Except for the most part you can't send for free.  Nor is it really instant -- most transactions must confirm with six confirmations before payment is recognized.

This was a post yesterday on Reddit:
 - http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/157sy8/describe_bitcoin_in_50_words_or_less

Meni had a pretty good one:
 "Bitcoin is the world's first decentralized digital currency. It empowers people everywhere with autonomy over their finances and the ability to transact freely and easily."

But then go to a convenience store and tell that to the person standing behind you in line.  Then ask that person to tell you what Bitcoin is.

I doubt those same words will be returned.

Let's say instead that the person in front of you buys a lottery ticket.  You could explain to that person that bitcoin is a way to buy a lottery tickets where the return is 41% higher than the one they just bought (BitLotto payouts are 99% of wagers, state-run lotteries like MegaMillions are in the 70% range).

Or perhaps at the line at a pharmacy describe how bitcoins can be used to buy generic medications sometimes at half the price or less because they are bought online from a seller who ships from a country where the generics are produced.

Or when you see a sign at a store that says "cash only", describe how bitcoins work like cash and by accepting bitcoins the store can attract customers who have bitcoins to spend yet the store won't have to suffer payment card network costs.

So yes it is difficult to describe bitcoin in a sentence or two that conveys a message that really describes it well and is relevant.

The article has the wrong URL.  Billioncountdown.com  which simply does a redirect to the dating porn site.

Every day there is at least one thing relating to Bitcoin that gets me to chuckle.

A WalMart MoneyCard is a prepaid debit card.  You can use it for other purchases or at an ATM.  

So you can withdraw cash and then use that cash to buy bitcoins.

You can deposit cash at Chase bank for credit to your BitME account, for instance.  Or purchase bitcoins with cash at BitInstant through MoneyGram.  Or you might find someone locally who sells bitcoins for cash:
 - http://www.LocalBitcoins.com

Inside the casino? I wouldn't recommend that.

Read this:

- https://twitter.com/MagicalTux/status/257071913870966784

Then this:

- https://mtgox.com/privacy_policy

Then this:

- https://mtgox.com/signup

You will probably realize that your quest for transaction privacy does not flow through an exchange.



Mt. Gox offers a hosted (shared) E-Wallet.  That means you are not depositing into your own wallet but into an address in the E-Wallet provider's wallet:
 - http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/EWallet


You make assumptions about what is logged and what is not.  Unless they specifically state that they do not log which bitcoin address funded which Mt. Gox user account, then you probably should assume that every bitcoin transaction in or out of the wallet is tied to an account on the exchange.   I don't know if this logging happens or how long it is retained but I do not remember ever seeing any claim by them that these transactions are not logged.

Instawallet claims to not retain this information for a very long period of time.

Blockchain.info/wallet offers a mixing service.
 - https://blockchain.info/wallet/send-anonymously

With full confidence?  Seriously?


Anyway, here's the spectrum of what is shared publicly:
 - http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Mining_hardware_comparison#ASICs

Well, you can use the web interface to upload a file that has changed.  Is that what you are asking?

That is the common denominator.

The current incarnation:
  BitcoinTalks.com

The e-mail address for that PayPal account:  bitcointalks.org@live.com

Previous scams (in chronological order) likely by the same scammer:

 - EasZPay.com   [Fixed.]
 - MtGax.com
 - MtGix.com
 - i4Dollars.com
 - BTKoin.com

There was one other, I can't remember the domain.


Please report this scammer as badware:

 - http://www.google.com/safebrowsing/report_badware/?url=http://bitcointalks.com

Is this the first time you've used the password from the password manager to decrypt the wallet?

Are you sure you are using the right wallet identifier?   Some people have two different ones.  If you had given your wallet an alias, try accessing it by alias.

Do you have any older backups of the wallet?  You can try using the "Import Wallet" feature to import an older wallet and see if your password works on the older wallet from the backup.

The words the paper wallets use are "Load & Verify" for the (public) Bitcoin address and "Redeem" for the private key.

So yes, you simply send funds to the Bitcoin address from the paper wallet where it shows "Load & Verify".

Now, if these are gifts, what you can do is print out another copy and store it and then next year if the funds haven't been spent, you can offer to redeem (or reprint with the 2013 version, which will have something really cool I'm sure.)

If I use import wallet of an old backup, does that create a new wallet identifier, or does load into the existing one?

Or, more specificaly, let's say a couple days ago I had changed my password.  The backup is from several months ago.  So right now I can't login.  

Can I import the several month's old Blockchain.info/wallet backup file and then from that get access to the Admin page to see the recent backups so that I can choose to restore the last backup before I changed the password?

The Bitcoin.org client will display the number according to the value of the units setting (i.e.,. BTC, mBTC, or uBTC).

