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Denker (nice catch!) and above commenters

If Google takes to Bitcoin in any kind of a big way, that is indeed "YUUUGE", that would get a lot of smart minds hard at work making more products and services that would of use.  Google might even find a way to get into eBay's space too (for example).

Let's see if this is a major development, I can only think that it IS meaningful.  I would like to see more reactions (not just here, but in the marketplace) as well.


EDIT: Mmm, Google also has a LOT of computational power "up there" in The Cloud.  Hmm, maybe they might mine.......?  

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RodeoX

If the FBI (NSA, etc.) does indeed want a General Backdoor (that would allow them to remotely unlock any iPhone at will for example), well then of course I would be strongly against that.  They have no business having such access just so they can go on fishing expeditions...  Or harass any opponents, real or imagined. 

Also, if Apple gives ANYONE a key to the Backdoor, then they would give it to the Russians and the Chinese as well.  Apple would thereby eliminate some of their market.

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I agree that the time comes when ordinary citizens ought consider getting educated in basic encryption (and using it), and the more variation the better.

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In the case of Bitcoin, the more people protect themselves, and the more services offering some protection (bitmixer.io for example), the better.

Well, Kakmakr, I have the following comments to pass along:

1)  It is rather easy to take small amounts (say 2 oz or less in small coins) with you through the airport.  Be creative...

2)  "There is always someone around who will take (= accept as payment) your gold."

3)  Yup, BTC goes through airports very nicely!  The problem is that BTC is not popular in many countries (like Peru: my "other" beat).

4)  You wrote (re Bitcoin):

     "... it would be a perfect alternative for gold ownership."

     I would correct that to:

     "... it would be a perfect complement to gold ownership."
    

Nice catch. 

I would agree with Armstrong that electronic "money" will NOT become any world currency for a long time.  There are NO local businesses that I know of (major US city: metro population over 2,000,000) that even take BTC.  NO ONE in Peru takes it that I know of.

Bitcoin may catch on as a popular payment option, I hope so.  But, I would expect that to happen in the USA and Europe first.  If BTC cannot become widely used in the developed countries, I doubt that it would be worldwide.

TPTB also has raised the issue of Chinese dominance in mining of BTC, a mild negative to BTC IMO.

Two things:

1)  I believe (could be wrong) that the FBI wants access to iPhones when there is a court order.  The iPhone in question was used by a San Bernardino terrorist.  Apparently (?) the FBI cannot get in...  With a court order, I have no problem with the FBI on that.  Apple should be allowed, however, to encrypt however they want.  Look at what happened to CISCO (losing the confidence of overseas customers) once they gave away their encryption keys to .gov.  Note that the FBI/Apple issue NOW is this case, not a BACKDOOR (allowing an easy automatic system for .gov to get in).

2)  The time will be coming soon when each of us may have to (or want to) do some encryption of our own.  Different means of encryption would make it harder for our privacy to be invaded.

Because finding new blocks is a probability-based event, the EXACT date and time cannot be predicted.  But, since there are so many blocks to be found between now and halving, and the fact that the system is designed for an average of 10 minutes per block (136 blocks per day), a pretty reliable date would be in July (22 July) of this year.

Here is a handy little site:

http://www.bitcoinblockhalf.com/


EDIT:  Teddy5145 beat me to it, but, yes, the site gives nice information!

I have a whole slew of problems with ZIRP, and especially NIRP:

1)  Savers are very much hit under NIRP.  NIRP makes it harder for anyone saving money to get ANY income off their savings.  Bad!
2)  NIRP will very possibly (probably?) lead to banning CA$H!  .gov will then get to see EVERYTHING you buy.  Do you like that?
3)  ZIRP and NIRP (especially NIRP) cause all kinds of weird perversions (eg, incentive to pay bills faster)!
4)  Lack of proper CA$H will encourage OTHER digital currencies, Bitcoin may get discouraged or BANNED.

Those are just off the top of my head...

NIRP is very bad, to my knowledge we have not seen this before in modern history.

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Maybe ZIRP and NIRP deserve its (their) own thread, but individual ("guerrilla") level work-around suggestions to avoid getting NIRP-ed might be welcome.  If they escalate their "War on Cash", then other solutions for us are needed.

A unusual suggestion (for larger-scale wealth preservation in a NIRP Environment) would be collecting Rolex watches!   

True.  I have read that people in Germany buy used cars with the 500 euro bill.

Also true re crime...  Anyone want to try to explain that crime existed EVERYWHERE?

The USA used to have $500, $1000 and even a $10,000 bills back in the 1930s and 1940s.  They are still legal tender, but only collectors have them now.

Besides, a $1000 in the 1930s is worth LESS than $1000 now...

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As Denker said, this is just part of the prelude to NIRP and the "War on Cash".  

I am actually a little surprised that bitcointalkers are OK with the €500 ban.  SOME people might like to THEIR spend money quietly...

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I would also note that there was a massive "Double Top" in the S&P in 2000 and 2007.  A Double Top is one of the most well known patterns in "Technical Analysis" (making price predictions solely based on various price patterns).

I do not put much (any really) in technical analysis, but many people swear by it (I know a guy who does).  After the huge declines in 2007 - 2009, that double top pattern looked kind-of scary around 2011 and later...  But look what happened!  The S&P 500 went on to rise to new highs FAR ABOVE the +/- 1500 levels.

