...

I am not sure that halving the reward rate will make much difference in the BTC price.

Keep in mind that the stock:flow rate of BTC is getting higher all the time (more BTC around vs. less production).  But the stock is so large that the new production does not add much to the new supply.  What seems to me to be a larger component to future price moves in BTC is demand, as the supply numbers are known and so tiny.

...

I hear and respect what gmaxwell says, but perhaps the best use of a current (existing) & decent mixing service is that it provides some privacy.  I am not worried about hiding my BTC trail from .gov (perhaps they can track BTC very easily or even own / can hack the mixers).  But, the mixers make it easier to hide the trail from casual or even Junior Varsity Snoops (mafias maybe too).

*   *   *

Is there anyone else who does "taint analysis"?  It would be interesting, to say the least, to see if both analyses would arrive at a similar percentage of taint between BTC addresses.

...

molecular

Fun link, thanks!  Yes, making a good sphere for a steel bearing ball seems *hard*.

Re printing and ball bearings, we have thought a bit about whether or not 3-D printing is a threat or some kind of opportunity we should try to take advantage of...

1)  Rolling bearings are made with a special steel, 52100 alloy, that is 1% carbon with a small amount of chromium.  This is a hard steel, it corrodes more than stainless, but is tough.  Bearings for wheels of cars have to be tough and hard.  Plastic will not cut it (yet).  (Our company buys automotive bearings for Korean and Japanese vehicles)

2)  Rolling bearings are produced in very large quantities.  For one of our Korean suppliers, if we want a "new piece" (one they currently do not make), the minimum quantity is 10,000 pcs.  For any piece for which they have the tooling, but is not in current production, the minimum is 5000 pcs.  This gives them an economy of scale that is hard for 3-D printing to touch.

3)  In the near-term future, it is possible that certain special sizes (large pieces not in stock anywhere in the world) could be made on an emergency basis (like a big bearing for a mine's drilling shaft).  When a BIG bearing goes down, it can cost a mine, say, over $10,000 per day while their equipment is not running.  A printed bearing like this might work in this context, even if they have to print up a few of them (as a printed bearing would have a short life) before Timken or SKF could make a proper replacement piece.

...

TPTB

+ 1

Larry Summers either does not understand the difference between "capital" and "debt", or else he chooses to fuzz the issue (as you suggest).

I would bet that Summers (Harvard professor and all) knows what he is doing...

Beware, beware of doublespeak (Newspeak).

*   *   *

You quote Summers (re The Bernank's blog):

"...his blog with a set of thoughtful observations..."

Is he joking, ignorant or trying to fool us again?  I have my opinion...



EDIT:

Canada wants to fingerprint incoming tourists.  (S) Korea fingerprinted ME in 2012.

Canada apparently has very similar problems in regards to the USA.  I bet that all of us will see that almost every .gov has the same set of problems re no money / getting more money.

...

Wow

I would never trade BTC on margin.  The risks are just way too high.  For me anyway.

In the 1990s, I took a shot at buying some cheap PUT options on the S&P 500 in the fall.  Betting that stocks would go down.  I did this six times.  I lost some or all of my wagers EACH TIME.  I also am not lucky in casinos, proven many times.  So, I no longer gamble.

"Someone" did a study on day-traders, and found that WAY many more lose than win.

gbcm1

Everyone has different views on whether or not it is worth it to mix your coins.  Depends on "paranoid" you are I guess.  $200 is a reasonable minimum, I once mixed when I had $40 worth of BTC, but that's just me...

Moi?  I choose to mix my coins when I get new BTC. 

...

I have read many stories about people having problems mixing coins.  What I do not understand is why people do not read the various threads on Bitcoin mixers (and people's often negative experiences with them) BEFORE mixing their BTC...

BitLaunder and Fog, for example have many negative user comments.

bitmixer.io and blockchain.info's SharedCoin have many fewer complaints.  I do prefer bitmixer.io, as their service has worked smoother for me.  That is the main reason why I chose their signature campaign, I am a happy customer.

...

Similar to a reply or two above:

Now: interested/excited about a 6

Year ago: 8

Progress has not happened as quickly as I would have hoped.  There are still NO BTC ATMs in my city for example.

An increasing price would help drive interest in BTC, but at this point a stable price is OK with me.

...

I wanted to mix a small amount of BTC that I had in my blockchain.info wallet recently, using just their "SharedCoin" service.  Unfortunately, for about 24 hours, SharedCoin did not work.  The process would start, then freeze.

Note that I did not lose anything!  I guess that THAT SharedCoin transaction was a "null event". 

SharedCoin did start working OK yesterday, I was able to mix that small amount.

In the past, I did have two problems regarding something that went wrong, but after working with blockchain.info, everything was resolved fine.

*   *   *

But, at this point, if I had to use JUST ONE mixing service that works better for me, I would choose bitmixer.io.  Fewer problems, and they have ALWAYS been online when I used their service.  bitmixer.io also works with all three wallet types I have.

*   *   *

blockchain.info's wallets, other than the spotty SharedCoin service is pretty good.  Use the "second password" feature for better security.  But, for large amounts of BTC (say over 2 BTC), I would put them in a Trezor or Ledger.

...

And THAT (easy to use, secure crypto) will be a great innovation!  If it is more secure, that would be a nice step in bypassing Economic Totalitarianism...

