|
...
neurotypical
A very nice table you presented to us, thank you.
I would argue that gold (certainly gold coins) are harder to successfully counterfeit than the table would imply ("Secure"). Experience in handling gold coins (weight -- can be better verified with the $20 Chinese scales available at coin shops), the "ring test" (striking a 1 oz Gold Eagle with a $1.00 Susan B. Anthony dollar makes a nice riiiiiing), careful measurement and visual exam all mean almost all fakes are easy to detect once you have some practice.
I would also argue that gold is more scarce than the table would imply. Most gold mining -- "All-In Costs" -- is not profitable at the +/- $1230 range we are in now. It takes some 10 years from a significant gold discovery to mine production as well.
And who cares if gold is not "Smart"?
Those "Traits of Money" are not all equal... But nice food for thought.
|
|
|
|
... Yes, it could be that I am using Google Trends wrong. "oil price" (as one term only) yields an interesting result: http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=oil%20price&cmpt=q&tz=* * * I wonder if searching on any of the leading economic indicators (much beloved on US economists)might yield results with some predictive power. Interesting thread you started, unsoindovo. |
|
|
|
... 138.91.94.19 shows up lately as one of the top three or so "unknowns" that have won recent blocks (from blockchain.info's "Mining Pool Stats"). A Google search shows that is owned by Microsoft. blockchain.info shows that they have won 20 blocks recently (just past noon US ET Sunday). That puts them in first place among the "unknowns", those 20 wins beat both Slush and Eligius (19 and 16 blocks, respectively). https://blockchain.info/pools |
|
|
|
... That is interesting. Here is a link to "reccession, 2015" that I just ran, same kind of recent spike up: http://www.google.com/trends/explore?q=reccession%2C+2015#q=reccession%2C%202015&cmpt=q&tz=* * * On the other hand, interest in a specific time frame is going to skew the results. Here is a link to "reccession, 2014": http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=reccession%2C%202014&cmpt=q&tz=Note that the graph shows a LOT of interest back in 2014, not so much before or since. * * * "global economy" yields a declining interest over the past few years: http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=global%20economy* * * "measles": http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=measlesBIG spike in 2015! * * * "bitcoin":http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=bitcoinDisclosure: I cannot comment on the predictive power of Google Trends. Predicting the future is hard, particularly since it has not happened yet. Yogi Berra is purported to have said something like that, smile,,, |
|
|
|
... If you are in most states of the USA it is fairly easy to set-up an account and buy from trucoin. You can use a credit or debit card to buy from them. Once you have an account with them and are familiar with using them, it just takes maybe three minutes to pay, and then they send your BTC. They are easy to use, and their customer service is helpful. trucoin.com |
|
|
|
|
...
My two main sources for Bitcoin news are bitcointalk and links to reddit that I see at blockchain.info's home page.
|
|
|
|
... I agree with above comments that it's too bad that more merchants are not accepting BTC for payment. Yes, if a Wal-Mart or Big Mac would start taking it, then that might mean we reach critical mass, and Bitcoinistan™ would really start to take off... Here's a company that will take Bitcoin, I have used them twice (both times paying with Bitcoin), highly recommended! providentmetals.com |
|
|
|
|
...
Health is extremely important. Do what you need to to get better.
We'll all be here waiting for you!
And keep your eyes on the prize..., the long ball...
|
|
|
|
|
...
dinofelis
Gold, more properly, has been used as a "Store of Value" for thousands of years. It serves that role better than anything else!
The other two properties that most thinkers about money assign to "money" are a "Medium of Exchange" (easy to spend) and a "Unit of Account" (keeping track of what all your assets are worth).
Gold is now clumsy to use as "money". Currency, fiat currency, will be with us for a long time.
* * *
picolo
10-4!
+ 1!
Yes, fiat currency allows a multitude of sins that will not be easy to undo. The huge debts everywhere are there because the banksters are taking advantage of huge deficit spending (by governments) that we voters allow them...
It's partly our fault too. There is plenty of blame to go around.
Don't like that? Buy gold!
|
|
|
|
|
...
Kazimir
The snippet you reference is from a book just out. It is the opinion of the two authors.
There are good arguments on both sides of this question.
* * *
Theory: It ought make no difference who Satoshi is. Nor who invented BTC.
Practice: In the minds of the general public (the masses), it might make big a difference!
The general public does not know much about Bitcoin. There is a "reasonable probability" that the general public will not use it if there is a good chance, in their eyes, that BTC could be an NSA plot or a giant criminal scam. You can say it isn't so all you want, but will the public believe it?
|
|
|
|
|
...
"They ought to pass a law that you cannot use a BTC mixer (tumbler) until after you have read this thread."