Provident Metals has a great selection of gold coins, and you can pay with Bitcoin.  I have bought from them six times, all paying with BTC.  They have the usual "bullion coins" (Krugerrands, American Gold Eagles, etc.) as well as foreign gold, and even old (pre-1933) American $5.00, $10.00 and $20.00 gold pieces.

This will get anyone interested started:

http://www.providentmetals.com/bullion/gold.html

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Hide your gold well.  It is better at home rather than at a bank (many banks do not want you putting gold in a safety deposit box).  Also, IMO the risk of theft from your home is LESS than the risk of it being seized from a safety deposit box or similar.

I can highly recommend Provident, I have bought from them some six times, all w/ Bitcoin.  Shipment takes less than a week (usually...).

Gold (of course) has been doing very well over the past few weeks, but its moves last week, as well as today/tonight are very dramatic (I did of course, write an inflammatory Subject Title here, smile,,,).

Short-term my predictions (guesses) re gold price are worth very little.  Given some time, however, I believe gold will go way up vs. most other investments.  Buying little by little is what I have done for decades (since 1985 or so).  I remember how *SHOCKED* I felt one time paying $500 ($500!!) for a mere ounce of gold...  LOL

I have bought as income permitted.  I am at about 11% in gold of my net worth.  1% - 20% is a reasonable (and very wide) range.  Remember that only some 2% of Americans own ANY investment (non-jewelry) gold, so even if you wind up with just 2 ounces (say) in your "stack", you are way ahead of most people.

Buying small-sized gold coins is a great strategy if you do not own much.  Mexican 5 peso coins as well as 1/10th oz Eagles fit the bill nicely.


EDIT: Provident does charge 1% more for Bitcoin payment, argh.

EDIT 2: To correct spelling errors.

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americanpegasus

I am not crystal clear what you are predicting, two crashes taking the S&P 500 to +/- 1000 followed by new S&P highs at about 2018?

Your 2016 prediction going down to 1100 or so could very well happen.  The world is full of debt (and very low demand, see Baltic Dry Index at record low of 291), and they have declared a "War on Cash" which will likely destroy confidence in Central Banks and .gov.

An investment (speculation really) idea worth considering would be to BUY oil companies and oil service companies AFTER a few bankruptcies.  Eventually, oil will rise back to over $100 / barrel.

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I cannot make a good guess about Bitcoin prices until I see how this ridiculous idea of a "War on Cash" goes.  Europe is probably going to stop using the Euro500 note.  Should that happen, and if the USA joins in one way or another, BTC could rocket.*

*Assuming BTC is not NSACoin......

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After last Thursday's impressive $50 price melt-up, it looks like gold is getting hammered in the Far East.  The total price decline over the past 24 hours or so is over $30 per ounce (not counting Friday's lesser decline).  I can't explain it, so please don't ask...

FYI, gold price is easily available at:

ounce.me (a nice handy little site that also shows BTC, LTC and other PM prices as well as crude oil and the US$)
kitco.com (the coin shops use this site to price their gold coins for sale to the public)
24hGold.com (also has links to other gold and financial info)

The ounce.me site also has a handy BTC:Gold ratio, this would be of interest to anyone buying gold with their BTC.

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Martin Shkreli is being investigated for various crimes.  It would not surprise me to learn some day that he did not "lose" his BTC after all, that instead he has found a way to launder them and put them out of reach of law enforcement.

Don't know that, but it would certainly be possible.  $15 million...

Does anyone have a transaction number or two?

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There are two BTC ATMs in my city (metro population a little over 2,000,000).  Both machines work.  Lamassu brand. 

9% premium to "spot" (very high), but localbitcoins.com does not seem to work well here.  Their rep told me that they were going to get better machines (more robust, higher capacity) fairly soon.  Most of the times I have used them there were no other people there wanting to as well.

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My *guess* is that he does not (would not) like Bitcoin, as it would indeed provide something of a refuge from the US$ should Bernie's Socialism start to worsen the deficits and debt.  For taxation purposes, BTC would be seen as an escape, something that Socialists cannot (and will not) permit.

"We must all do our fair share."  <=== Expect comments like that from Sanders when things go down.

Am I harsh on Socialism?  Well, look at EVERY Socialist experiment, and tell me how successful they have been.  The two latest experiments are Venezuela and Brazil, both of which have economies going down the drain because of Socialism.

Kprawn sums up my opinion pretty well.  I like Bitcoin and hope it succeeds, but the rancor of the block size debate, and the uncertainties that the developers debate seems to throw out make me a bit nervous...

As long as consensus seems optimistic for BTC's future, I will hodl.  But, for the moment I am not buying any more BTC.

ps_jb has a good point, do check with any of them, including the two below.

I have bought directly from veldtgold.com and providentmetals.com paying with Bitcoin.  Both shipped pretty quickly, I got orders within a week.  Everything went smoothly with both.

I did pay by check once with veldtgold, they held the check until it cleared so it took longer.

Wise merchants of gold and silver (platinum sometimes available at provident) are smart to encourage buying with BTC directly.

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I have bought directly from veldtgold.com and providentmetals.com paying with Bitcoin.  Both shipped pretty quickly, I got orders within a week.  Everything went smoothly with both.

I did pay by check once with veldtgold, they held the check until it cleared so it took longer.

Wise merchants of gold and silver (platinum sometimes available at provident) are smart to encourage buying with BTC directly.