Imagine a road trip like this:

When the trip started, the cost for gas on the east cost was 4.0 BTC.  When he arrived in L.A., gas cost 0.2 BTC.



 - http://www.bitcoinmoney.com/post/6501258333

Most people don't mind it being unstable, just as long as it keeps going up.   

Other markets have financial derivatives that help to resist rallies and to give support during declines.  Bitcoin does not yet have these innovations, at least not like other commodity markets, thus the degree of volatility is acute.

For instance, for whatever reason there was a ton to buying in late July, and through August.  One possibility is that a fair amount of the demand was for bitcoins for "investment" into what was ultimately appears to have been just a ponzi.  Mt. Gox lists about $5 million dollars worth of deposits in a month, so if the was the expected million dollars of fund inflows related to that one "investment", that could have been the driving force for a rally.  Instead of a rally dissuading buyers, speculators pile in and the rally turns into a bubble.   Without a method for other speculators to go short, the rally continues until some event causes the direction to change. 

There is one option available -- MPEx offers BUY and CALL options.  And it got widely used during last month's rally -- MPEx had a record month in terms of the volume of options traded.  So the rally might even have gone higher without the resistance introduced thanks to the options.
 - http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/MPEx
 - http://polimedia.us/bitcoin/mpex.php

A relatively new offering made available is the ability to buy futures contracts on ICBit.se.   There too, speculators can bet against bitcoin if they choose.  There is even margin available giving leverage to traders.
 - http://www.ICBit.se

Camp BX also does ACH withdrawals.
 - http://www.CampBX.com

There is another trader who will deposit cash in your bank account if you bank at Wells Fargo, B of A, Chase, and a handful of others but the operator is traveling and the assistant has no access to more funds to trade:
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=82983.0

At quantity 200 BTC, your cost for a wire transfer from an exchange like Mt. Gox is not all that high on a per-BTC basis.  I don't know if requests to withdraw by wire are still delayed at Mt. Gox or if they are sending those quickly now though.

ACH is the cheapest, (even through an intermediary like Dwolla), but if time is of the essence, that doesn't work too well.

Here's a comprehensive list of cash-out methods:
 - http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Selling_bitcoins

You can use the MoneyPak to load funds into a reloadable debit card or PayPal (but you cannot then withdraw those funds from PayPal using the debit card at an ATM -- PayPal will jump on you for that.

Or you can trade the MoneyPak funds for Amazon gift cards.  

 - https://www.moneypak.com/Partner/Payment.aspx/AmazonGiftCard

I think that is seen as a less risky purchase by some.  For example, once a purchase through Amazon is completed and the item is on its way, it seems that a problem detected at a later time regarding the purchase of the gift card doesn't seem to impact delivery of the item ordered.   Maybe Amazon is eating the loss when it occurs, who knows?

MoneyPak is an excellent way to cash out of bitcoin where you then use that MP to reload a debit card or PayPal, for instance.

But MoneyPak is a horrible way to try to buy bitcoins.


None.  Here's why:

The problem is no commercial service can accept MoneyPak as payment for the purchase of bitcoins.  Green Dot doesn't want that happening.  They only allow you using the MoneyPak codes with authorized merchants or for loading funds to your own debit card.  So the only ones where trading MoneyPak for bitcoins  is happening is with individuals who accept MoneyPak for payment when selling bitcoins person-to-person and are small enough to operate below Green Dot's radar.  The person that accepts MoneyPak then uses it to load a PayPal account to to add funds to a reloadable debit card.

Cashing out your bitcoins to MoneyPak is not a problem, and there are a couple of commercial services which offer this:

 - http://www.BTCPak.com
 - http://www.FastCash4Bitcoins.com
 

MoneyPak is a bearer instrument -- anyone who knows the code can spend it.

There are a few ways these MoneyPak codes can end up in the hands of thieves and criminal hackers who then trade them for bitcoins.

The theif might even provide what seems to be a valid MoneyPak code and the person selling bitcoins might see the funds loaded into the PayPal account or wherever the code were used but then later the funds are reversed after the rightful owner of the code reports theft.

