane of any business.  The card company also tacks on a hefty chargeback fee to add insult to injury.  The thief wins, the credit card company wins, and the business looses.

And THAT is why credit card companies will fear Bitcoin, which does not suffer from these problem people taking advantage of the system.

You say that most people are not scammers, and this is true.  However, many businesses are operating on slim margins.  Especially small businesses a few cases of fraud and they suffer greatly.  For every fraud it may take dozens or more sales just to make up for that one loss.  Nobody likes to work hard for nothing - very difficult to put food on the table when that happens.

I couldn't agree less, dissident.   

I like cults that worship ugly torture methods such as nailing people to two boards then hoisted into the air.

Or as someone once said:

Banks and governments are like religions: They propose protection and paradise until you graciously decline their offers, at which point they threaten you with scorched earth and damnation.

I'm sorry, Steve - you must have thought this is the Bronze Age Cult forum. Check to make sure didn't mix up your bookmarks.

Investing what you CAN'T afford to lose is never a good idea, but it is certainly much fun reading about other people doing it!

Here is my take, take it for what it's worth.

1) invest in yourself first and foremost.  Get healthy, get fit, educate yourself.  Live totally debt free.
2) get your "beans, bullets and bandaids" in stock, at least a 3-month supply, a year is even better.  This is your insurance against hard times.  You can't eat cash or gold or bitcoins.
3) any extra, store away some gold, silver, and a little cash.  Keep a liquid stock, it can come in handy.
4) then any extra still, go for it with bitcoin.

over and out.

LOL

1) who cares
2) it is forever as compared to your lifetime
3) I stand by bitcoin not being worth anything 1000 years from now, as something better will come along.  Technology changes rapidly to be sure.

I am 100% certain that sometime in the future Bitcoin will be worth Zero.
I am 100% certain that gold and silver will always be worth something.

That said, for the foreseeable future, Bitcoin is very valuable indeed.

I like Peter and watch his videos regularly.  

Here are some facts - fiat currencies come and go, they NEVER last "forever".  Generally a couple hundred years at most is enough to destroy a currency.  Read your history.

Will BitCoin last forever (as in a thousand years)?  Read your history.  The answer is No.  But it may (or may not)  last longer than our lifespans, nobody knows.

What about Gold?  Well, gold has been valuable for thousands of years and will likely remain valuable for many more centuries.  Gold your great great great great grandpa mined in California in 1849 is still sought after and valued today.  His gold did not "disappear" or become worthless.  Gold is timeless, immutable.

Ultra long term I'd stake my fortune that is to be passed down the generations on Gold.  Also Silver, lead, and the other commodities.  They will always be useful and sought after.  These commodities are a store of value beyond a doubt.  They cannot be created out of thin air or destroyed.  A chunk of metal is a chunk of metal even centuries from now.

Schiff knows this too and repeats that time and time again.

All I know, as a successful entrepreneur, is the more I work and give value to the world the more I am worth and the more money I make.

Indeed, the world is better off for my innovative efforts.

I am already taxed 40%.  Tax me 75% and I am outta here after laying off my employees and shutting down the business.

When thousands upon thousands of overtaxed people quit their businesses and services, you will see widespread unemployment and poverty like you wouldn't believe.

Not rocket science my friends.  Too many people are jealous that they too cannot come up with and launch ideas that other people value enough to pay good money for.  So the solution they lobby for is to tax those "rich" people because after all it is soooo unfair that someone can earn more than someone else.

PS - if school teachers and policemen want to earn more money all they have to do is start their own businesses if they think that is so easy LOL

Stop using government guns to force your idea of economic fairness onto others.  Isn't that what Bitcoin is all about?

Spot on.

When the masses of people discover they can vote themselves other peoples money then the game is over - all you hear is a giant swirling rushing sound as the economy goes down the toilet.

Many of you here on this forum are mixing up banksters with hard working entrepreneurs (the people who start small and medium sized successful businesses that more often than not employ you, pay the majority of taxes, etc).

Kill the economic incentive and these people have no reason what-so-ever to take risks, work eighty hours a week, and innovate.  They will also have absolutely no reason to keep you employed.  But, of course, you can always become a parasite on the taxpayers as is the current method in favor by millions of people who choose not to work for a living.