--- Here's a good mixer, right here ---
| |
V V
|
|
|
|
... Fresh FUD, LOL...  My answer to the worst the B.F. could do? Weaken security of the system. "You didn't build that!" "You didn't report that!" "You didn't wear that chip!" |
|
|
|
... redsn0w I am not a programmer nor an expert in Bitcoin, so you're asking the wrong guy...  Just a happy user trying to learn more every day. The technology DOES seem to be very promising however. Especially if the core developers find a way to allow (hashed) data to "ride along" with BTC transactions without bloating the blockchain, there are various companies working on this idea ( factom.org for example). |
|
|
|
|
...
moni3z
Yes, it sure seems that adding a function or two to BTC ATMs would be fairly simple given that each manufacturer seems to have figured out how to make a secure machine. But, I would be happy if there just were BTC ATMs near me.
The lack of Bitcoin ATMs, both here (USA) and elsewhere is distressing. We travel, and I would certainly take advantage of being able to buy BTC for cash in cities we travel to. Quiet BTC for cash, what an idea...
I am hundreds of miles from a BTC ATM. No bitcoiners in my city seem to know if/when any will come to town. And the BTC ATM websites often show a machine available, but when I have called it is no longer there, not working, etc.
Maybe the business model for BTC ATMs is no good?
|
|
|
|
|
...
Although we have not been to London in a long time, I would be interested to know as well. I checked a BTC ATM site recently (forget which one), and they listed EIGHT ATMs in central London.
Maybe these BTC ATM websites are not very current?
Or perhaps the ATM manufacturers should have a map of where their own machines are? That would be helpful.
|
|
|
|
|
...
The series of debt problems seems to be the greatest menace to the world's economy now.
There is plenty of blame to go around:
-- Banksters who hijacked huge sums of money, and have done so for years.
-- Governments all over the world spending more than they take in, yet "we" keep electing them.
-- Household and corporate debt have grown massively as well.
There seem to be no solutions that are acceptable to TPTB or even to the citizens.
This may end very poorly...
|
|
|
|
|
...
A new book, The Age of Cryptocurrency (2015, Paul Vigna and Michael J. Casey -- the two of them are Wall Street Journal reporters) is out and available at Barnes & Noble everywhere. The book is good, but I will discuss that more elsewhere and later.
Vigna and Casey wrote several pages on the hunt for Satoshi's identity. A number of people were thought of as possibly the man (?) himself.
Vigna & Casey also wrote that the Bitcoin community typically was against this search, arguing that we should leave him alone, respect his privacy. And there is an excellent case for that.
But, the authors also are looking ahead, looking down the road. To be accepted in a massive way by society, the masses must be convinced that BTC is legitimate and secure. An anonymous founder does not inspire confidence among the masses...
A snippet from Vigna & Casey (emphasis mine):
"It might even be better for bitcoin if Satoshi's identity is eventually revealed. Initially, the absence of an identifiable founder meant enforcement agents couldn't find Satoshi and shut down his fledgling project before it gained attraction. Now it's a different phase. More than six years into bitcoin's existence, with a global community formed around it, the project is looking to undertake the ultimate community expansion exercise and embrace the wide, all-encompassing "mainstream." For that exercise, the lack of transparency over bitcoin's founding is a hindrance. It feeds doubts in the minds of government officials and lawmakers, making friendly regulation that might smooth bitcoin's development a harder sell for cryptocurrency lobbyists. The same goes for the general public. Coming clean would put to bed conspiracy theories that bitcoin was created by the CIA or the NSA or the IMF, or that the whole thing is an elaborate scam."
|
|
|
|
|
...
Gold is the only thing I have ever bought with Bitcoin. Other than making a few BTC low-value donations to spread the word.
|
|
|
|
... iamback & CoinCube Jim Quinn is an uber-bear often featured at Zero Hedge. He is a follower of macro-cycles (Howe & Strauss's "Fourth Turning"), but in a different space than Martin Armstrong. You may very well have bumped into his material before, but if not, here is his latest piece: http://www.theburningplatform.com/2015/02/11/fourth-turning-the-shadow-of-crisis-has-not-passed-part-three/snippet: The American people have lost their ability to think, reason, question, do math, control their urges, defer gratification, or realize when they are being lied to by the people they elected to public office. A culture of ignorance, celebration of the absurd, salutation of stupidity, honoring of the inane, being mesmerized by electronic gadgets, and satiating their egocentric shallow impulses on social media, is a sure recipe for societal collapse. Victory in World War II and becoming a modern day empire created the dynamic Eisenhower warned about. An immense military industrial complex has created enemies around the globe in order to keep the profits flowing in this welfare/warfare empire of debt. War is a racket for the rich. The peasants who buy into the incessant patriotic propaganda and volunteer are nothing but cannon fodder for the .1%. Keeping the masses fearful of phantom enemies and portraying foreign leaders as evil, is essential for the oligarchs to retain their wealth, power and control. Truth, facts, and long-term consequences are of no interest to the sociopaths running the show and pulling the levers. The dissent into darkness has been gradual and unnoticed by a purposefully distracted populace.Yow! |
|
|
|
... I just signed up for bitmixer.io's campaign. I have used their service many times (and mentioned my experiences on appropriate threads), so instead of looking at the very maximum amount of BTC I could make, I joined with bitmixer. Good BTC mixing service, highly recommended. Follow instructions!(I have not used casinos or betting sites and so can offer no opinion on any of them) |
|
|
|
|
Show Posts