To regain access to the funds, the person that accepted the MoneyPak needs to provide to Green Dot a copy of the receipt used to purchase the MoneyPak, using cash.  Even with that, if there is someone else with the same receipt reporting the theft, that person would likely lose the dispute as another person was actually the party that bought the MoneyPak from the store.

So it comes down to ... you are offering a payment method that is reversible and is frequently used to defraud.  Do you already have a trust history perhaps?

The #bitcoin-otc Web of Trust (WoT) will show trust history of a trader.  If a person is considering trading bitcoins for someone else's MoneyPak, that person's trust history might help to determine the level of risk -- but even then, proceed with caution.

There's been a lot of roll-your-own / NIH so far.   

Here's a thread on some options:

 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=87836.0


BitFloor tossed out the idea of open sourcing theirs after their security breach.

If the problem was opening the addr.dat, that can be removed and it will be recreated.

But perhaps the debug.log might help you see what db it was trying to access?

I see.

None of the wallets are using that encryption method, as far as I know.

Here's a gist with a javascript decoder for that (I think, I've never used it nor have I reviewed it):

 - https://gist.github.com/1139867

The volumes reported by the exchanges will give you a clue.  On an annual basis it is well more than "multiplying $11 by the total number of bitcoins in circulation", so we know the buying occurring is not just for holding coins, but actually using it as an exchange medium.

Not all currency trades occur through exchanges.  And there are bulk sellers who also have incoming coins so there is more and more trading that occurs without the exchanges to fiat being involved even.  

If Bitcoin were to be used for a billion dollars worth of currency transactions, ecommerce, commerce, gambling, investing, etc over the next year, it wouldn't surprise me (it isn't probably a third of the way there yet but growth is pointing towards that).   That's not including trading within a single exchange, such as what happens when bots flip the same funds over and over.   Of course, this cannot be measured easily but extrapolating from the trends, it looks plausible:

 - http://blockchain.info/charts/n-transactions-excluding-popular

Mt. Gox's recent transparency report shows just under $5 million deposited in about a month::
 - https://mtgox.com/press_release_20120831.html

Presuming there is also about $5 million withdrawn, that means they have $10 million of currency transactions.  While they claim to be 80% of the trading volume at all exchanges where data is reported, others are used more heavily for moving funds into and out of bitcoin rather than just speculative day trading like what is seen at Mt. Gox.  So maybe add another 50% for the other exchanges, that gives a current run rate of $15 million per month, or approaching $200 million annually just with the listed exchanges.

Here's showing where if you include buying and selling internal to an exchange, trading of a hundred million in a day might not be that far off, but that's simply changing the owner of a position within an exchange, and just a fraction of that trading results in a currency transaction once funds are withdrawn.
 - http://blockchain.info/charts/trade-volume?showDataPoints=false

What if the exchange rate for bitcoin rises to $15 or more? (i.e., rises more than 20-25% on an annual basis?)

[Edit: just read this:

]

You are confusing some terms.

The private key determines the Bitcoin address.    From your private key (PsRUGbymw545hfYUAg5v8uNuVcxwtXWg646JkZ7nSm1dDRvHk5rTd8HrQv452ctz6fP2), software can determine what the resulting Bitcoin address is (1WtFgLCoA56syuVLbvzCNzooTrKEpqyA8).

But your address is not "private" or "secure" .. it is what is you give out to others to send bitcoins to you.  It is not kept secret.


If you are using the Bitcoin.org client:
 - http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Importprivkey  (Need to configure bitcoin.conf with RPCUser, password, and run bitcoind.)

If you are using a hybrid EWallet, like Blockchain.info/wallet:
Import /  Export -->  Import Private Key


They don't need to ask you, the Bitcoin address can be determined once the Private Key is known.

Just to make sure this is clear ... now that you've revealed that specific private key publicly, don't import it as someone else surely has added it to their Mt. Gox account by now which will quickly sweep any funds sent to it to that users's Mt. Gox account.

The factors that matter in order to give you the best answer include:

 - Where are you located (country)?
 - How much are you looking to buy?
 - What payment methods do you have available?
 - How soon do you need access to the proceeds?
 - Is privacy important?