For instance;

Here's the raw data for a transaction:
 - http://blockchain.info/rawtx/97990146ef27291626518b39b0217caa38276d5ed16306ef233d90d0c1414924

The inputs are:
 "value":5103074576    <--   51.03074576 BTC
 "value":4882066520    <---  48.82066520 BTC

There is just one output, and the value of it is:
 "value":9985141096    <--   99.85141096 BTC

Probably.

From another thread:

For a person manually placing trades that might matter but it is a moot point in this instance.   For those offers generated by a bot, sub-penny pricing gives a way to regain your spot in line.  

The hosting provider where TORWallet.net is hosted (which is also the domain registrar/reseller) will consider a takedown request, but my takedown request was denied because I personally am not a party (I never used TORWallet, was not scammed).

So, if anyone is willing to contact the hosting provider to assert that fraud is occurring, please PM me and I will provide the e-mail address for the hosting provider.

I've not used any of them myself, but take a look att:
 - http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Trade#VoIP.2FSMS

Ask who, Marketwire? FundersClub?  Or  


That might explain why their site wasn't responding for a bit.   Probably getting hammered with traffic and new signups.

I don't see a Coinbase support thread or a main discussion thread for CoinBase here on BitcoinTalk.  

I just realized a flaw with how I was using their Two-Factor authentication.  Coinbase doesn't use 2FA/Google Authenticator but instead used Authy.  Authy is a great, easy to use mobile client.  The way they transmit the secure code is via SMS.  However, I personally don't trust SMS as it is not a secure transport method.  And if you use something like Google Voice for your text messaging, that means that if you e-mail is compromised, the attacker can get Authy to send another SMS with a new code and then the attacker has the ability to get the Authy OTP as well.

That is definitely more work for the attacker than simple username + password, but it still is not the level necessary for protecting a larger value in a Coinbase E-Wallet.   For consumer level amounts this Authy 2FA will probably be plenty adequate.

A few things you should know.  Withdrawing USDs from Mt. Gox to Dwolla may not be processed right away.  It might be fast (an hour), it might be eight to 24 hours, or it might be days (or weeks), depending on the queue at Mt. Gox.     (I last remember they are at about the one day or so level currently).

Camp BX, the only other exchange that works with Dwolla is usually faster, but even there sometimes it is not immediate.
 - http://www.CampBX.com

If you want a cash-out transaction to your bank, you want ACH withdawal.  Right now, BitMe.com is probably the best place for you to do that:
 - http://www.BitMe.com
There is just a $0.25 fee per ACH direct deposit withdrawal, and there are currently several bids at the same exchange rate or better (when selling) than you would find at Mt. Gox.      They don't have liquidity to handle large amounts yet, but there are usually bids for at least a 20 BTC sized sell order without having to knock down the price too far.   I've had BitMe withdrawals arrive at my bank the second business day .

Also, know that with Dwolla they have a process for setting up a bank account where they send a test deposit to link your bank account.  That will take about five business days to complete.  Only then can you withdraw any funds from your Dwolla account.   Also, they may require that you confirm your identity with them before you can withdraw the funds.   But for just a couple hundred dollar transfer they probably won't require that (assuming you are accessing the site within the U.S.).

Coinbase is very good for cashing out too.  The problem there is the $100 per-day limit [Edit: when buying] (they'll be raising that in the future, but for now, $100 per day.)    [Edit: And, today, their site is not allowing login.  They were featured in a press announcement (as a Y! Combinator company investment) and are probably getting hammered with traffic.]

Another ACH-based cash-out method is FastCash4Bitcoins.com:
 - http://www.FastCash4Bitcoins.com

And if you want same-day deposit, that might be an option as well, depending on what bank you use:
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=82983.0

So for cash-out, that's easy -- you have many options.  Even more described here:
 - http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Selling_bitcoins

Half an exchange? (buy only):
 - https://dgtmkt.com  <-- Malaysia / MYR

Have you ever tried to buy Apple stock with credit card?  Or gold bullion? 

It's the same thing.   Either there are laws against it (Apple stock) or the fraud costs make it prohibitive to do so (in the gold bullion example).

Cash works.

Are you in the U.S.?  Do you have a Chase bank location nearby?

You can deposit cash at Chase into the account for exchange BitMe.com   That cash is credited to your BitMe account and you then buy coins.  Simple.

Or there is perhaps someone nearby who will trade, face-to-face:
 - http://www.LocalBitcoins.com

If you must use a credit card, VirWoX is about the best (if not only) option.   You buy Second Life Lindens (SLLs), then trade them for Bitcoins (BTC). 
 - http://www.VirWoX.com

If you just need a couple, you might be able to catch BTCQuick with stock available:
 - http://www.BTCQuick.com