I responded in the other thread that I was sorry to mis-characterize your statements on Monero, everyone already knows that I am still a beginner in my understanding of BTC.

*  *  *

Re mixing, well, yes, it is essentially impossible to know if they might be centralized or otherwise compromised.  But, mixing for me is more about BETTER security, I doubt that I could hide my tracks vs. the Big Rhino (US .gov), so I do not much care.  Just hiding the trail somewhat is "good enough" vs. other threats (mafias, etc.) against my BTC.

...

TPTB

Thanks for clarifying some info re Monero & BTC.

Ah, sorry for mis-characterizing your earlier comments on Monero, you already know that my understanding of cryptos is still at the beginner level.

*   *   *

Yes, I will hang on!  Innovation is indeed happening quickly.  I look forward to cryptos becoming easier to use.

This year would be great, but I have lots of time...  

...

gentlemand

I would not be as harsh on the Millennials, but, I do not know any who are fans of Bitcoin either.  But, in my case, I am 59.  Our daughter and her husband know ZIP about BTC and do not care.

Same comment re finance, but, again, my experience with Millennials is rather minimal.

*  *  *

Possum57

I do not use Uber, I take taxis fairly rarely.  Most of them would be to/from airports or in Peru...  

I do use various forms of technology (databases, BTC, 'Net trolling), but not many apps, selfies, etc.  59 and everything...

...

[cross-posted, but relevant here because of latest conversations]


Monero & Bitcoin (thx, rpietila and troller for inspiring this post)

I have been trying to get a handle on two issues re the two cryptos:

1)  BTC has rather good acceptance, that is, the products you can buy using BTC are rather wide.  This is good.  

What is available using Monero?  How easy/difficult is it to buy Monero?

2)  With a little work (and about 0.6% - 1.0%), you can hide your trail a little better by mixing BTC.  

IIUC, one of the main attractions of Monero is that the anonymity is/will be better than using BTC.  TPTB_need_war has stated that Monero is not yet secure, can anyone explain (in words that even my grandma could understand) Monero and anonymity?

*   *   *

An easy to use, widely accepted and anonymous crypto would be a great thing.

...

Monero & Bitcoin (thx, rpietila and troller for inspiring this post)

I have been trying to get a handle on two issues re the two cryptos:

1)  BTC has rather good acceptance, that is, the products you can buy using BTC are rather wide.  This is good.  

What is available using Monero?  How easy/difficult is it to buy Monero?

2)  With a little work (and about 0.6% - 1.0%), you can hide your trail a little better by mixing BTC.  

IIUC, one of the main attractions of Monero is that the anonymity is/will be better than using BTC.  TPTB_need_war has stated that Monero is not yet secure, can anyone explain (in words that even my grandma could understand) Monero and anonymity?

*   *   *

An easy to use, widely accepted and anonymous crypto would be a great thing.

...

"Obama is Targeting Your Retirement Accounts"

http://armstrongeconomics.com/archives/31455

From today.  I cashed-out my IRA several years ago, thinking that .gov might just try this sort of thing.  IRAs and 401k's are easy targets.  Beware.

...

coinableS, M.Z. and snarlpill

While I do have faith in the trustworthiness of blockchain.info -- they paid me back BTC I had transferred out from my wallet there (but they do not hold my private keys, so, ahh, ahh...), I have noticed that they DO have problems on a pretty regular basis.  

"Buggy"

What this tells me is how important it is to have the bulk of your BTC in cold storage.

My latest purchase using BTC was directly from my Trezor.

Very nice comment, vokain.  

Indeed, giving is a key to security, just as you mentioned, even in a city.  What I note from you is that individuals giving (and having faith that all will be well) is at an individual level, and then all will likely fall into place well.  I do not see any larger groups, at least yet, who are generous enough with each other, to attain much beyond the sharing of produce at a village scale.  Larger scale "giving" edges closely to taxation, ugh.

But my comment before is really directed at concentration of capital.  Big Dough is needed to build advanced factories to make so many things modern society requires.

...

rpietila

My recollection is that the Bible says that it is the love of money that is the root of evil.  A careful reading of Matthew's passage (and knowing the context of those days) re the rich man and the camel going through the eye of a needle suggests that it is not being rich per se, it is that the rich man must unload his camel at the town gate and pass through the little door to enter the city after dark...

*  *  *

I did not watch the video you linked (yet), but perhaps at small scale such altruism (sharing produce w/ neighbors) might work -- at that scale.

*  *  *

I completely agree that without concentration of capital it would be essentially impossible to build factories.  I know that would be the case for ball bearing plants which require a LOT of money to build and run. 

"Ball bearings are my business."

...

Febo (and everyone)

Yes, debt is dangerous!  Way too many people go into debt irresponsible way, to support consumption now rather than building a base for more productivity.  Perhaps the only exception would be for a mortgage that you are sure you can afford.

Shakespeare was right, better not to get into debt (nor loan).  Unless you have thought it through.

It is too easy to become a slave when in debt.

...

Possum577

The Millennials have indeed had a hard run since 2008, so I can understand that.  They do understand a Raw Deal and corruption.

But neither our daughter nor her husband (recently married) have even glanced at Bitcoin.  Yet they love Uber and other apps and tech...


Grumpy old guys like me trust gold even more than $ or BTC...