Quite simply, depositing cash at a bank or 7-11, Walmart, CVS is going to be the fastest and easiest way.

 - http://www.BitInstant.com (Deposit at major banks, 7-11, Walmart, CVS, Moneygram, etc., or in Brazil using Boleto or Banco Recomendito, or in Russia, using Qiwi or Cyberplat.)
 - http://www.CAVirtEx.com (Deposit cash at several banks)
 - http://www.Spendbitcoins.com (Deposit cash at a bank in Australia)
 - http://www.MrBitcoins.com (Deposit at a bank in U.S., India, Australia)
 - http://BitcoinNordic.com (Purchase CashU or UKash in dozens of countries)
 - http://www.BTC-E.com (Deposit cash (USD) at bank locations in Russia)


The fees aren't trivial but you can use a credit card to purchase by using VirWoX where you can buy SLL using your Serve card as a credit card, then trade SLL for BTC:
 - http://www.VirWoX.com

This probably does't help you if you are looking to spend the coins anytime soon, but you can buy physical Bitcoin, paid for with credit card:
 - http://memorydealers.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=bitcoin


Or find a local trade:
 - http://www.localbitcoins.com


All kinds of options:
- http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Buying_bitcoins

Pro-tip.  Some automated bots will take the first sentence or part of it and relay that as the message.

Anything that starts out "We are sorry to inform that bitcurex.com ..." is quite scary to read, especially with the recent security breach that shuttered your competitor.

Starting out the message another way (below) says the same thing and might prevent unnecessary heart palpitations by your customers.

"In order to better serve our customers, BitCurex.com is undergoing maintentance and will be unavailable .... "

It probably showed 123.456 right?

It normally just flickers on the display for a fraction of a second.

That will be fixed in an upcoming release:

 - https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/1440

BitcoinJobs.com has a method for "Submit a job listing" :

 - http://www.bitcoinjobs.com/submit

In about a year and a half it has received exactly five legitimate bitcoin-related submissions from employers.  The listings that appear on there have mostly been the result of stumbling across the listing elsewhere, as there is no default place for job listings.   A board for that here would help.

Now, nearly daily there are people looking for work -- freelancers, telecommuters, job-seekers, etc.  who use that form looking for work.  Unfortunately, that's not the purpose of that site and not something that I'm looking to become involved in so am not able to help those submitting.  But it does show that there are a ton of people who will work for bitcoins.

All that needs to happen is for a Monster.com, simplyhired.com, DICe.com, oDesk, etc, to add "will pay in Bitcoin" flag for jobs listings and a method to indicate "prefers to be paid in bitcoin" for the profile of job seekers and Bitcoin as a payment method would start being discussed.  

Of course, Monster, Odesk, etc., would not like to see a P2P economy because they prefer to be in the middle.

Ya, sorry, that was Ninja edit.

One problem is Kickstarter, indiegogo, etc, are more valuable for the service they provide than just the payment method component.  They provide an easy way to introduce a project to an interested community, manage the process of listing and promoting items that essentially is pre-selling, process payments, etc.)

An entrepreneur with support from a community doesn't need a Kickstarter gimmick for donations.  Simply throw up a bitcoin address or an ecommerce site.

The problem with that is obvious -- the stuff that Kickstarter does is what the entrepreneur/project owner is probably not that great at doing (nor has time to do), and the entrepreneur's network doesn't have the reach of a Kickstarter.

Equity crowdfunding for a product-producing business changes things quite a bit though.  While I might not be interested in donating or buying the first item off the line (at an inflated price so as to subsidize its manufacture) I might definitely be interested in owning a piece of the business as a shareholder.

Here's an organization in the U.S. that has their own approach:
 - http://www.wikispeed.com
 - http://www.wikispeed.com/Ethics

For donation-based crowdfunding:

 - http://www.BitcoinFunding.com  (though the service is being run anonymously, and there are allegations of it not being legit)

There's also:

 - http://www.Propster.me
 - http://www.PirateMyFilm.com
 - http://www.Booster.io

"[Still] Coming soon"...

