Like CIYAM said, the change output address is actually essential, as all the input Bitcoins have to be spent. If no change output is specified, the remaining input value will be considered as fees. The initial reason for creating new addresses for change output was anonymity, but as more people have adopted Bitcoin, that is not very practical and it should be able to evolve. It would be nice if Bitcoin Core had an option to set it to return change to the same address. An alternative option would be to use the createrawtransaction, signrawtransaction and sendrawtransaction Bitcoin RPC calls, but that would require some coding knowledge.

I'm working on an Android wallet which sends change back to one of the original input addresses instead of creating new ones. Hope it have it released soon enough.

A number of sites that cater to US citizens are Coinbase, Kraken, CampBX, CoinMKT and ZipZap. I haven't had any first hand experience with any of these though.

Idiots for not spending? Ignoring the unwarranted namecalling, a probable reason people aren't spending Bitcoins is because it's not as easy to get into for the lay man. Once Bitcoin is as accessible as say, a credit card in the US, then there will be uptake. Remember, Bitcoin is still a young technology.

That's a tough one. It's kinda difficult explaining Bitcoin to new comers, especially if they're not tech savvy, but I'll say the Rise and Rise of Bitcoin documentary can be a good start. Explaining the concept of a single wallet is easy, but then it'll become a bit hard when it comes to multiple wallets and multisig and the rest of it. Also, obviously, get him to join the forums. Lots of helpful people and advice here.

It's pretty much what mixing literally means. Involves generating a lot of transactions by sending your bitcoins and other bitcoins (multiple various inputs) through various different addresses so that they're harder to trace, but not impossible. There are a bunch of coin mixer services available, but I've never used any myself.

Bitcoin Core. But only after the 30+GB blockchain is up to date.

On a related note, I'm currently working on a wallet for Android devices which can generate keys offline. Hoping to have it released soon.

Yes, I've seen posts about this happening a few times, even with accounts that are verified and been in good standing for a while.

Well, for people like me, cloud mining does make sense. I live in an area where I don't have 24 hours of power supply and a barely reliable Internet connection. Clearly, I won't be able to run a miner reasonably well under these conditions. I imagine mining would be profitable if Bitcoin was at a better price point.

You could also try out Cex.io but using a card requires account verification. I only purchased 19GH/s worth of hashing power to test out. I may get more later.

Oh, so that means, a transaction can be safely sent without fees if:
It is smaller than 1000 bytes AND all outputs are 0.01 BTC or larger AND the priority is large enough.

For some reason, I was thinking only one of the conditions had to be met, but I guess that's what happens when you haven't slept for 36 hours straight.

Name: bitnanigans
Posts: 16
Activity: 14
Rank: Newbie
BTC Address: 1Pv5BdiFBvLYUhizRF132mStTHE4Uxs4bT

I've been reading up on how to create transactions, and I have stumbled upon some confusing details that I'd like to clarify. According to https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Transaction_fees, it says:

A transaction may be safely sent without fees if these conditions are met:
- It is smaller than 1,000 bytes.
- All outputs are 0.01 BTC or larger.
- Its priority is large enough (see the Technical Info section below)

Emphasis mine. It then goes on to state, "As an example, a fee of 0.1 mBTC (0.0001 BTC) would be added to a 746 byte transaction." This is where I get confused.

Does this mean that transactions below 1000 bytes cannot be sent without fees?

Thanks.

Wow. That is a lot of missing Bitcoin. I haven't really been following this closely, but I will start reading up once I have enough spare time.

It's never too late to invest in anything, but the general rule of thumb is to always invest in what you can afford to lose. So now's a good a time as any to invest!

It was profitable sometime early last year when the price started to rise, but not so much now since the difficulty has risen a lot.

The official Bitcoin wallet is safe as long as you're careful. The weak link in security is almost always due to operator negligence or error. Sometimes, people make mistakes. Ultimately, securing your wallet, whichever you choose, is up to you. I guess the more paranoid you are, the safe your wallets are.

I would like a hug, please.

Looking for some advise here. Hypothetically speaking, let's say I want to establish a offshore business that deals with playing games with Bitcoin bets, say Poker for example, would this be legal? Would I require a gambling license for this kind of situation, since Bitcoin is not considered currency in all jurisdictions yet? What if it's a digital game, like an MMO, for example? Are there any guides or precedents that I can refer to?

Thanks.

Best is subjective.

Bitstamp is easy to use and straightforward once you are able to get verified, and their withdrawals are cheap.

BTC-E has a wide range of deposit and withdrawal options, but getting funds out can be expensive. People also complain that the operators are unknown, but they've been around for quite a while now. In any case, it doesn't hurt to proceed with caution.

I can't really speak about the other Bitcoin exchanges, as I haven't used them.

Hey folks!

I've been a long term lurker with a few Bitcoins and I haven't really felt the need to post or speak on any issues. But over the past few weeks, I got a renewed interest in Bitcoin. I am a software developer and I'm working on some projects which I hope will prove useful in the ecosystem. More details on those as they're ready for public unveiling.

It sure has been a rollercoaster ride so far. I only started noticing Bitcoin when I saw news of the price go from $33 to $1 (when I wasn't really paying attention), then back up to $266+, and more recently over $1000 late last year. I've been reading all lost investments and all about the scams and drama (most especially MtGox and BFL). But ultimately, I believe there is a future in Bitcoin and it's here to stay.

Thank you for reading. I hope to be able contribute in a useful manner.