 - http://bitcoinstarter.com

and some day coming back:

 - http://www.BitcoinChipIn.com

Of course, the "equity" markets for equity-based crowdfunding:

 - http://www.GLBSE.com
 - https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/MPEx#Stocks

P2P Lending:

 - http://www.BTCJam.com


If any services offered gift e-Codes or held funds in customer accounts and allowed A2A (account-to-account) transfers, then an intermediary could accept bitcoin to provide funds for their service.  I don't know if any of the ones you've listed allow this (yet).  


[Edit: Added a few to the list.]

With cash, there aren't many options to accumulate wealth by securing cash at a residence for example.

At some point cash can no longer be kept secure without additional costs and risk exposure, and the currency may be getting devalued to boot.

The options then include investing it as capital into a business, lending it to another party who will invest it in a business or other party that pays interest, or even converting the cash to another asset (e.g., precious metals) and storing wealth there.

With Bitcoin though, your currency isn't at risk of being devalued and it can be kept secure at minimal cost (when done properly).  So while many people have the mindset that they need to put their bitcoins to work earning interest, an even larger number of others will be content earning no interest on their stash of coins, just sitting on them until there is a good use for them.

Thus bitcoin currency overall can have a lower velocity (how many times in a period the currency changes hands) than other currencies.

Offsetting that tendency though is how when bitcoins are used for consumption, commerce, investment, lending, etc., Bitcoin's properties (nearly instant for payment notification and settlement, no chargebacks, useful globally, etc.) all allow the currency's velocity to skyrocket versus any other currencies that might involve the banking system or are restrained due to the laws of physics (delivering cash, in-person, to a supplier).



That's why the category of deposits called term deposits (also referred to as time deposits in the U.S., such as certificate of deposit / CD) and bonds will likely need to be more a widely used tool in the Bitcoin ecosystem so that lenders are less vulnerable to bank runs versus if they had only sight deposits (on-demand withdrawals).  

It would be trivially easy for an exchange or webwallet to be able to prove the amount of BTC they hold but unfortunately doing so reveals the deposits and withdrawal payments, which in turn violates customer privacy.  The webwallet problem essentially can be solved with a hybrid EWallet like Blockchain.info/wallet though that requires the account owner to configure the account properly.  For many, their chance of losing their funds by not properly configuring their hybrid wallet correctly (giving it an alias, getting backups to dropbox or e-mail, etc.) might exceed the risk of a trusted hosted (shared) EWallet absconding with the funds or getting hacked.

As far as exchanges, what SMPake is doing might help lessen the need to keep bitcoins at an exchange.   Many traders today store coins at an exchange as that is the only way to have a sell order remain active.  Exchanges needs this so that they can do instant settlement on each trade.    But if there is the ability to transfer funds in one block due to an intermediary like SMPake, then a trader needs to store fewer coins at any exchange but still is able to put up sell orders in a timely fashion.

That harms perceived liquidity though so maybe exchanges will be pressured to consider another approach.

Using M of N multisig, e.g., 1 of 2, the exchange can spend my funds even though they don't store them.  The problem is there isn't instant settlement with each trade -- the exchange is exposing themselves to the risk that the seller will issue a double spend (e.g., Finney attack to invalidate the trade).  But the exchange can counter this by simply restricting access to the fiat funds when that happens until the blockchain transaction for the trade has fully confirmed.

There are so many solutions available.  The problem is with so little competition, exchanges can follow the same current obviously flawed model that they currently use and make a little profit while passing on the cost of security to its customer base (in the form of direct losses resulting from theft).   Until the customers demand more, nothing will change.

Location, location, location.

If you are selling domains names (of general interest, not Bitcoin-related ones), then to maximize your earnings you sell them where there is a market for them.

You might publish a list here just to see if there is any interest, but don't restrict your exposure just to Bitcoin compatible marketplaces.

That being said, there is a Marketplace forum with a Goods board, (I think domains would be Goods, and not Services).

 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=5.0

There is also an Auctions, if you wanted to try that.

Is there an ETA for when BitSTAMP will be back on BitcoinCharts.com?